Mayor Willie Charles Shaw was born here in Sarasota.  He graduated high school from Booker High School, and went on to graduate from St. Petersburg Junior College, Texas Christian University, and Berean Bible College.  He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam era, and later went on to become an associate minister and bereavement counselor at Mount Tabor Missionary Baptist Church.  He was elected mayor of Sarasota in 2011.