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William H. Kerdyk Jr. is an American entrepreneur, politician, international golf tournament organizer and real estate investor. [1]
Kerdyk was born in Doctor’s Hospital in Coral Gables, Florida to William Kerdyk Sr. and Marlene Schulte Kerdyk. His father, Bill Sr. was raised in Gloversville, New York, the son of a direct immigrant from the Netherlands. His mother, Marlene was the child of German immigrants, from Mankato, Minnesota. [2] Kerdyk was raised in Coral Gables, graduated from Coral Gables Senior High School and earned a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Florida International University. In 1985, Kerdyk joined the family-owned business, Kerdyk Real Estate. He purchased the business from his uncle in 1993.
| William H. "Bill" Kerdyk Jr. |
|---|
| Assumed Office 1995 |
| Born February 19 |
| Spouse Lynn Kerdyk |
| Children 3 |
| Alma Mater Florida International University |
| Websites to link to www.coralgables.com |
Kerdyk is President and CEO of Kerdyk Real Estate, a full service real estate brokerage company headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida. In addition to its residential and commercial division, the company also focuses on its management portfolio and the disposition of REO and distressed properties through its Division of Bankruptcies and Foreclosures. Kerdyk is also president of Kerdyk Referral Services for licensed real estate agents. [3]
Kerdyk is an active real estate investor in Miami and South Florida. His real estate portfolio features properties in the retail, office, warehouse and residential asset classes.
Kerdyk was the founder and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bank of Coral Gables, a community bank that he and a group of investors founded in 2006. [4] In December 2014, First American Bank, a full service bank with 61 branches located in 3 states and headquartered in Elk Grove Village, IL with assets over $5 billion, received regulatory approval to merge with the Bank of Coral Gables, located in Coral Gables, Florida. Kerdyk led the merger negotiations and has joined the Board of Directors of First American Bank. [5]
Kerdyk, an avid golfer, [6] founded the Toyota Junior World Cup with Japanese business partners Yasmasa Tagashira and Eiji Tagashira in 1992. This junior golf tournament was formed to allow the finest junior golfers in the world the opportunity to compete in an international team event. [7]
More than 70 countries participate in qualifying tournaments which are held throughout the year in North and South America, Asia, Europe, Oceania and Africa. The winners and second-place finishers in the qualifying tournaments are invited to participate in the finals held in Japan. Toyota and Japan Airlines are the major sponsors of the tournament.
Japan won the 2023 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup [20] in both the Boy’s and Girl’s divisions. The US teams finished second in the Girl's division and third in the Boy's division. As Chairman of the event, Kerdyk [21) presented the trophy to the Japanese Boy’s and Girl's division winners.
Some notable junior golfers who have participated in previous tournaments and later gained prominence include current Official World Golf Ranking number 1 player Scottie Scheffler, 2022 British Open winner Cameron Smith, Japanese professional golfer and 2021 Masters Tournament Champion Hideki Matsuyama, Spanish professional golfer and 2021 US Open Champion Jon Rahm, 2016 British Open Champion and 2016 Olympic Silver Medalist Sweden's Henrik Stenson, 2013 US Open Champion and 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist England's Justin Rose, 2016 Masters Tournament Champion Danny Willet, 2011 Masters Tournament Champion Charles Schwartzel, 2010 British Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen and 2008 Masters Tournament Champion Trevor Immelman. [8] The tournament qualifying system is modeled after the World Cup soccer tournament, where regional tournaments are held to allow countries to qualify and play. Kerdyk also chaired the Junior Orange Bowl Golf Tournament in Miami for several years, one of the premier invitational amateur golf tournaments in the world.
In 2014, the championship announced a girl’s event as part of the tournament.
After serving for 20 years, Kerdyk stepped down from public office in April 2015 and the City of Coral Gables bestowed the title Vice Mayor Emeritus upon him in recognition of his many years of service. He served as a Coral Gables Commissioner on a citywide, nonpartisan basis starting in 1995 and was subsequently re-elected in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011. He served as Vice Mayor in 1999, 2001 and from 2007 to 2015. In April 2015, in recognition of his longstanding career as a public servant, the 3.5 acre Riviera Park, located at 6611 Yumuri Street in Coral Gables, was renamed ‘William H. Kerdyk, Jr. Family Park’. At a Coral Gables City Commission meeting held in April 2015, the following video commemorating the Kerdyk legacy was broadcast:
Kerdyk had four major stands as a Coral Gables Commissioner, which include support for strong zoning codes, fiscal conservation, strong advocacy for ‘best in class’ city services and quality of life issues for residents [9]
Throughout his political career, Kerdyk has initiated several city programs: [10]
Kerdyk has served on numerous political organizations affecting Miami-Dade County and the State of Florida:
Kerdyk and his wife, Lynn, a clinical child psychologist at the University of Miami, have three children – William H. Kerdyk, III, Lindsay Kerdyk and Leigh Mason Kerdyk.
In July 2022, Bill Kerdyk, Jr., and his wife Lynn, initiated and invited the leadership of the Coral Gables Garden Club regarding funding for the Camp Mahachee project restoration, [15] a treasured camp of the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida, on Old Cutler Road in Coral Gables. The $85,000 in cash and in kind donations raised to date will increase when the PARKnership Fund launches a community-wide fundraising campaign to support Phases two and three of the project. The seed funders for this project include Bill Kerdyk, Jr. and his wife Lynn; the Coral Gables Garden Club; and the Coral Gables Community Foundation. In 2023, the Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida continued to help restore the historic camp as featured in The Miami Herald [22] and Coral Gables Magazine [23] which chronicled the success of the project and how this initiative transformed the property.
In September 2018, Kerdyk along with sisters Tracy Kerdyk and Kim Kerdyk, donated $75,000 to the Coral Gables Garden Club in memory of their mother, Marlene Schulte Kerdyk. The donation will be held in the Marlene Kerdyk Beautification Fund established at the Coral Gables Community Foundation. Its purpose is to support landscape beautification projects in the City of Coral Gables and improve the quality of life for its residents. [16] [17]
Kerdyk founded the Kerdyk Family Music Scholarship Fund in October 2002 in memory of his father, William H. Kerdyk Sr., who shared his love of music with his own children and grandchildren. A financial scholarship is given annually to a graduating senior that lives in Coral Gables who has shown an interest in music during high school. To date, more than $60,000 has been awarded to deserving music students. [18]
Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248.
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Bird Road, co-signed State Road 976 from the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike in Westwood Lakes, Florida to U.S. Route 1 in Miami, is a 13.7-mile (22.0 km) main east–west road running south of Downtown Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
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Tracy L. Kerdyk is an American professional golfer who played on the LPGA Tour.
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The 2020 Miami-Dade County mayoral election was held on November 3, 2020, to determine the mayor of Miami-Dade County, Florida. County Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava defeated fellow commissioner Esteban Bovo. Incumbent Mayor Carlos A. Giménez, first elected in 2011, was term-limited; instead running for the U.S. House of Representatives to represent Florida's 26th congressional district.
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