Indian River County - A trailblazing businesswoman and public servant from Vero Beach is set to be recognized with a Florida historical marker later this year.
Alma Lee Loy, known as the First Lady of Vero Beach, will be honored by the Florida Women's Historical Marker Initiative, an organization working to place at least one marker recognizing a woman in every county across the state.
"Our goal is to get one marker in every county across the state of Florida to honor a woman because they're very underrepresented in Florida as far as markers go," said Merle Shama, a representative with the Florida Women's Historical Marker Initiative. "We did extensive research on every county to find the most worthy woman who deserves a historical marker."
Shama said the choice was clear. "She had decades of work as a philanthropist. She was a pioneering businesswoman. She was an advocate for the environment. And she happened to be one of the most influential public servants in the history of Indian River County."
Alma Lee Loy was born in Vero Beach on June 10, 1929, the oldest child of Viola and George Loy. Her entrepreneurial spirit emerged early — her first enterprise was a lemonade stand at age six, and during World War II she sold more Savings Bonds than any other student at Vero Beach High School.
After enrolling at Rochester Institute of Technology, she was elected President of the Student Body in 1950. She later earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Miami in 1952.
Shortly after graduation, Loy became one of Florida's first female sports columnists, writing under the pen name "Duffer Dan" for the Vero Beach Press Journal — a pseudonym that reflected the barriers women faced in journalism at the time.
Her public service career was equally groundbreaking. In 1964, she was appointed by Governor Farris Bryant to serve as an original member of the Florida Commission on the Status of Women, and a year later was appointed by Governor Hayden Burns to the Florida Association of Women's Safety Leaders.
The first woman elected to the Indian River County Commission, Loy later became its first female chairman and one of Florida's first women to head a county commission. She served consecutively from 1968 to 1980.
She also operated her own children's clothing store in Vero Beach for 42 years.
Beyond politics and business, Loy was a fierce environmental advocate. She was active in saving the original 18-acre McKee Botanical Garden from condominium development, serving twice as president of the garden.
Because of her foresight and determination, the county built the 17th Street Bridge, which was later named the Alma Lee Loy Bridge in 2012. The Wabasso Beach County Park was also dedicated in her name for her many contributions to the development of public beaches and parks.
She received the Florida "Spirit of the Community" award in 2018, given to positive role models for women and girls. Alma Lee Loy died of natural causes on April 10, 2020.
After her passing, the U.S. House of Representatives awarded her for her service, and she was inducted into Florida's Women's Hall of Fame.
The historical marker will be placed outside the Indian River County Chamber of Commerce on 21st Street in Vero Beach — a building that was itself dedicated to Loy in 2012 in recognition of her role as its first female board chairwoman.