Mike Carroll: A Legacy Lifting Others

1/14/2026

Mike Carroll grew up in the 1960s only four blocks from what was then known as St. Petersburg Junior College (SPJC), living a kid’s dream. On any given day, that included learning to play tennis on the St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus courts, fishing in SPJC’s small lake and picking cattails along its banks. For the oldest of five siblings, the school was part of the heartbeat of his life.

Some things never change.

Carroll went on to attend and play tennis at the institution that later became St. Petersburg College, and it helped shape his path forward in a successful executive finance career. Today, SPC remains more important to him than ever as a longtime SPC Foundation board director, a former board chair and a generous donor.

The many hours spent on the campus as a child and later as a student have transformed into a dedicated commitment to support the College in a multitude of ways. Beyond working to aid the efforts of SPC President Dr. Tonjua Williams and the SPC Foundation, Carroll has made a practice of giving back his time and treasure to the College that gave him so much.

Janet and Mike Carroll

His contributions — in conjunction with wife, Janet, and in honor of his four brothers and sisters who also attended SPC — include numerous scholarships for students in need of financial assistance; a lending library providing laptops for math department faculty members; funding a remodel of the SPC Volleyball team’s locker room that was in dire need of an upgrade; a discretionary gift that allows the College’s President and the SPC Foundation to use funds when there is a pressing need; and his valuable leadership on the board of directors.

“I don’t donate to St. Petersburg College— I invest in it. I invest in the students and the future of those students,” said Carroll, sipping coffee on a recent morning near his home in Downtown St. Petersburg. “That’s kind of what drives me more than anything. And as with many charities, there’s a great return on that investment.”

The return, in this case, is seeing so many students thrive at SPC and find rewarding roads in the workplace, while also watching the College expand its innovative programs and reputation as a standout institution of higher learning. Carroll’s gifts and involvement are enormously valued by many, including Jesse Turtle, SPC Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Executive Director of the Foundation.

“Mike exemplifies what it means to be an alum of St. Petersburg College,” Turtle said. “His leadership, both in service and philanthropy, is a testament to his dedication. Mike’s passion for the students, faculty and staff makes him an indispensable asset to SPC’s success.”

Williams echoed the sentiment. “I admire Mike Carroll for his exceptional leadership and steadfast dedication to St. Petersburg College,” she said.

Carroll’s journey to become an impactful SPC leader and philanthropist unfolded in unique fashion. He attended Cathedral School of St. Jude, then Bishop Barry (which eventually merged with Notre Dame Academy for Girls to form St. Petersburg Catholic High School), both within blocks of the College’s St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus.

When it came time for college after graduating from Bishop Barry in 1971, the College virtually next door was a natural and affordable choice — especially coming from his large, middle-class family. Carroll loved his time at SPJC, developing confidence in his academic skills and playing on the tennis team. Then a two-year institution, SPJC ultimately became his bridge to the University of Florida, where he earned his Bachelor of Business Administration accounting degree between 1972-76, and was involved in sports, student government and Florida Blue Key.

Next came a pivotal decision. Carroll had received a job offer as an auditor in Dallas. “I graduated on a Saturday and I knew I didn’t want to come back to St. Petersburg at that point,” he said. “So by Sunday, I was driving to Dallas.”

Carroll leveraged that auditing position to join Dallas-based ClubCorp, which operated more than 100 country clubs around the U.S. It was too much to pass up.

He wound up spending 24 years in Dallas. After positions as an auditor, controller and director of financial planning, Carroll found his calling as a chief financial officer. During his career, he was CFO for six companies. While in Dallas, he also met his future wife, Janet Crone, who grew up in Dunedin.

“One of the first questions I asked her was where she went to college — and if she had said, ‘Florida State,’ it might have been a problem,” he said with a smile. “But it turns out she was a Florida Gator like me. We hit it off, began dating, and got married — and in 1998 we had a baby girl, Katie.”

St. Petersburg College Board Chair Jason Butts and Mike Carroll

But Pinellas County soon began to beckon. Both his and Janet’s parents were getting up in age and had no other granddaughters in the area. So the couple decided to move back to their hometown area to be close to their folks and let them be part of little Katie’s childhood. Their fathers each passed away in 2006, though their mothers lived much longer, a time together they all cherished.

Carroll’s background made him a perfect choice for the St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times as its chief financial officer, a job he held for five years from 1999-2004. It was a period during which he also became involved with the old St. Petersburg Tennis Center, resurrecting the fading facility that serves many disadvantaged youths. He was the founding president of the center, as well as the Tennis Foundation of St. Petersburg, and would serve as its leader for 20 years.

Meanwhile, the newspaper business was in the midst of a transition to online, and costs of newsprint were rising. The timing made sense to look for a new role, and Carroll found a home first as president of a company manufacturing adaptive golf carts for seniors and those with disabilities, and then as CFO for a national company serving companies in the mortgage field.

At the time, he had yet to reconnect with SPC in any meaningful way. But thanks to his pursuit of competitive tennis on the senior level, that door soon opened.

After retiring in 2013, he joined a senior tennis league in St. Petersburg that wound up winning the league title, leading to a chance to compete for the state title in Daytona Beach.

“I roomed with an old friend from high school, Ken Cherven, and he was on the board at the SPC Foundation,” Carroll said. “Well, it wound up raining the whole weekend we were there. We never got on the court. But we bought some whiskey and sat around talking. And by the end of the weekend, Ken had convinced me to join the SPC Foundation board — and I, in turn, convinced him it that he might just enjoy retirement after a career as a bank president.”

It didn’t take long for Carroll to fall in love again with the school from his past. He learned about the many changes that had taken place over the years, and the difference it was making in the lives of so many students.

“In fact, I would argue that St. Pete College is the most important and valuable institution in Pinellas County,” Carroll said.

In time, Carroll served as chair from 2018-2020, working closely with Williams when she became SPC President in 2017 and still helping her as chair of, not surprisingly, the audit and finance committees.

“She is a force of nature — just amazing,” Carroll said. “We bonded right from the start.”

Carroll keeps busy in retirement with Janet, who volunteers with various education and charitable organizations in the area. Each is proud of Katie, now 27, working as an auditor on the Coca-Cola account for Big Four firm Ernst & Young in Atlanta. He’s equally proud of his first child from his previous marriage, Bethany, a former country singer and songwriter, who is now senior counsel for a major entertainment law firm in Nashville.

And as for his pride in SPC, it runs as deep as his childhood memories of growing up nearby the College that would forever enrich his life. “His passion for advancing student success and strengthening community partnerships has made a profound impact on our institution and the lives we touch.” — Dr. Tonjua Williams, SPC President