Shelby R Bender

ProGen Member Overview

Shelby Jean Roberson Bender is the Executive Director and President of the East Hillsborough Historical Society, a 501c3 nonprofit organization whose mission includes the preservation of the cultural heritage of the community. EHHS’s offices, Pioneer Museum, Classroom Art Gallery, Quintilla Geer Bruton Archives Center, and rental venues are in the historic 1914 Plant City High School Community Center, a National Register of Historic Places Site. The EHHS/1914 is the sponsor of the seasonal music event, The Florida Opry, a showcase for live music.

She serves as Chairman of the City of Plant City Historic Resources Board which oversees three local and national register historic districts and serves on the Hillsborough County Historic Advisory Council, Hillsborough County Historic Preservation Challenge Grant Panel, Culture Connects Tampa Bay, Plant City Main Street Board of Directors. Past service includes the Tampa Bay History Center Board of Trustees, Historic Tampa Hillsborough County Preservation Board & Foundation, Central West Florida Historic Preservation Council, and the Florida State Genealogical Society.

An eighth-generation Floridian, she shares her interest in history and preservation with her family, friends, and community. She holds both state and county Florida Pioneer Descendant certificates.

She conducts workshops and seminars and is a member of the EHHS, Florida State Genealogical Society (Secretary), Huxford Genealogical Society, Ybor City Museum Society, Association of Professional Genealogists, Association of Gravestone Studies, and other historical and genealogical societies.