Personnel note: Brian Aungst Sr. retires from Charter Communications

Citing family health issues, Brian Aungst Sr. will be officially retiring after an illustrious 30-year career in Pinellas County’s public and private sectors.

As of Friday, Aungst is ending his stint as director of Government Relations for Charter-Spectrum Communications – formerly Vision Cable, Time Warner and Bright House Networks. Aungst and his wife of more than 40 years, Karen, live in Clearwater. The couple’s son Brian Jr. is an attorney with MacFarlane Ferguson & McMullen.

During his three-decade professional career, Aungst also worked within the community to help Charter become recognized as Large Philanthropic Company of the Year for the Tampa Bay region.

“It has been a great run for me and my family, and we have immensely enjoyed getting to know and work with so many wonderful people and organizations,” he said in an email Thursday. “As most of you are aware we are going through difficult times with Karen’s health, and my family and I continue to appreciate everyone’s sincere thoughts and consistent outreach.

“She is hanging in as well as can be expected, but with the care that she needs it is no longer feasible for me to be employed fulltime.”

Aungst serves as chair of both the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association, Clearwater for Youth and the Bright House Clearwater Super Boat National Championships in addition to working with other groups.

In his email, Aungst praised Charter Communications, calling it a “tremendous organization,” and promised to help them “anyway possible” in the future.

“They have been 100 percent supportive of us through these trying times and have worked with me to make this transition as easy as possible,” he said. “I will be eternally grateful for that unequivocal support!”

Moving to Clearwater in 1988, Aungst stayed active in the community ever since. After elected mayor in 1999, Aungst served two consecutive terms until he was term-limited. Among his many awards and recognitions include Tourism Person of the Year from both the Greater Clearwater Regional Chamber and the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce, and the Phillies All-Star in the Community Award from the Greater Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce for outstanding contributions and service to the community.

In 1999, Aungst and his wife co-chaired the Morton Plant Mease Foundation’s Toast to Life at Innisbrook, raising a record $200,000 that year. In 2002, they co-chaired Charity Works Monopoly Night and the American Cancer Society’s Cattle Baron’s Ball in 2003.

Recently, Aungst and Karen were named “Mr. and Mrs. Clearwater” by the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce for 2017.