ANNA MARIA ISLAND – The Island business community lost a great friend and ambassador with the recent passing of Susanne Arbanas.
According to close friends, she was discovered deceased at her apartment in west Bradenton on Dec. 8. She was 67 years old and is survived by her 98-year-old father and Holmes Beach resident, Ron Arbanas, and her brother, Keith, who lives elsewhere.
In 2010, Arbanas opened Anna Maria Island Concierge Services and she spent several years connecting Island visitors with the various services provided by Island and Island-area businesses. Her LinkedIn page notes that she was AMI Concierge Services’ “Director of Contagious Enthusiasm.”
During her career, Arbanas also worked at the Compass Hotel Anna Maria Sound in west Bradenton and previously worked as a resort host and concierge at the Waterline Marina Resort in Holmes Beach when it opened in 2017. From 2008-10 she served as the membership coordinator for The Center of Anna Maria Island.
Arbanas moved to the Island from Australia about 15 years ago. In Australia, she worked as a hotel manager and guest relations manager. Before that, she worked in Australia as an airport manager after spending 15 years as a flight attendant for Continental Airlines.
At the time of her passing, Arbanas was a longtime member of the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce board of directors and also served as one of the Chamber’s volunteer ambassadors.
“Susanne was a huge advocate for the businesses and the Chamber,” Chamber President Terri Kinder said. “She spent a lot of time connecting chamber members with other chamber members that could be of assistance. If there was something a business owner needed, Susanne always knew someone to refer them to so they could work together. She had a huge impact on the businesses and she will be greatly missed.”
Anna Maria resident Trish Edwards and Pineapple Marketplace owner Marcia Mattick were two of Susanne’s closest friends.
“She was outgoing and always trying to promote and help the businesses out here,” Mattick said. “She was always at the Chamber events and she encouraged me, as a business owner, to go too. We tried all the new restaurants when they opened and I met a lot of businesspeople because of her. I’m going to miss her as a friend.”
Edwards said, “I met her in 2010 or 2011 when she was doing her concierge business and we became friends. She knew everybody, she was super-friendly and she liked promoting everybody on the Island who had a business. She was such a good person and she wanted all the businesses to succeed. She had great stories about living in Australia and she was fun to hang around with.”
Longtime family friend and Ginny’s and Jane E’s Café owner Paul Foster said, “Susanne was a great ambassador and a big promoter for the Island’s small businesses. She always had something positive to say. She had a lot of friends on the Island, she was big part of the community and we’re definitely going to miss her.”
“She was a wonderful spirit and always positive,” AMI Rotary Club President Jim McDaniel said.
“Susanne was a true inspiration who led by example with her enthusiasm. We should all be more like her,” Slicker’s Eatery owner Bob Slicker said.
