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Annual Meeting
May 3-5, 2007
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The past year has been an exciting time for Emerge Florida. Not only has the organization developed an interim leadership board, but as part of the planning process, it became apparent that the existing name, Emerge Florida, had discrepancies with other organizations moving into the state of Florida. One of the interim board's main goals was to develop a new name including branding. We're excited to share that
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Emerge FL is becoming...
Connect Florida!
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Connect Florida is committed to being an active network and united voice for young leaders seeking to develop, personally and professionally, while impacting and connecting with each other, their communities, and the State of Florida. Many exciting things are on the horizon including the 2007 Annual Meeting. Scheduled for May 3-5, in Tampa at the Embassy Suites Downtown Convention Center, the meeting will focus on using Leadership Florida's time-proven tools to connect young talent to our state, and to facilitate ways in which they can be connected to, and effective in, their communities. Segments have been planned about topics such as "civic engagement and education" and "dealing with change and conflict." Senator Bob Graham confirmed that he will speak to the group. The registration fee for this year's conference is $170 per person, which will cover meals, speakers and transportation for Thursday night, all day Friday and Saturday. Click here for a schedule of events and registration information. Young professionals who are interested in becoming members of Emerge Florida can do so without attending the conference by visiting Connect Florida's website www.emergeflorida.org and simply becoming a member. Membership dues are $60 per year.
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Leadership Florida Deadlines
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XXVI Applications
April 13, 2007
Click here for a copy
of the application.
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Annual Awards
April 13, 2007
Deadline for LeRoy Collins Lifetime Achievement
Award Nominations
Click here to download
a nomination form.
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Willingness to Serve
April 13, 2007
Click here for a 2007 Willingness to Serve form.
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Connect Florida
Annual Meeting
April 27, 2007
Click here to register
online now.
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Directory Deadline
April 27, 2007
Click here to update your information online now.
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College Leadership Florida Class IX
May 25, 2007
Click here for a copy
of the application.
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Class XXV
Tallahassee Session
Sponsors
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Local Underwriters
Akerman Senterfitt
Ausley & McMullen, PA
Blue Cross Blue Shield Fl
Capital City Bank Group
CH2M Hill
Florida Power & Light
Progress Energy
Ron Sachs Communications
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Leadership Sponsors
GrayRobinson
Hopping Green & Sams
Ounce of Prevention Fund
WilsonMiller, Inc.
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Statewide Content Underwriters
Embarq
Florida High Tech Corridor Council
Florida League of Cities, Inc.
PBS&J
SunTrust, Florida
Walt Disney World
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Contributing Sponsors
Flagler Holdings, Inc.
Fowler White Boggs Banker PA
Pennington, Moore, Wilkinson, Bell & Dunbar, PA
Richard Watson & Associates
Radey Thomas Yon & Clark
Sachs, Sax & Klein, PA
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Sponsors
Carol Lees Gregg, Class XX
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Remembering
Cynthia Sontag (II)
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 | Cynthia passed away March 22, 2007, in Tampa. She is survived by brothers Ronald Clark, M.D.(Nancy, David and Michael), Padre Island, Texas, Robert Clark, |
| | M.D., Mill Valley, Calif. (Senait, Semany, Rina and Gashaw); sister-in-law, who became her sister, Louanne Clark (Julia) Tucson, Ariz.; stepsiblings, William Batt, Donald Batt and Marge Boulden, and many, many friends, especially her cherished City of Tampa family, MacBeth's, the Gaslight and the City's worst ever volleyball team may be gone, but not those memories!, the women of Athena, Leadership Tampa, Leadership Florida, NPELRA, and too many others to attempt to mention.
Cynthia was one of the first women and first non-lawyers to represent a major city as chief labor negotiator, especially in the high octane field of Police and Fire. In that capacity, Cynthia's leadership resulted in staggered contracts with the city's several unions, yielding stability and predictability to the process and to the calendar. While she was a tough negotiator, Cynthia retained the respect of the union leaders across the table and remained friends with many of them to this day. She was a major player in creating an integrated personnel system which became a national model. She was especially proud of her diligent efforts to provide disability benefits and to improve pension benefits for general employees. Over the years, she led the National Public Employer Labor Relations Association and MPELRA's state and regional affiliates, as well.
Cynthia was very active in Leadership Tampa and was a trailblazer in the early days of Leadership Florida. She has held numerous positions in Tampa's Athena Society, served on the United Way Allocations Committee and as a mentor for the Boys and Girls Clubs. After she left the City, Cynthia, always ahead of the game, launched a very successful personal chef business -- way before they became a trend. Health problems led to her early retirement but never slowed her down. She thrilled at travel, bragging at her most recent adventure: planting her feet firmly just about as close as one can get to both the North and South Poles! She will be missed. She is missed.
In lieu of flowers, Cynthia would appreciate it if you contribute to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay, 1307 North Mac Dill, Tampa, FL 33607, to help underwrite life skills for individuals cycling out of foster care. Some of Cynthia's fondest hours were spent teaching these young people to cook!
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Leadership Florida's 25th Anniversary
June 28 - July 1
at The Breakers
Online registration
is now available
Click here to register!
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Dear Leadership Florida Member:
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This is a reminder that applications for Class XXVI must be postmarked by this coming Friday, April 13. So, if you've requested that an application be mailed to a candidate, or if you've provided a candidate with an application, or if you've been meaning to recruit a candidate, now is the time to follow up!
As you know, there are many factors that go into creating a dynamic class, but the most important one is a complete and compelling application. Please encourage your recruit to put her or his modesty aside and let the Selection Committee know why she or he should be a member of Class XXVI.
Once the applications have been received by the Leadership Florida office, this is what will happen:
1) All applications will be mailed to the seventeen members of the Selection Committee, who were chosen with careful regard to a balanced representation of our membership; 2) The committee members will read every application, rating each on a scale from 1-5; they'll then send their rating sheets to the LF office, where the ratings for each candidate will be averaged; 3) The LF membership will be advised of the Selection Committee members’ names and contact info and encouraged to provide committee members with additional information that will assist them in the next stage of the process; 4) Committee members will contact all of the references provided by the candidates; 5) The committee will meet to put together a class that is dynamic and whose diversity of membership will add to each class member’s learning experience; 6) Candidates will be advised of the results of the selection process in early July. We look forward to another LF class to be proud of. Thanks for all of your help, and please let me know if you have any questions.
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| Sincerely,
Wendy Abberger
President
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Kathy Eggleston (XV) has been named to the Board of Directors of the Community Foundation of Broward. Kathy is vice president of The Business Exchange Network, Inc. (BE-NET), a Boca Raton based telecommunications services company whose holdings include “The Phone Store” MetroPCS wireless retail outlets in South Florida.
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| John Sinnott (XXI), director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and International Medicine at the University of South Florida, has one more title to add to his resume – network news correspondent. ABC News recruited the Signature Interdisciplinary Program in Allergy, |
 | | Immunology & Infectious Disease (SPAIID) team of experts led by John to author network news reports. They appear in ABC's online newsroom, http://abcnews.go.com/Health/, enhancing coverage in the fields of allergy and immunology, infectious diseases and international medicine. Stories appearing so far this year: Surviving and Understanding Meningitis and Danger in the Flesh, |
which focused on patients infected with flesh-eating bacteria. These articles aim to increase public awareness about the increasing risk posed by the resurgence of infectious diseases. To learn more about SPAIID, go to: http://hsc.usf.edu/medicine/spaiid/.
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Meg Lowman (XVI), professor at New College of Florida in Sarasota, is the 2007 recipient of Villanova University's Mendel Medal. The medal is presented to outstanding scientists who advance the cause of science. Past recipients include Nobel laureates, outstanding medical researchers and other pioneers in the sciences.
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| Jan Matthews (XIII) is the 2007 recipient of the University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning’s Beinecke-Reeves Distinguished Achievement Award. The annual award recognizes an individual who exemplifies the spirit of historic preservation in Florida. Jan has worked hard to protect and conserve cultural heritage over the years. |  |
Governmental Appointments
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| Julie Morris (XVI), Co-Director of New College of Florida’s Environmental Studies Program, was re-appointed to another three-year term on the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council. The appointment was announced last month by Secretary of Commerce Don Evans. Julie's appointment is to an at-large seat on the Council, a seat vied for by Council members from 5 states. Morris was at the top of the nomination list provided by Governor Jeb Bush. |
| Dr. Mary Hessler Key (XI) has authored her third book entitled, CEO Road Rules: Right Focus, Right People, Right Execution. In it, she and her co-author, Dennis Stearns, interviewed fifty CEOs about their successes, challenges and what has brought them fulfillment in their careers and in life. Readers can benefit from the advice and wisdom these CEOs share as well as Mary's discoveries on what it takes to go from "success to significance" in life. |  |
| Elizabeth Means (XIV) retires this month after more than forty years at Shands Hospital in Jacksonville. While serving as vice president of community affairs at Shands, she played a key role in establishing a comprehensive sickle cell center, a primary care center and a breast health awareness program. In addition to her work at the hospital, Elizabeth is active in the Jacksonville community. |  |
Class XXV Tallahassee Session
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The azaleas and dogwoods started to bloom just in time for Class XXV's visit to Tallahassee. Those who arrived early enough were treated to a casual conversation with Attorney General Bill McCollum (XX), who briefed not only the class, but the Council of Advisors and the Northwest Region members, on what's been happening in his life since he decided to run for office and what's going on now that he's in office. After that, everyone loaded up on the bus for a trip down to Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park where they had a presentation by Jim Stevenson, an expert on springs. Once they had something to eat and drink, they enjoyed a sunset cruise on the Wakulla River. There were lots of gator sightings and for some strange reason, the vultures were all roosting in the trees above. Hmmmm…
T he Class started their session bright and early with Tom's Breakfast in the Park. They were greeted by the "ghost" of Union Brig. Gen. Edward Moody McCook on the steps of the Knott House Museum where he presented the Emancipation Proclamation. After a short walk up to the Old Capitol for a picture, the group made their way to the Governors Club for a morning filled with property tax issues. Mike Sittig (VI) and Glenn Robertson gave a lively presentation on property taxes. They were followed by Jay Newman and Bob Koch who addressed property insurance and affordable housing, respectively.
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After lunch, we were lucky enough to once again have Ken Ford join the group. Many of you have seen Ken's presentation on the amazing work that the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition is doing. He also addresses the issue of community building and bringing a high tech workforce to Florida. As always, Ken was a favorite.
Another LF favorite tradition is bringing former Governor Askew and Florida Supreme Court Justice Joe Hatchett, both recipients of Leadership Florida's LeRoy Collins Lifetime Achievement Award, together for an informal conversation about their time together in office. Judge Hatchett was the first African American appointed to the Supreme Court and Governor Askew is the one who made the appointment. It was such an honor for this Class to be able to interact with these two great men.
Fellow classmate Janet Hinkle generously opened her home to the group. She dished up some good ol' southern cookin'…pulled pork, collard greens, hoppin' john and corn bread…YUM! After everyone was finished stuffing themselves, they went to the Bradfordville Blues Club where they danced the night (and calories) away. Saturday morning was spent with Peter Hammerschmidt and a discussion about the Kirton Adaptation-Innovation Inventory. This was another exercise to help strengthen the leadership skills of this group.
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Annual Meeting Spotlight:
Olympic Gold Medallist
Dot Richardson
Join us Saturday morning as we hear from motivational speaker and Olympic gold medallist, Dot Richardson. As captain of the United States softball team that won gold in the 1996 Atlanta Games, Dot Richardson hit the first home run in Olympic softball history. And she was there again as the United States triumphed over Japan in a dramatic 2-1 victory at the Sydney 2000 Olympics to win its second straight Olympic gold medal in softball.
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The dominant team at the 1996 Atlanta Games and owner of a 119-game international winning streak heading into Sydney, they struggled terribly just to reach the final. "Definitely, the [gold medal] in 1996 was incredible because it was the first ever," teammate Lisa Fernandez said. "But this one somewhat surpasses it with what we had to overcome."
Richardson, who turned 39 during the Sydney Games, was the oldest softball player on the 2000 Olympic Team, as she was in 1996.
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She also is the only doctor. A graduate of the University of Louisville Medical School, her illustrious career on the United States national team began in 1979 as a 17-year-old starter for the team that won gold at the Pan American Games. Twenty years later, Richardson helped the United States team to another gold medal in the 1999 Pan American Games.
Richardson took a one-year leave from her orthopedic surgery residency at the University of Southern California to compete at the Atlanta Games. One day after the gold medal victory, she was back at USC, from which she completed her five-year residency on June 18, 1999. Subsequently, Richardson began a one-year fellowship at the renowned Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Los Angeles, where she has worked with pro-athletes from the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, L.A. Lakers, and L.A. Dodgers. In June 2002, she was named Vice Chair of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports by President Bush, and is the proud recipient of the 2002 Flo Hyman Award, one of the most prestigious honors in the world of sports. Richardson is the author of two books, Go For It! Conversations On Being You (September 2004) and Living The Dream (June 1997).
Dot Richardson is currently the director and medical director of The National Training Center in Orlando, a state of the art facility where local residents, national and international athletes of all levels will have the opportunity to meet their athletic as well as quality of life goals. The National Training Center is the only facility in the United States that has a fully staffed hospital (South Lake Hospital), an educational institution (University of Central Florida), and state-of-the-art training facility all on the same campus.
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