Member News

TaxWatch Board of Trustees Elects Executive Committee

The Florida TaxWatch Board of Trustees at its December 2007 annual meeting elected the following TaxWatch members to serve on the TaxWatch Executive Committee:

• Chairman – David Smith, Chairman & CEO – PSS World Medical, Inc.
• President & CEO – Dominic M. Calabro, President & CEO, Florida TaxWatch
• Chairman-Elect – Martha Barnett, Partner – Holland + Knight
• Treasurer – Marshall Criser III, President – AT&T
• Secretary – Alan Ciamporcero, President Southeast – Verizon
• Immediate Past Chairman – Mike Jennings, Vice President – Prudential Financial
• Member at Large – John D. Baker, President and CEO, Patriot Transportation Holding, Inc.
• Member at Large – Barney Barnett, Vice Chairman – Publix Super Markets, Inc.
• Member at Large – Robert E. Coker, Senior Vice President - U.S. Sugar Corporation
• Member at Large – Steve L. Evans, Florida TaxWatch Chief Operating Officer, former TaxWatch Chairman, and retired IBM Vice President
• Member at Large – Ed Hannum, Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer – AvMed Health Plans
• Member at Large – Martha Korman, President and CEO, National Graphics Imaging
• Member at Large – Ron LaFace, Shareholder – Greenberg Traurig
• Member at Large – David Mann, Executive Vice President – SunTrust Florida
• Member at Large – Paul Noland, Senior Vice President – Walt Disney World Resort
• Member at Large – John B. Zumwalt III, President and CEO, Post Buckley Schuh & Jernigan, Inc.

TaxWatch Membership Elects New Members to Board of Trustees

Florida TaxWatch Members at its December 2007 annual meeting elected the following TaxWatch members to first time terms on the Florida TaxWatch Board of Trustees:

• Peter Harris – ADG
• Bill Herrle – National Federation of Independent Business
• Cindy O’Connell – Hill & Knowlton
• Bill McBride
• Mary Lou Rajchel – Florida Trucking Association
• John Andrew Smith – Smith & Smith Consulting
• Mark Wilson – Florida Chamber of Commerce

John Zumwalt Appointed Chairman of the TaxWatch Center for Competitive Florida (CCF)

John Zumwalt, a member of the Florida TaxWatch Executive Committee, has accepted the position of Chairman of the TaxWatch Center for Competitive Florida (CCF). He has assumed the role after the distinguished leadership service of former Chairman David McIntosh.

John Fumero to Speak at Stormwater Compliance Conference

John Fumero, of the West Palm Beach office of Lewis, Longman & Walker, P.A., will be serving as a featured speaker at a conference entitled ″Stormwater Compliance: Issues and Answers″ in Miami, Florida on January 8, 2007. His topic of discussion will be ″TMDL′s and Pollutant Trading Programs in the United States″.

ITFlorida Announces Finalists of Annual Statewide Awards Gala

ITFlorida recently announced the finalists and winners of its annual statewide awards gala. According to ITFlorida, these awards are presented to organizations that have “distinguished themselves and their industry in the best application of information technology throughout Florida”. Award finalists represented a wide cross-section of Florida companies, from large, well-known organizations to small firms with fewer than 10 employees. The following Florida TaxWatch member organizations were 2006 ITFlorida Awards finalists:

Category: New Business Recruitment
Economic Development Council of Collier County (Naples)
Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission (Orlando)
Category - Government Technology Leadership - Private
Brandt Information Services, Inc. (Tallahassee)
Category - High Growth Company of the Year
Infinity Software Development, Inc. (Tallahassee)

Steven Uhlfelder Re-elected as Chairman of J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board

Steven Uhlfelder has been re-elected to a fourth term as Chairman of the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. He was appointed to this prestigious Board in 2001 by President George W. Bush. ″It′s an honor to be re-elected as chairman of the board,″ Uhlfelder said. ″We′re one of the oldest foreign-scholarship programs in the world.″ Uhlfelder is a Public and Administrative Law Specialist based in Tallahassee.

Phyllis Choy Elected President of Regional Multiple Listing Service

Phyllis Choy has been elected President of the Regional Multiple Listing Service after acting as Vice President for the past year. Choy is Director of Sales at Water Pointe Realty Group of Jupiter and Stuart.

Dr. Dhyana Ziegler Reappointed to Board of Florida Virtual High School

Dr. Dhyana Ziegler recently earned three separate distinctions: she was reappointed by Governor Bush to the Board of Trustees of Florida Virtual High School (the world’s largest online classroom) for a third four-year term; has been pictured and referenced on the www.souloftechnology.com website; and was recognized for her work in using interactive, immersive technology to improve academic achievement among African-American students by being selected for the list of the 50 Most Important African-Americans in Technology for the fifth time. Ziegler is the Assistant Vice President for Instructional Technology at Florida A&M University.

Patty DeYoung Receives Central Florida Women’s Resource Center Summit Award

Patty DeYoung is a 2006 recipient of the Central Florida Women′s Resource Center Summit Award. The award honors women in the Central Florida community who have shown outstanding community service and leadership. DeYoung is the Assistant Director and Administrator of Darden Restaurants Foundation.

Alan D. Reynolds Selected as 2006 Outstanding Laureate

Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida has selected Alan D. Reynolds as a 2006 Outstanding Laureate, a designation that identifies community leaders who serve as role models for students. As a Laureate, Reynolds attains membership in Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida’s Collier County Business Leadership Hall of Fame. Reynolds is CEO of WilsonMiller, a planning, design, and engineering firm. He is the third principal from WilsonMiller to receive this honor, following Bob Wilson, founder of the firm, and Bill Barton.

William G. Smith, Jr. Receives The Godfrey Smith Award

William G. Smith, Jr., President and CEO of Capital City Bank Group, has been selected to receive The Godfrey Smith Award. This award is the highest honor for Capital City Bank Group associates who exemplify the ideals of the late Godfrey Smith, past president of Capital City Bank: integrity, honesty, and compassion.

Roger Kaufman Co-authors Practical Evaluation for Educators: Finding What Works and What Doesn′t

Roger Kaufman, Professor Emeritus, Florida State University, Director of Kaufman & Associates, Distinguished Research Professor, Sonora Institute of Technology, and Florida TaxWatch Senior Research Fellow, is co-author of the recently published Practical Evaluation for Educators: Finding What Works and What Doesn′t.

Mikki Canton Receives Learned Hand Award

Mikki Canton of the Gunster Yoakley law firm was recently honored at the Learned Hand Award Luncheon of the Greater Miami & Broward Chapter of the American Jewish Committee. The award is presented to outstanding leaders in the legal profession.

Pre-paid Tuition Plan Named After Stanley Tate

Stanley Tate, of Stanley Tate Enterprises in North Miami, was honored by the Florida Legislature with a namesake to the pre-paid tuition plan he was instrumental in creating. The legislature amended the statute to name the program ″The Stanley G. Tate Florida Pre-Paid College Program.″

The legislature noted Mr. Tate′s tireless efforts to keep college affordable, so that every student in Florida has the opportunity to receive a high quality education. The largest and one of the oldest prepaid tuition plans in the country, this program is helping over one million Florida families save and lock in the future cost of college.

Stanley Tate is also a tremendous supporter of Florida TaxWatch and its Prudential Financial-Davis Productivity Awards program.

Eric Brown Becomes First Chairman of the West Central Florida Chamber Alliance

Eric Brown, CEO of ROI Consulting Group, Inc., became the first chairman of the West Central Florida Chamber Alliance (CCE) on June 22, 2006. The Alliance was formed as part of the Florida Chamber′s regional efforts to engage local members in the legislative and political process, and to identify and elect pro-business, pro-jobs candidates to state office.

Brad Mitchell Receives Technology Business of the Year Award

Brad Mitchell, owner of Tallahassee-based Aegis Computer Services′, was awarded the Technology Business of the Year by the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce during the Small Business Excellence awards at the Florida State University Club on June 6. He was honored at a two-hour luncheon program presented by the Tallahassee Democrat and sponsored by Capital City Bank, Embarq, and WCTV-TV.

Rick Kearney Named Florida Entrepreneur of the Year

Mainline Information Systems founder and CEO Rick Kearney was named Florida Entrepreneur of the Year in technology and is in the running for the prestigious national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, an honor that has gone to widely-known business people such as Michael Dell. Kearney′s international company has been operating in Tallahassee since 1989.

Dominic M. Calabro Named Executive Leader of the Year

Florida TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic M. Calabro has been named ″Executive Leader of the Year″ by the Florida Society of Association Executives (FSAE). The annual award honors the association executive who has displayed the highest commitment to professional growth and pride in association management. The award, presented at the FSAE annual conference in Bonita Springs, notes Calabro′s professionalism and leadership, his service to the association management profession and to the community.

Lynn Stanfield is now Chairman or Chair of TCC′s Board of Trustees, which is now celebrating its 40th Aniversary

Florida TaxWatch board member Lynn Stanfield, Manager of Strategic Initiatives (Education) for Apple Computers, has been appointed Vice Chair of Tallahassee Community College′s Board of Trustees. Tallahassee Community College (TCC), which was recently listed 22nd among the nation′s top producers of A.A. graduates. TCC Board members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Florida Senate.

Ken Stafford Named Tallahassee′s SunTrust City President

TaxWatch Member Ken Stafford is Tallahassee′s new SunTrust City President. SunTrust Banks, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the nation's largest commercial banking organizations. The company operates an extensive distribution network primarily in Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and also serves customers in selected markets nationally.

Martha Barnett Listed As One of the Best Lawyers in America 2006

Florida TaxWatch Secretary Martha Barnett, of the law firm of Holland & Knight in Tallahassee, has been named to the latest edition of The Best Lawyers in America 2006, for her work in commercial litigation and tax law.

Nolia Brandt Joins FSU′s Jim Moran Institute of Global Entrepreneurship

TaxWatch member Nolia Brandt, President and Chairman of Brandt Information Services in Tallahassee, has joined Florida State University′s Jim Moran Institute of Global Entrepreneurship as a mentor. The Institute helps budding businesses succeed through free one-on-one counseling. Brandt recently stepped down from the daily operation of the company she and her husband founded 21 years ago.