Great Floridian is a title bestowed on citizens of Florida by the Florida Department of State. There were actually two formal programs. The Great Floridian 2000 program honored deceased individuals who made "significant contributions in the history and culture" of Florida (many times within a local community), [1] the new program is more restrictive by selecting persons, dead or alive, who made "major contributions to the progress and welfare" of Florida. [2]
The Florida Department of State and the Florida League of Cities created the program in 1998, and it ran to 2000. The process bestowed commemorative blue plaques in Florida to honor deceased individuals who significantly contributed to Florida, similar to blue plaques found in the United Kingdom. A total of 385 persons were so honored. The historians on the Great Floridians 2000 Committee approved or rejected applications, which included a section for specifying an appropriate historical property on which the marker would be mounted.
In 2007, the legislature resurrected, revised, and formalized the program in a Florida statute: [3]
267.0731 Great Floridians Program.--The division (Florida Department of State) shall establish and administer a program, to be entitled the Great Floridians Program, which shall be designed to recognize and record the achievements of Floridians, living and deceased, who have made major contributions to the progress and welfare of this state. [3]
Under the Statute, each year at least two people who have had an outstanding impact on Florida are nominated by an ad hoc committee of representatives of the Governor, each member of the Florida Cabinet, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Director of the Division of Historical Resources. Subsequently, the Secretary of State chooses among them. [3]
Ten persons named in the new program were previously included in the Great Floridian 2000 program: Mary McLeod Bethune, Lawton M. Chiles, Henry Morrison Flagler, John Gorrie, Ben Hill Griffin, Jr., Spessard Holland, Zora Neale Hurston, May Mann Jennings, Dick Pope, Sr. and James Van Fleet.
As of 2013, 89 people had been honored.
On April 12, 2013, Governor Rick Scott presented Tim Tebow with the award at TPC at Sawgrass, just prior to Tebow's charity gala and golf tournament, attended by numerous celebrities and sports figures. Wayne Huizenga was similarly honored but with less fanfare. [4] Less than two weeks later, 21 additional persons were named in a press release on the governor's webpage. [5] Contrary to F.S. 267.0731, "Scott single-handedly chose most of the latest group," [6] according to an article in the Tampa Bay Times. [6]
Harry Wayne Huizenga Sr. was an American businessman. He founded AutoNation and Waste Management Inc., and was the owner or co-owner of Blockbuster Video, the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL), the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL), and the Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Reubin O'Donovan Askew was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 7th U.S. Trade representative from 1979 to 1980 under President Jimmy Carter. He led on tax reform, civil rights, and financial transparency for public officials, maintaining an outstanding reputation for personal integrity.
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Lassie Moore Goodbread was an American farmer and educator who, in 1925, became the first woman to enroll at the University of Florida in the College of Agriculture. In 2000, Goodbread was named a Great Floridian by the State of Florida.
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John Broward Culpepper was a leader in university education in Florida. He was designated a Great Floridan in 2000.
May Mann Jennings was an American activist who was the first lady of Florida from 1901 to 1905. As one of Florida's most powerful and influential women, she was a leader of organizations, both civic and philanthropic, and founder of the League of Women Voters of Florida. Her father, Austin Mann, was a state senator and May Mann worked as his assistant when he ran for and was elected state representative. She became the first lady of Florida as wife of Governor William Sherman Jennings and is credited with having advanced his political career significantly through relationships gained while working for her father and through her many activities.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Florida.
Gun laws in Florida regulate the sale, possession, and use of firearms and ammunition in the state of Florida in the United States.
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Felony disenfranchisement in Florida is currently a contentious political issue in Florida. Though the general principle of felony disenfranchisement is not in dispute, the disenfranchisement of people who had been convicted of a felony and have served their sentence — that includes prison, bail and parole — but continue being barred from voting if they have outstanding fines, fees or restitution obligations is in contention. Prior to January 8, 2019, when Amendment 4 came into effect, people convicted of a felony effectively lost their right to vote for life, as it could only be restored by the governor as an act of clemency, which rarely occurred. Florida was one of four states with a lifetime ban, the others being Iowa, Kentucky and Virginia.