Florida Farm Bureau Honors Senator Charlie Dean and Rep. Trudi Williams as Legislators of the Year

(Daytona Beach, Fla.) – More than 500 participants were treated to a rich menu of grassroots policy making during Florida Farm Bureau’s 2009 Annual Meeting at the Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort. Farm Bureau recognized two state legislators for their support of agriculture and listened to an array of agriculture commissioner candidates who appealed for members’ votes next year.
 
Sen. Charlie Dean and Rep. Trudi Williams received Farm Bureau’s Legislator of the Year awards. Dean, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, has championed a number of priority issues for Farm Bureau members and has served as an all-around champion for the agricultural industry. Williams, chair of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Committee, has been instrumental in the passage of several bills important to farmers and ranchers. Her background as past chair of the Southwest Florida Water Management District governing board qualifies her as an experienced leader in issues involving water, growth management and environmental regulations.
 
Florida Farm Bureau President John Hoblick praised the legislators as leaders “who have diligently worked … for sound legislation that is favorable to agriculture.” He added that Dean and Williams promoted “public policy that will help, not hinder, farmers and ranchers.”
 
In addition to the awards presentation, Farm Bureau held a forum for candidates seeking the state commissioner of agriculture’s post. State Sen. Carey Baker (R) – Lake County, Thad Hamilton (D) – Broward County, Randy Hatch (D) – Suwannee County, Scott Maddox (D) – Leon County, Rick Minton (D) – St. Lucie County and Congressman Adam Putnam (R) – Polk County all addressed the attending crowd and asked for help in the campaign.
 
As a matter of its own policy, Florida Farm Bureau does not endorse candidates for statewide office. The forum allowed members to become better acquainted with each of the speakers and opened the door to further discussions in the future. As a grassroots organization, Farm Bureau encourages active citizen involvement in the election process.

The Florida Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest general-interest agricultural association with about 140,000 member-families statewide. Headquartered in Gainesville, the Federation is an independent, nonprofit agricultural organization. More information about Florida Farm Bureau is available on the organization’s Web site, http://FloridaFarmBureau.org.