Fluent in Floridian

Born in Oklahoma, raised in Alaska, attended high school in Miami and college at Duke: not the path you would expect from the twelfth president of the University of Florida, but Kent Fuchs is far from an ordinary university president. In college, Kent had his sights set on engineering, then business, and eventually the ministry before turning to a life of higher education. In his third year as UF's president, he is reflective of the experiences he has had that led him to the University of Florida.

Even though he grew up in the culturally vibrant 1960's, President Fuchs witnessed minimal culture growing up with no television. Now, as the president of a preeminent research institution, President Fuchs is having to make decisions about free speech and social media.

It isn’t often someone can go from executive assistant to executive director, but since starting with the Florida Police Chiefs Association in 1999, that’s exactly what Amy Mercer has done. As executive director of one of the largest policing association in the country, Amy is on the cutting edge of police technology and technique, but […]

It isn't often someone can go from executive assistant to executive director, but since starting with the Florida Police Chiefs Association in 1999, that's exactly what Amy Mercer has done. As executive director of one of the largest policing association in the country, Amy is on the cutting edge of police technology and technique, but the job has continued to develop new challenges over the nearly two-decades.

Mercer is fluent in Floridian. One of the hardest parts of her job is addressing the negative glare cast on law enforcement by a select few. Mercer says, "I know the type of commitment and dedication that the majority of our law enforcement members have. They're truly individuals that's wanting to make a difference to better their communities and the citizens that they serve better their lives, but I do recognize that unfortunately in all industry there are some bad apples, and law enforcement is no different."

Although she doesn't have personal experience as a member of law enforcement, Mercer does have inspiration for her new career, stating "my great-grandfather on my mother's side, he was in law enforcement. Years ago, he was in Ripley's Believe it or Not, as the longest acting living sheriff in Georgia, where I'm originally from."

Since this episode of Fluent in Floridian was recorded, Ken Lawson was tapped as the Director of Florida’s Department of Economic Opportunity. Bringing with him his Marine background and homegrown Florida story, Ken Lawson has taken VisitFlorida in a bold, refreshing, and transparent direction. Appointed by Governor Scott to right a sinking ship, Lawson has […]

Bringing with him his Marine background and homegrown Florida story, Ken Lawson has taken VisitFlorida in a bold, refreshing, and transparent direction. Appointed by Governor Scott to right a sinking ship, Lawson has been fundamental in revitalizing the state's tourism bureau, however he still has to fight against hurricanes, national and international competition.

Ken is fluent in Floridian. Ken takes advantage of social media to innovate the way tourists are 'sold' on Florida, he informed us, "We have a program called Share A Little Sunshine where people send their video clips of their experience. And when you see it on Facebook, on Instagram. It's like, "No. No one's selling me anything. They're sharing with me." And then I'm going to put myself in the shoes of that person and it's just after the hurricane for a live camera showing that, "Hey, it's 1:10 here in Destin and the sky is clear. The air smells good. Feel the sand underneath your toes." In fact, Facebook told us that after the hurricane our campaign on Facebook was basically the second most popular, successful campaign they had and this is after Visa."

When making decisions on how to market the state, Lawson turned to an unexpected source: the general tourism council of Canada. Lawson learned that greater than marketing any theme park, beach, or fishing hole, is marketing the diversity of experiences in Florida. Lawson describes being able to traverse the west coast of Florida and experience fine dining, nightlife, museums, concerts and more.

As one of Florida State’s three Heisman trophy winner, Charlie Ward left Tallahassee to play professional basketball with the New York knicks as their starting point guard, only to return to the city that saw the birth of his two-sport superstardom as the newest head basketball coach at Florida High. But if you ask him, […]

As one of Florida State's three Heisman trophy winner, Charlie Ward left Tallahassee to play professional basketball with the New York knicks as their starting point guard, only to return to the city that saw the birth of his two-sport superstardom as the newest head basketball coach at Florida High. But if you ask him, it's all about the love of the game. His star-studded journey has brought high, lows, and lots of lessons.

Ward is fluent in Floridian. Winning his Heisman as FSU's quarterback, his life outside of sports holds a deeper meaning, "I want to be known as a giver, whether it's giving back to a high school, giving to a charity, whether financial or time, just want to be a giver." One way he practices giving back is by having his Heisman trophy on display at the Thomasville Public Library for the children of his hometown.

During his time in New York, Ward had the chance to learn under the tutelage of NBA legends such as Derek Harper, Herb Williams, and even Doc Rivers.

A journalist for four-decades at the Tampa Bay Times, Jeff Klinkenberg has the kind of job that most people dream of. His column, Real Florida, began in 1986 and documented the arts, culture, nature and way of life of Floridians. Faced with cave diving, mosquitos, hurricanes and alligators, jeff would still classify the drive from […]

A journalist for four-decades at the Tampa Bay Times, Jeff Klinkenberg has the kind of job that most people dream of. His column, Real Florida, began in 1986 and documented the arts, culture, nature and way of life of Floridians. Faced with cave diving, mosquitos, hurricanes and alligators, jeff would still classify the drive from Tampa to Daytona Beach on I-4 the most dangerous thing in Florida.

Jeff is fluent in Floridian. Jeff got his start in Miami covering the sports beat, but it wasn't ideal, he describes, "so I was covering the Miami Dolphins and I got tired of it. I was looking for a way to write about interesting people. I volunteered to be the outdoors editor. A lot of people thought I was crazy because I was 22 years old. I had the best beat, according to some people, on the whole newspaper. I'm traveling across the country. I'm talking to the Miami Dolphins when they're the world champions. I just found it boring. I wanted to talk to real people who might be a little colorful."

One thing Jeff loathes nowadays is the narrative description of Florida as the 'weird capital' of the world. "I don't think of that as Real Florida," Jeff states plainly, "Real Florida tends to be somewhat timeless."

He has served under Florida Governor Askew and with the New York Yankees, but over the past two-and-a-half decades, Doug Sessions has found the most success as President and CEO of the Ounce of Prevention Fund (preventchildabusefl.org), which works to end child abuse in Florida. His background in government made him an unlikely candidate for […]