Happy Tax Day

No, I won't be one of those people standing in line at the Tallahassee Post Office, waiting in line to get my tax return postmarked today. I took care of that weeks ago. While most American think of today as Tax Day, there is an organization, The Tax Foundation, which calculates, by state, when your earnings for the year become yours.

If you live in Florida, your tax freedom day is April 26. On that day, you've paid your obligations to Federal, state and local governments....the rest is yours to keep!

How generous.

Thank You Veterans

Sawgrass Recreation Park

Our final stop of the day was a drive out the Sawgrass Recreation Park. The Soverns family purchased the park shortly after hurricane Wilma (the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic basin) devastated south Florida in October 2005. The family and staff have methodically rebuilt the park, with a wonderful wildlife area showcasing native creatures. They will soon open an island with a display of the Florida Panther.

The highlight of our visit was a private airboat ride into the Everglades with Captain Charles. As a Florida "cracker”, I though I knew most everything there was to know about the Sunshine State, but our guide full of information about our state’s natural heritage, the native people of the Everglades, wildlife, and the plant and insects would in the “river of grass”.

Though sometimes hidden from the rush of our day-to-day lives, it's comforting to know the "real" Florida is alive & well.

Hyatt Regency Bonaventure Conference Center & Spa

Our next stop was the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure Conference Center & Spa. My last visit to this property was for our 2000 Annual Conference, when it was flagged a Wyndham. Hyatt has invested $100 million in renovations and upgrades…and it shows. The property is all very “Hyatt” and the public areas, meeting rooms, and guest rooms all revealed that “Hyatt touch”.

We met with Carolyn Steele, the conference services Director and Richard Bardons from Southern Audio & Video. Both of them were enthusiastic about our conference and eager to answer questions and address concerns. We left confident that the Conference will be success.

Wannado City

Our first stop was member Wannado City. Located in the Sawgrass Mills in Ft. Lauderdale, Wannado City is the ultimate children’s civics lesson. Wannado City is the re-creation of a working community, with merchants, government services, and various career and recreational opportunities. Children earn and spend play money.

Wannado (think “What do you Wannado when you grow up?”) City is one of the most creative edutainment attractions I’ve ever seen. The staff was perfectly suited to engage the kids in experiencing their “city”. The place is huge…it is the size of 3 football fields. This place is a MUST SEE for families with kids.

Annual Conference Site Inspections

Today, Mike and I drove dwon to Ft. Lauderdale (Weston) to complete site inspections for the Annual Conference.

Take Flight Into The Future

The theme of the 2008 Florida Attractions Annual Conference is "Take Flight Into The Future" symbolizing the future of the Association through the completed strategic plan process and to honor this year's Chairman of the Board Steve Geis from Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex.

Half Over

Today, the Florida Legislature completed the first half of its 60-day session. It has been a painful session, with major reductions in many areas of government services for next year. The debate between raising new revenues (taxes and fees) led by the Democrats and cutting services led by the Republicans rages on.

Bottom line – no one is going to be happy with the results of this session.

New FAA Brochure

An Association Task Force composed of Board Members and Liaisons have been working on developing a new membership recruitment brochure. Florida Suncoast Tourism Promotions has donated design services for the piece. It’s nearing completion and will be premiered at the Annual Conference in May. Here's a sneek peek:

April Fool

Emily - You Go Gurl!

Emily, our almost 16 year-old is quite the bowler. She's been hitting the alleys for several years, and beats me every time we play. She has to remind me that its not about speed, but accuracy. Okay, okay.

Anyway, Emily bowled in a tournament in Richmond today, and did pretty good. Earlier this week, during practice, she was knocking down some 170-180 games consistently.
Her league bowls every Tuesday afternoon.

Here's where my ball usually ends up:

Happy Birthday Lauren!

21 years ago today, my life changed forever, in ways I never could have imagined. Anita and I were blessed with the arrival our first child, our daughter Lauren. She's an amazing young woman, who is committed, focused, and uncompromising. I love her so much.

School Calendar Bill Defeated - Victory for Florida Tourism

During the festivities of yesterday’s Florida Tourism Day, we’ve also been working with our tourism partners and a grass-root parent organization Save our Summers, to defeat an attempt to change the current Florida statute which requires local School Boards to begin school no earlier than 14 days before Labor Day. An email campaign and flyers distributed throughout the Capitol by Florida Tourism Day participants helped set the stage for this afternoon’s vote.

Today, we were successful in keeping the school calendar unchanged, with a 4-1 vote in the Senate Pre K – 12 Education Committee.

Florida Tourism Day - Part 2

It’s been an amazing, and successful Florida Tourism Day. In addition to our Board Members, other attraction members from around the state were in Tallahassee for Tourism Day activities.

We began the day at 8:00 a.m. at Tallahassee City Hall. Our lobbyist, Jim Tillman, presented the FAA’s priority issues for the 2008 session.

At 9:00 a.m., Karen Moore from Moore Consulting Group, VISIT FLORIDA's PR firm, presented an excellent advocacy primer. She offered techniques and strategies on how to effectively present an issue to an elected official.

Next, we moved down the hill to the Leon County Civic Center. At 10:30 a.m. a panel presentation was made on the various issues affecting participating Florida Tourism Day sponsors.

At 11;30, lunch was served. Our guest speaker was Joe Scarborough of MSNBC’s Morning Joe. Scarborough, a former Congressman, shared his views on the current state of politics in America and the campaigns for the White House.

The afternoon was spent making visits to our elected representatives in the Capitol. I was paired with Tom Waits, former CEO of the Florida Hotel Motel Association. We had appointments with several elected officials, making the case for increased funding for VISIT FLORIDA.

The evening reception was at the headquarters of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. The party was catered by culinary students from Tallahassee's Kaiser University. The event was professionally orchestrated by the staff of FRLA and hundreds circulated through the various offices sharing stories of their afternoon visits and enjoying the fine food and drink.

Today is Florida Tourism Day!

Florida Tourism Day is a cooperative effort of the following sponsors: Florida Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus, Florida Association of RV Parks & Campgrounds, Florida Attractions Association, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, and VISIT FLORIDA.