Great Floridian is a title bestowed on citizens of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

by the

Florida Department of State The secretary of state of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 Constitution of Florida, state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, th ...

. 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), the new program is more restrictive by selecting persons, ''dead or alive, who made "major contributions to the progress and welfare" of Florida''.

Great Floridians 2000

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 plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

s found in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. 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.

Great Floridians Program

In 2007, the legislature resurrected, revised, and formalized the program. It has been codified in the ''

Florida Statutes The ''Florida Statutes'' are the codified, statutory laws of Florida; it currently has 49 titles. A chapter in the Florida Statutes represents all relevant statutory laws on a particular subject. The statutes are the selected reproduction of the p ...

'':

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.

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. Ten persons named in the new program were previously included in the ''Great Floridian 2000'' program:

Mary McLeod Bethune Mary McLeod Bethune (; July 10, 1875 – May 18, 1955) was an American educator, Philanthropy, philanthropist, Humanitarianism, humanitarian, Womanism, womanist, and civil rights activist. Bethune founded the National Council of Negro Women in ...

Lawton M. Chiles Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician and military officer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from Florida from 1971 to 1989 and as the 41st governor o ...

Henry Morrison Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder ...

John Gorrie John B. Gorrie (October 3, 1803 – June 29, 1855) was a Nevisian-born American physician and scientist, credited as the inventor of mechanical refrigeration. Born on the Island of Nevis in the Leeward Islands of the West Indies to Scottish ...

, Ben Hill Griffin, Jr.,

Spessard Holland Spessard Lindsey Holland (July 10, 1892 – November 6, 1971) was an American lawyer and politician. A Southern Democrat, he served as the 28th List of Governors of Florida, governor of Florida from 1941 to 1945, and as a US senator, U.S. senato ...

Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American writer, anthropologist, folklorist, and documentary filmmaker. She portrayed racial struggles in the early-20th-century American South and published research on Hoodoo ...

, May Mann Jennings, Dick Pope, Sr. and

James Van Fleet General (United States), General James Alward Van Fleet (19 March 1892 – 23 September 1992) was a United States Army officer who served during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised i ...

. As of 2013, 89 people had been honored.

Scott actions

On April 12, 2013, Governor Rick Scott presented

Tim Tebow Timothy Richard Tebow (; born August 14, 1987) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. Tebow played college football for t ...

with the award at

TPC at Sawgrass The Tournament Players Club Sawgrass (TPC Sawgrass) is a golf course in the southeastern United States, located in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, southeast of Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville. The course opened in the autumn of 1980 and was the ...

, just prior to Tebow's charity gala and golf tournament, attended by numerous celebrities and sports figures.

Wayne Huizenga Harry Wayne Huizenga Sr. (; December 29, 1937 – March 22, 2018) 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 ...

was similarly honored but with less fanfare. Less than two weeks later, 21 additional persons were named in a press release on the governor's webpage. Contrary to F.S. 267.0731, "Scott single-handedly chose most of the latest group," according to ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', called the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It is published by the Times Publishing Company, which is owned by The Poynter Institute ...

''.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Florida Division of Historical Resources: Great Floridians 2000 Program

Great Floridian Program
Government of Florida 1998 establishments in Florida Honorary titles of the United States State awards and decorations of the United States

Great Floridians 2000

Great Floridians Program

Scott actions

See also

References

External links