The
power-packed 2004 GrayRobinson Tallahassee Community “Fly-In” program
scheduled for March 16-17 just got kicked up a few more notches with word just
in from our “Fly-In” Honorary Chairman Sen. Lee Constantine that
Miss America, Orlando and UCF’s own Ericka
Dunlap, will be joining us as a special guest during the “Fly-In.”
And that’s not all who’ll now be participating, as we’ve also learned from Representative
David Simmons that
2006 House Speaker-designate Marco Rubio of Miami who is on the
inside track to become Florida’s first Hispanic Speaker
of the House will also be stopping by for a special “Fly-In” appearance to meet
our region’s business and community leaders. With seats going rapidly,
if you haven’t done so already you’ll want to sign up now for this outstanding
election year Tallahassee “Fly-In” featuring the state’s top political leaders
discussing the leading legislative session issues.
With
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry now all but certain to be the 2004 Democratic presidential
nominee, the March 9th Florida Democratic Presidential Primary
may become a “non-event” in the nominating process. But that will not
keep Brian Williams, the next evening news anchorman at NBC, from joining us as the guest speaker
at a special Chamber Trustees Community Luncheon on Monday,
March 8, held literally in eyesight of I-4 to report on “The Road to the White
House” and the huge importance this fall of our region’s I-4 Corridor
in again determining the eventual winner.
While
the contest for the Democratic presidential nominee may be winding down, Florida’s
hot Republican U.S Senate race was heating up last week with a war of words between frontrunners
former Bush HUD Sec. Mel Martinez and former Congressman Bill McCollum.
The other major GOP candidates, House Speaker Johnnie Byrd
and Sen. Dan Webster, kept their gloves on for now and primarily
tended to their legislative duties in preparation for the upcoming session.
House
Speaker-designate Alan Bense of Panama City, who has become a frequent visitor in our region
to bolster the re-election bids of favored members of the Regional Legislative
Delegation, is expected in town again this week to help kickoff the re-election campaign
of Representative Andy Gardiner (R-Orlando).
Influential
Winter Park Congressman John Mica, Florida’s ‘point man” in Congress for transportation,
will be the
special guest at the March 12th Bellsouth “Insider’s Briefing”
hosted by the BusinessForce Executive Board. Cong.
Mica will be updating us on a number of important congressional issues impacting
our region and is expected to offer some observations on the 2004 campaign
year ahead.
Mike
Ketchum can be reached at 407.835.2464 or mike.ketchum@orlando.org.
