October 9, 2007

On Wednesday, October 3rd Associated Industries of Florida held a reception at the Governor’s Club in Tallahassee in honor of its 2007 Champions for Business.  For the last four years, AIF has honored a select number of legislators as Champions for Business.  A Champion for Business is a legislator who takes risks for his or her belief in the free-enterprise system, who defies the status quo when it is harmful to our state’s competitive climate and who faces down the opponents to the growing prosperity of Florida’s citizens.  This year AIF recognized the following legislators as Champions for Business: 

• Representative Trey Traviesa (R-Tampa) – for following through on the promise to open up the cable television market to real competition
• Representative Charlie Dean (R-Inverness) – for thwarting efforts by the trial bar to undermine the repeal of joint & several liability
• Representative Alan Hays (R-Umatilla) – for bringing attention to the dangerous expansion of Citizens Insurance Company
• Representative Rich Glorioso (R-Plant City) – for passing one of the most comprehensive transportation packages in recent history 

At the reception AIF also honored three legislators who were designated as “Legislators of the Year” by AIF’s Information Technology Council (ITC) and Governmental Outsourcing Council (GOC).  Representative Aaron Bean (R-Fernandina Beach) was recognized as “Legislator of the Year” by the GOC for filing HB 495, a bill designed to help human service outsourcing providers interact more efficiently with state government.  Senator Al Lawson (D-Tallahassee) and Representative Will Weatherford (R-Zephyrhills) were both designated as “Legislators of the Year” by AIF’s Information Technology Council for their sponsorship of key legislation that establishes new IT governance structures for state government.

AIF would like to thank the following companies for sponsoring this reception:

American Insurance Association
Anheuser-Busch
AIF Information Technology Council
Embarq
Florida Transportation Builders Association
Verizon
Wal-Mart