THURSDAY July 12, 2018
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Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
AN UNEXPECTED JACKSONVILLE TURN
Daily Record
INTO LANDSCAPING Mike Zaffaroni hated his pharmaceutical sales job, so he bought a landscaping company. A decade later, he’s Small Business Leader of the Year.
Freeman
Pittman
New council members to begin work
Daily Record W Daily Record JACKSONVILLE
BY DREW DIXON
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
hen Mike Zaffaroni acquired the landscaping business on North Main Street now known as Liberty Landscape Supply, there was one employee and about $500,000 in annual revenue. For the past decade, Zaffaroni cultivated the business that is projected to bring in about $5 million in annual revenue this year and is a burgeoning employer with 37 workers. The business, previously owned by Ronnie Cannon, was called Fernandina Mulch & Stone and located in Fernandina Beach. Zaffaroni added the location at 13385 N. Main St. about a year ago and recently opened a farm in Hilliard. Zaffaroni, 27 when he bought the business, declined to say how much he paid. However, the business flourished under his ownership. JAX Chamber named him Small Business Leader of the Year this year. He represented the chamber’s North Council. Transitioning into a landscape supply company was a radical move for Zaffaroni, who was a pharmaceutical sales representative until he bought the business. “This (North Main Street) was part of my sales territory,” he said. “I hated my job in pharmaceutical sales.”
SEE ZAFFARONI, PAGE 10
JACKSONVILLE
Terrance Freeman and Ju’Coby Pittman appointed to fill in for officials facing fraud charges. BY DAVID CAWTON STAFF WRITER
Photo by Drew Dixon
When Mike Zaffaroni bought his landscape supply business a decade ago, the company didn’t sell trees. Now trees and other plants account for almost half the business’s revenue.
City Council President Aaron Bowman will install new members Terrance Freeman and Ju’Coby Pittman to represent Districts 8 and 10 Thursday in a ceremony at City Hall. They replace suspended council members Katrina Brown and Reginald Brown. Gov. Rick Scott suspended them from office after they were indicted on federal fraud charges May 31. Freeman, a Republican, takes over for Reginald Brown in District 10. Pittman, a Democrat, will represent District 8 in Katrina Brown’s absence. Bowman said he is happy the appointments were made before council members return to work July 16 after the two-week summer legislative break. “I think first and foremost, I’m glad we’re going to start out this council year with a full slate of 19 members,” he said. “I was worried we weren’t going to be able to pull that off.” Bowman has assigned the new members to two council subcommittees each. Pittman will serve on the Land Use and Zoning Committee and SEE COUNCIL, PAGE 10
THE MATHIS REPORT
Wawa appears to be in works for Spring Park Plus: Global Diamonds rebrands PAGE 6 VOLUME 105, NO. 167 • TWO SECTIONS