Daily Record Financial News &
Monday, May 9, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 126 • Two Sections
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Call that ‘changed my life forever’ Eckley appointed County Court judge
By Max Marbut Staff Writer
Fourth Circuit Judge Gary Wilkinson comes from a family of medical professionals spanning five generations.
Not giving up even when it got tough Fourth Circuit Judge Gary Wilkinson is a bit of an outcast in his family. The lone attorney surrounded by five generations of doctors and nurses. His father was founding medical director at Nemours Children’s Clinic. His grandfather and great-grandfather were doctors. His brother, younger sister and her husband are doctors, as is his brother’s son. And his wife and daughter are nurses. Then there’s Wilkinson. A shark among saviors. He’s put up with lawyer jokes for
years. A lot of them. But, family members soon realized the benefit of having a lawyer around: being able to ask legal questions. “Which they do,” Wilkinson said, with a laugh. The roots to his career began to spread at Wolfson High School, where he was a member of the debate team and student government. Wanting to be a judge dates back to Wilkinson’s time in the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He began applying for judgeships in 2011, after more than 20 years in private practice. His name was advanced several times by the 4th Circuit Judicial Nominating Wilkinson
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The judge and his family are big University of Florida football fans.
Photos by Fran Ruchalski
Wilkinson bucked trend to be lawyer
By Marilyn Young Editor
A plan that went into motion more than 15 years ago came to fruition at 9:39 a.m. April 27. That’s when Kelly Eckley, chief assistant statewide prosecutor for the Attorney General’s Office, noticed an incoming call on her cellphone. She immediately recognized the number on the caller ID and pushed “accept.” After Gov. Rick Scott identified himself, he asked Eckley how she was doing. “I think you’re about to let me know,” she replied. Scott was calling to advise Eckley he was appointing her to the Duval County Court to replace retired Judge Charles Cofer. “That phone call changed my life forever,” said Eck- Eckley ley. A graduate of Florida State University and the University of Dayton School of Law, Eckley, 39, was admitted to The Florida Bar in September 2001. She first worked as an assistant state attorney in the 11th Judicial Circuit. After four years, she went into private practice with Lieber, Gonzalez & Portuondo in Miami and later was legal counsel for an insurance company. In 2007, she went back to work for the state as an assistant statewide prosecutor in the Attorney General’s Office. After three months in Miami, Eckley was transferred to Jacksonville. She was appointed chief assistant statewide prosecutor in 2014. The mix of criminal, civil, private and government practice was by design. “Everything I’ve done in my career Eckley
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Rayonier AM finally delivers good news
Boynton
Public
Rayonier Advanced Materials Inc. has been consistently disappointing shareholders since it split up with Rayonier Inc. two years ago, but a much stronger than expected first-quarter earnings report brought a dose of good cheer last week. Rayonier AM’s stock jumped $3.54 to $13.73 Tuesday, a 34.7 percent increase that was by far the biggest gain on the New York Stock Exchange that day. The adjusted earnings of 36 cents a share were not only higher than the 2015 first-quarter earnings of 25 cents, but they were well above analysts’ forecasts that ranged from 5 cents to 25 cents,
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according to Thomson Financial. “We got a solid first quarter and we made a lot of progress on our two key strategic initiatives: first, reducing cost, which is part of our broader transformation initiative, and second, driving innovation. These initiatives will enhance our long-term competitive position,” CEO Paul Boynton said in the company’s conference call with analysts.
Sales fell 2 percent to $218 million, as the market for Jacksonville-based Rayonier AM’s cellulose specialties products continues to be weak. However, he said the company is expecting to cut expenses by $40 million this year. “Additionally, lower raw material input and transportation costs provided a moderate tailwind to our quarter,” he said. Because of that, Rayonier AM raised its forecast for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization this year by $10 million to $185 million to $200 million. “Overall, it looks like the com-
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pany is continuing to make significant progress on its transformation initiative, and if the cost controls demonstrated are sustainable (as we have modeled), the company should be able to offset a larger portion of the headwinds from the general cellulose specialties market than we had previously expected,” D.A. Davidson analyst Steven Chercover said in a research note. “While shares of Rayonier AM surged on their first-quarter earnings report, there is still significant upside to our $17.50 price target, and we reiterate our ‘buy’ rating,” he said. Basch continued on Page A-11
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