PUBLISHER’S | NOTE
@PeterSchorschFL
A tip of the hat to rising stars in Florida’s political universe I believe it was George Bernard Shaw who said youth is wasted on the young. This issue of INFLUENCE Magazine aims to disprove that. Meet the Rising Stars of Florida politics. There are so many of them, we had to abandon the name – “30 Under 30” – we previously titled this feature. I guess that’s what happens when you have a new administration in the Capitol and so many fresh faces in the capital. We received more than 1,000 emails nominating up-and-comers throughout the state to this prestigious list. To be honest, it was a challenge determining who were the cream of the crop. Yet many of the same names kept popping up and were being sent to us from sources in The Process whose judgment we trust. The 2019 class of Rising Stars is involved in every aspect of Florida’s political world. They are fundraisers and lobbyists, PR executives and legislative staffers. Their resumes are extensive, and in 10 years, they’ll be running Florida – if not the world. It’s hard to believe they are only a couple of years removed from the classroom. In fact, a few still are on campus. This is the seventh year we’ve assembled this kind of list and it’s
2 | INFLUENCE SUMMER 2019
kind of cool to see how some of our earliest honorees are now dominating #FlaPol. Bold names like Katie Betta, Kevin Cate, Ryan Duffy, Dane Eagle, Toby Philpot, Tom Piccolo, Chris Sprowls, Skylar Zander, and Christian Ziegler all were recognized – sometimes for the first time in the news media – on our pages. In fact, what’s really cool is seeing some of our past honorees now out on the 2020 presidential campaign trail. See if you recognize some of the names in Scott Powers’ rundown of the Floridians making an impact on the race. Keeping with the spirit of recognizing up-and-coming talent, we asked Rochelle Koff to tell us about who are the rising stars of Florida’s culinary world. And The Process’ craft beer master, Josh Aubuchon of Holland & Knight, shares some of the best new pours throughout the Sunshine State. To contrast all of this, I wanted our reporter Jim Rosica to interview someone in The Process who has, arguably, seen as much as anyone. Who but Arthenia Joyner can fit the bill? The civil rights advocate and former lawmaker shares with our readers some of the best insights we’ve been privileged to share with you. I’m writing this Publisher’s Note while flying home from my family’s
summer vacation. It was probably the best downtime I’ve ever enjoyed. I’m coming home refreshed and recharged – and hopeful for the future so beautifully represented on these pages.
Peter Schorsch Publisher
Peter@FloridaPolitics.com