West Jax Rotary

Jake Godbold
Former Mayor of Jacksonville

Jake Godbold is an American politician of the Democratic Party. He served as mayor of Jacksonville, Florida from 1978–1987.

Godbold was elected to the Jacksonville city council in 1967 and served until 1979; he was city council president from 1971 to 1978. When mayor Hans Tanzler announced he would be resigning his position to run for governor of Florida in 1978, Godbold was appointed to take his place for the last six months of the term. He was elected in 1979 and re-elected in 1983. During his time as mayor Godbold initiated a number of “brick and mortar” projects to revitalize the city’s failing downtown. He inititated the efforts to secure an NFL team, started the Jacksonville Jazz Festival, initiated the construction of the Jacksonville Landing and the Southbank Riverwalk, and secured funds for public housing that had been taken away by the federal government. His creative use of bond financing meant eight years of capital construction projects by the city.

He has since become involved with local charities, including Hubbard House.

Notes
The meeting was held at the Downtown Public Library.

Marty Sack updated the members on the family of Rotary.

Clayton Riley made a presentation on the “Search for the Silver Cup” The Cup was last awarded in 1995 to the winner of the last Westside Rotary Golf Tournament, but was never returned. Through his exhausting efforts the Cup was recovered, however in poor condition. Clayton has also been contacted about making a new Reality TV show on the Search for the Cup.

Bill Scheu introduced Barbara Gubbin, the Executive Director of the Jacksonville Public Library System. Ms. Gubbin made a presentation on the Mission of the Public Libraries emphasizing literacy concerns in the Jacksonville area. She outlined several programs targeted to reduce the illiteracy rate in Jacksonville.

After her presentation, Members were offered a brief tour of the Downtown Library.

Visiting Rotarians
John Noseworthy — Wilmington, DE

Rotary Guests
Sarah Gibson — Guest of Cecil Gibson
Karen Koster-Burr — Guest of Rob Overly
Marilyn Hyde — Guest of Bob Hyde

Birthdays
Chad Miller — February 26
Preston Keyes — February 27

Next Meeting - March 3, 2010
Speaker: Wyman Duggan, Charter Revision Committee
Greeters: Hugh Blanton and Ron Roberts
Invocation: Peter Michaelis
Pledge: Jerry Mackoul
Four-Way Test: Jeff Morrow

Quick Links:
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Submit “Family of Rotary” information online.

Please review the 2009 - 2010 Duty Roster and mark your calendar with your responsibilities for the upcoming year.