West Jax Rotary

John Peyton
Mayor, City of Jacksonville

John Peyton was sworn in as Jacksonville’s Mayor on July 1, 2003, only the second Republican in 100 years to be elected to that office. Now in his second term, Mayor Peyton’s accomplishments include successfully hosting the city’s first-ever Super Bowl, cultivating multi-million-dollar economic development, streamlining government operations and launching a nationally-recognized early literacy program.

Mayor Peyton continues to work with business and community leaders to bring more jobs to Jacksonville. In October 2007, in conjunction with Jacksonville Port Authority officials, the mayor signed an agreement with Hanjin Shipping Co., Ltd. of South Korea to develop a $360 million container terminal in Jacksonville. The operation is expected to generate at least $1 billion in local economic activity, as well as more employment opportunities.

Peyton is also working with more than 300 community partners to establish a blueprint for increasing per capita income in Jacksonville. That program is long-term, but it’s developing in an environment with considerable momentum. Since Jacksonville hosted the Super Bowl in 2005, local business expansion and corporate relocations have yielded more than 7,100 new jobs and nearly $500 million in private capital investment. Another successful initiative is the Small and Emerging Business program, which Mayor Peyton created to help small and minority businesses compete successfully for city contracts.

The mayor’s focus on the future is evidenced by his early literacy program, RALLY Jacksonville! This cutting-edge initiative, aimed at growing the workforce of tomorrow, has reached thousands of 4-year-olds and their families thus far, and has become a model for other cities to follow.

Mayor Peyton’s work in this crucial area earned him the 2005 James Patterson Pageturner Award in recognition of his “notable contributions to promoting books and reading,” and led to Jacksonville’s being named one of the nation’s Best 100 Communities for Young People by America’s Promise, the Alliance for Youth founded by Gen. Colin Powell. Most recently, President George W. Bush appointed Mayor Peyton to serve a six-year term on the board of trustees of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.

Prior to his election, Mayor Peyton, a Jacksonville native, served as vice president of Gate Petroleum Company, one of the largest privately held corporations in Florida. He has been actively involved in community service for many years, serving on the transition team of former Mayor John Delaney and on the boards of a number of civic and charitable organizations. He is a former chairman of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (where he played an integral part in the development and early implementation of The Better Jacksonville Plan), the Jacksonville Symphony Association and Greenscape of Jacksonville.

Mayor Peyton is an alumnus of Mercer University and the Harvard Business School Executive Education Program, as well as a graduate of both Leadership Jacksonville and Leadership Florida. He and his wife, Jacksonville physician Kathryn Pearson Peyton, are members of St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral. They are the proud parents of two sons, John Connor Peyton and Kent Thomas Peyton.

Meeting Notes
Wally Barrs discussed Charity Grant applications and let everyone know that March 31, 2011 is the deadline.

Eric Herman stated that 41 students were working on a Book Project for overseas. They were providing a great effort.

Terry Vereen reminded everyone that this coming weekend, Saturday, March 19, 2011 is River Clean Up.

President Frank Scheu reminded everyone that we are still collecting commitments to raise monies for the St Vincent’s Medical Van. Also, we have a matching donor individual in the club.

Marty Sack spoke on the “Family of Rotary” and as always is a very enlightened individual with his comments.

Jim Overton introduced Adam Hollingsworth, Chief of Staff for Mayor Peyton and a member of Governor Rick Scott’s transition team. Adam worked as a senior advisor on the governor elect’s transition team. His function as chief of staff to the mayor is to help advance the Mayor’s policy agenda and manage the staff. Adam discussed Governor Scott’s nature as being a gentle person, but incredibly decisive in his decision making. Adam also explained that the Governor used $70,000,000 of his own money to run for governor of the State of Florida. He used his own money as he did not wish to be beholding to any one person or particular group due the cost of running for state office. Adam talked about the Governor’s philosophy, the people he brings with him to the office and his personal commitment to work for the people of Florida. The Governor wants to drive three things that will help restore Florida’s employment.

First, Taxation, he wants to reduce taxes.

Second, Regulation, He wants to reduce the amount of state regulations which hinder business expansion which in turn has hurt employment. By reduction the regulations the Governor feels jobs will be created and sustained.

Third, Litigation, the Governor feels that the climate has become a hindrance to business growth and employment. Litigation has a tendency to make operating or hiring people an uncertainty and we need to remove that uncertainty.

The Governor wants to cut corporate taxes from 5 1/2% to 3% and eliminate it entirely by 2014. He wants to cut spending by 3.5 Trillion dollars to help create jobs. As we all know jobs are created by small businesses and we need to make Florida extremely friendly to small businesses. The Governor also wants to establish a National Company to bring jobs to Florida. Each week the Governor is given a list of 5 major companies to call that week so he can sell Florida as a place for their businesses and employees.

Visiting Rotarians:
John Noseworthy — Wilmington, DE
Buck Autrey — Downtown
Ed Witt — Downtown

Rotary Guests:
Brad Goodwin — Guest of Frank Scheu

Next Meeting - March 30, 2011
Speaker: Michael Aubin, President, Wolfson Children’s Hospital

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