While we may have had our eye on a variety of other election races on November 6th, one of our own was running strong in his own race… JC Deriso, graduate of Class X and managing member of A+ Environmental Restoration, LLC, stepped up to serve his community by running for County Commissioner of District...Continue Reading

Kiley Harper-Larsen, Class X, was recently appointed to represent Florida on USDA’s Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee. Kiley owns and operates “The Ag Safety Lady”, a safety consulting business in south Florida. Also joining Kiley on the committee as representatives of Florida is Richard “Dick” Bowman of JJ Family of Farms. We are so excited...Continue Reading

On the evening of October 5, 2018, the UF/IFAS Dinner of Distinction recognized J.J. Grow, Class V, with the UF IFAS CALS Award of Distinction. J.J. is pictured here with Dr. Elaine Turner. J.J. is the CEO and founder of Verdesian Life Sciences, an agribusiness focused on sustainable farming practices. Read the blog post from UF/IFAS honoring J.J.’s...Continue Reading

Many Wedgworth alumni attended the annual WLI Gathering on October 4th at the Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA) Landscape Show held at the Orlando Convention Center. FDACS Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam attended the Reception as a special guest speaker. We owe several thanks to Linda Adams, Class IV, for organizing this annual gathering...Continue Reading

Several Wedgworth alumni attending the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association annual Convention also attended the annual Wedgworth FFVA Reception. We are grateful to Lisa Lochridge, Class VII, for organizing this annual event for our alumni every year!Continue Reading

On the Friday after Hurricane Michael left its mark on the Florida Panhandle, JC Deriso (Class X) texted Dr. Hannah Carter with news that he had a trailer of food and water and wanted to know if she knew who needed it most.  Dr. Carter immediately reached out to Sherrie Miller, our friend in Wakulla County (who...Continue Reading

In this wedgworthy podcast, Class IX graduate Brittany H. Lee shares her reasons for pursuing leadership roles after graduating from the Wedgworth Leadership Institute, discusses her style of leadership, talks memories from Class IX, and gives valuable pieces of advice to Class X graduates and anyone else wondering if you really can “do it all.” I had...Continue Reading

FLORIDA TREND recently published the “FLORIDA 500” list of the state’s most influential business leaders. Among the 500 were four prominent Wedgworth Leadership Institute alumni members, including Michael Basore (Class X), Eric Hopkins (Class V), Keith Wedgworth (Class VII), and Tracy Duda Chapman (Class IV). Below are the full excerpts from the magazine. We are...Continue Reading

On September 25th, 2018, the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association (FFVA) announced the new FFVA president at their annual convention in Naples, Florida. The new FFVA President happens to be Mike Joyner, Wedgworth Leadership Institute graduate of Class I. He will succeed Mike Stuart who was recently announced as a 2019 inductee into Florida’s Ag...Continue Reading