|
Two new Commissioners assume FWC posts
September 12, 2007
Contact: Henry Cabbage (850) 528-1755
Two new Commissioners assumed their posts on the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) today.
During the first day of the FWC’s three-day
meeting at St. Petersburg, new Commissioners Ron Bergeron of Ft.
Lauderdale and Kenneth Wright of Winter Park began their
five-year terms on the seven-member commission. They replace
former Vice Chairman David K. Meehan and former Commissioner H.A.
"Herky” Huffman.
Also, Commissioner Kathy Barco of Jacksonville
began her second term as an FWC Commissioner.
Bergeron, an engineering contractor, is president and owner of
Bergeron Family of Companies, based in Ft. Lauderdale. He was
born on a family vacation in New Orleans Sept. 15, 1943. Even
so, he notes with pride that he is a fourth-generation
Floridian.
Saving the Everglades and protecting wildlife
have been Bergeron’s lifelong passions. He has met with public
officials regularly to help steer priorities for Everglades
projects to stop irreversible damage to the great wetland. For
the past 10 years, Bergeron has worked with the Corps of
Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District with
value engineering and analyzing costs versus benefits of
restoration projects.
"I am sincerely honored to have this opportunity
to serve as a Commissioner and have such an important role in
protecting the resources that have been such a big part of my
life,” Bergeron said. "My grandfather was a game warden in
Florida, and that opened a wealth of life experiences and the
background that drives me to protect our natural resources for
future generations.”
Bergeron is a member of the Broward County
Airboat Association and the Everglades Coordinating Council. In
addition, Bergeron is active in the Boys and Girls Club of
Broward County, Broward Partnership for the Homeless and
Children’s Harbor.
He has six children.
Wright is a partner in the Orlando law firm
Shutts & Bowen, where he has worked since 1989. He holds a juris
doctorate from Cumberland School of Law, a bachelor’s in
political science from the University of South Florida and an
associate’s degree from Orlando Junior College.
He was born July 29, 1948 in Charlotte, N.C.,
but he has lived in Florida since 1962.
Wright is an avid outdoorsman with experience in
all types of hunting and fishing in Florida.
"Having lived almost my entire life in Florida,
hunting and fishing,” Wright said, "I look forward to working
hard to ensure that opportunity to the next generation of
Floridians.”
Wright served eight years as chairman of the
Environmental Regulation Commission. He said that background,
coupled with his sincere motivation to be of service to the FWC,
will enable him to bring a new perspective to the agency. Wright
also served as chairman of the Sanford Aviation Authority and
was a member of the Seminole County Port Authority. Other
service includes past president of the Leukemia Society and
current board membership in the Winter Park Chamber.
Barco, who has served on the FWC since September
2004, is president of Barco-Duval engineering, Inc. in
Jacksonville. She has served as a commissioner on the Atlantic
States Marine Fisheries Commission, which manages recreational
and commercial marine fishing from Maine to Key West, and the
Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve’s
Management Plan Citizens Board. Barco is also a member of Ducks
Unlimited, the Cedar River Club, Safari Club International and
the International Game Fish Association. |
