Local author presented Distinguished Author Award
Sanibel Island resident Randy Wayne White, a former island fishing guide, now a New York Times bestselling novelist, was presented the 2015 Distinguished Author Award last week in Washington, D.C., during a ceremony hosted by board members of Florida House On Capitol Hill.
Florida House is a non-partisan facility, and the only state embassy in Wash-ington, D.C. Since 1973, the beautifully restored 1891 Victorian house, across the street from the U.S. Supreme Court, has welcomed visiting Floridians, students, dignitaries, elected officials and those doing business in the nation’s capital.
Annually, the board’s Education Committee nominates a writer and artist to receive the Florida House Distinguished Author and the Florida House Distin-guished Artist award.
For authors, the Committee examines the nominees’ published work of fiction or non-fiction, and determines who best represents the diverse culture and history of the Sunshine State.
“It’s a great honor,” White said after the ceremony, “to join the ranks of others who have won this award; greats such as Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, Clyde Butcher, Guy Harvey — very humbling, in fact, for a guy who fished for a living, and is still a two-fingered typist. I think the stand I took against tarpon snagging in Boca Grande Pass might have won the hearts of some of the board members.
“A year or so ago, I was presented a similar award by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commis-sion, which I accepted on behalf of my business partners, because their support was key. They took a sizeable financial risk to do what was right to protect a great game fish, rather than play it safe by remaining neutral on the issue.”
White owns the Doc Ford trademark and franchise, and, with restaurant owners Marty Harrity and Mark Marinello, is co-founder of Doc Ford’s Rum Bars and Grilles.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Com-mission presented White with a plaque of “Special Recognition,” prior to a public hearing where FWC board members voted unanimously to ban so-called “jig fishing.”
White, in his novels, and through a series of editorials, had exposed the technique as an old poacher’s trick to intentionally snag fish.
Jacksonville native C. Ford Riley, who critics have referred to as the “Southern Winslow Homer,” accepted the Florida House 2015 Distinguished Artist Award during the ceremony after an elegant dinner hosted in the Dirksen Senate Room.
The function was attended by luminaries that included members of the U.S. Senate and House, foreign ambassadors and Mrs. Ann Scott, wife of governor Rick Scott. After dinner, Sanibel singer/songwriter Wendy Webb performed, and received a standing ovation after her song, “Florida.”
Florida House is not owned by the State of Florida, but rather by the people of the state through a nonprofit foundation.
The foundation is managed by a Board of Trustees representing a cross section of business, cultural, and philanthropic leaders of Florida.
No state or federal tax dollars support the house or its operations.
“I urge all Floridians to visit when they’re in D.C.,” White said. “The house is beautiful, friendly and historic — like Florida itself.”