New Florida TaxWatch Board Members for 2000

Six outstanding individuals have been elected as new members to Florida TaxWatch's Board of Trustees for the year 2000. Florida TaxWatch congratulates and welcomes the following new Board members:

Gov. Bobby Brantley, a former member of the Florida House of Representatives served as the first Republican-elected Lieutenant Governor of Florida, as Secretary of the Florida Department of Commerce and the Florida Lottery. Governor Brantley has also been a successful small business owner and currently is a governmental affairs consultant of Shutts & Bowen LLP. Governor Brantley received numerous awards for his work as the chief economic development officer and chief tourism officer of Florida. He was honored by his fellow Lt. Governors by being elected as the Chairman of the National Conference of Lt. Governors. In 1990, he was appointed by President George Bush to advise the President and Congress on the economic and social needs of rural America.

Joseph Kadow has served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Outback Steakhouse, Inc. since 1994. Prior to joining Outback, Mr. Kadow was a partner in the firm of Baker and Hostetler. He is a 1981 graduate of the Dickinson School of Law at Penn State University and received a Bachelor's Degree in accounting from the University of Scranton in 1978. He was admitted to the practice of law in Pennsylvania in 1981 and in Florida in 1983.

Stephen M. Knopik is President of Beall's Inc., a Bradenton-based department store chain. Mr. Knopik is also Vice Chairman of the Florida Retail Federation Board of Directors and has served as Chairperson of the Florida Retail Political Action Committee since 1996. He has also served his community as a member of the Board of Regents of Leadership Florida, and as a member of the advisory Board of his alma Mater, Cardinal Mooney High School.

Doug Smith purchased Sonitrol of Tallahassee in 1987, then used big company ideas to multiply the revenues of this small company five fold in 10 years. His Tallahassee security protection franchise has twice been named the number one dealer in the nation for its category. Mr. Smith has also forayed into other business ventures, including the purchasing of Business Communications Inc. (BCI), a telephone systems company, whose revenues grew by 40 percent in a little over a year. Recently, he added yet another venture, becoming part owner of Sonitrol of Miami. Even with such a busy schedule, Mr. Smith is actively involved in community activities such as Leadership Tallahassee and Leadership Florida.

William Allen Wilson, a native of Texas, is currently Vice President and General Counsel for the Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company. Mr. Wilson formerly was Vice President and General Counsel for Bankers Life of Nebraska and a Senior Vice President of Marketing for California Western State Life Insurance Company. He has been an active member of the communities in which he has lived, serving on the Board of Directors of the Sacramento Red Cross from 1979 to 1984 and as Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Lincoln, Nebraska from 1970 to 1972.

Joanna Wragg is a public relations executive with Wragg and Casas, a public relations firm based in Miami with offices nationwide. She specializes in strategic planning and communications problem-solving. Accredited in Public Relations under the Nationwide Universal Accreditation Board, she counsels executives and implements communications plans for a wide range of business and professional clients. Ms. Wragg is President of the Miami-Dade Public Education Fund and a two-term member of the Board of Governors of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. She co-chairs the Chamber's Education Subcommittee on Workforce Development and chairs the Chamber's Ethics Summit Planning Committee.