MAITLAND, Fla. – The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association has named Florida Sen. Ben Albritton and Rep. Bobby Payne as its Legislators of the Year for 2019. The two were honored at FFVA’s 76th annual convention in Palm Beach.
Albritton (R-Wauchula), a citrus grower, devoted significant efforts to securing funding for the
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the University of Florida’s Institute for Food and
Agricultural Sciences during the legislative session. He was involved in the passage of the hemp bill (SB 1020) and helped to prevent bills that would have been harmful to agriculture from passing.
Payne (R-Palatka) sponsored HB 973, the House version of a water quality bill that included many of the goals of Together Florida, a coalition of agriculture organizations and companies working toward solutions to harmful algae blooms in waterways.
“Both Sen. Albritton and Rep. Payne have a record of being supportive of grower issues,” said FFVA
President Mike Joyner. “We look forward to working with both of these legislators in the future.”
Past recipients of the Legislator of the Year Award include Sens. Holly Raschein, David Simmons, Travis
Hutson, Kelly Stargel, Denise Grimsley, Wilton Simpson, Alan Hays, Anitere Flores, Durell Peaden Jr.,
Charlie Dean, Cary Baker, Mike Bennett, Jeff Atwater, Nancy Argenziano and Bill Posey; and Reps. Jim Boyd, Tom Goodson, Jake Raburn, Matt Caldwell, Ben Albritton, Seth McKeel, Steve Crisafulli, Trudi Williams, Denise Grimsley, Baxter Troutman, Dean Cannon, Dudley J. Goodlette and Marty Bowen.
The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association is a full-service organization serving Florida’s grower-shipper community for 75 years. FFVA represents a broad range of crops: vegetables, citrus, tropical fruit, berries, sod, sugar cane, tree crops and more. Its mission is to enhance the business and competitive environment for producing and marketing fruits, vegetables and other crops. Follow FFVA on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
