Author: jwb admin

2023 CFO of the Year: Laura Krueger Brock, Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County

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After a decorated 40-year public accounting career, Laura Krueger Brock came out of retirement to work in her current role, which began in April 2020.

Under her leadership, she was able to keep the nonprofit’s doors open and staff employed by deploying emergency funds and working to secure government aid. She also oversaw the implementation of a Workforce Stabilization Program last year, granting funds to 55 nonprofit agencies, with a total annualized investment forecasted at $7.9 million. In fiscal year 2023, these grants are estimated to total $5.8 million.

Outside work, Krueger Brock serves on the Florida State University Department of Accounting’s Professional Advisory Board Executive Committee and has been a guest speaker at the university’s accounting classes.

She is also a member of the Rotary, where she has been an active member, past president, and assistant district governor. She is also the finance chair at St. Jerome Catholic Church, where she recently led the $1.4 million roof capital campaign.

View the article as originally published at https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2023/06/02/laura-krueger-brock-cfo-juvenile-welfare-board.html

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Meet Laura Krueger Brock, a 2023 CFO of the Year honoree

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Laura Krueger Brock is the CFO of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County.

What inspired you to become a finance executive? I had an aptitude for math and business, and this allowed me to pursue a profession that included obtaining my CPA license and working in public accounting for 40 years. 

I was able to utilize my accounting and financial analysis skills serving my government and nonprofit clients — and my community — which ultimately provided me the opportunity to work as the CFO for Juvenile Welfare Board for the past three years. 

What technology, if any, has been introduced in the past few years that has helped the most in your job? The past few years have been a challenge for most organizations, which opened the door for many to work in a remote environment. 

I was semi-retired providing consulting services when the pandemic hit, and was able to come out of retirement to fill the void of CFO at JWB. Technology has been extremely helpful in reviewing and executing volumes of records and documents with the ability to effectively interact with others. 

These tools have enabled me to obtain timely financial information and furnish responses, provide support and supervisory responsibilities within the organization, and stay current with the accounting profession. 

What drives you to succeed? My parents were my mentors and were highly ethical people. 

They raised and educated eight children, worked hard and became successful. They showed me, through their actions and words, that if you have goals, work hard and treat people the way you want to be treated, that success will be yours.

I am a glass-half-full person and strive to be the best I can be, both on a personal and professional level. I have been a lifelong learner and believe that you can take small steps every day to accomplish your goals. Even though there may be adversity in your life, never give up; with faith, you have the strength within yourself to achieve anything.

What is your favorite book? “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen R. Covey

What’s a hidden talent few people know about you? I have a twin sister, and we both were collegiate athletes (volleyball).

If you weren’t a CFO, what would you be? Growing up, I wanted to be a dental hygienist.

What was your first ever paid job? I worked in my dad’s dental office.

What’s your favorite movie of all time? “The Sound of Music”

Read the article as originally published at https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2023/05/24/laura-krueger-brock-cfo-honoree.html

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Hundreds Gathered to Honor Individuals Putting Kids First in Pinellas

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On Friday, April 28th, nearly 600 Pinellas County community leaders and child advocates gathered at the St. Pete Coliseum to celebrate JWB’s annual awards luncheon with a theme of “Imagine.”

Last year, JWB celebrated its 75th anniversary, marking the milestone of our nation’s first independent board enacted to guard the rights and needs of children. And it’s hard to imagine where our county would be today had it not been for courageous leaders and citizens who had the foresight to tax themselves to invest in children’s futures.

JWB packed the room again this year to cheer on our amazing honorees:

  • Our KidsFirst Cooperman-Bogue Winners who work tirelessly to strengthen the lives of children … Summer Kirk with the Pace Center for Girls, Christina Mokhtar Hassan with Suncoast Center, Johnareus Young with Clearwater Parks & Recreation, and Mary Wooding with the Florida Department of Health’s Healthy Families Pinellas program.
  • Our H. Browning Spence Education Award Recipients whose stories of overcoming each earned standing ovations … Gloria Richardson, April Dempsey-Adams, and Joanna Steenberge.
  • And our numerous Nominees for this year’s coveted Dillinger-McCabe “Putting Children First” Leadership Award, named in honor of two long-standing Board Members Bob Dillinger and Bernie McCabe, which was presented to Ray Hensley of the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas. His decades of leadership and dedication to young children and their families is undeniable and unmatched!

Hundreds Gathered to Honor Individuals Putting Kids First in Pinellas

Posted on by jwb admin

On Friday, April 28th, nearly 600 Pinellas County community leaders and child advocates gathered at the St. Pete Coliseum to celebrate JWB’s annual awards luncheon with a theme of “Imagine.”

Last year, JWB celebrated its 75th anniversary, marking the milestone of our nation’s first independent board enacted to guard the rights and needs of children. And it’s hard to imagine where our county would be today had it not been for courageous leaders and citizens who had the foresight to tax themselves to invest in children’s futures.

JWB packed the room again this year to cheer on our amazing honorees:

  • Our KidsFirst Cooperman-Bogue Winners who work tirelessly to strengthen the lives of children … Summer Kirk with the Pace Center for Girls, Christina Mokhtar Hassan with Suncoast Center, Johnareus Young with Clearwater Parks & Recreation, and Mary Wooding with the Florida Department of Health’s Healthy Families Pinellas program.
  • Our H. Browning Spence Education Award Recipients whose stories of overcoming each earned standing ovations … Gloria Richardson, April Dempsey-Adams, and Joanna Steenberge.
  • And our numerous Nominees for this year’s coveted Dillinger-McCabe “Putting Children First” Leadership Award, named in honor of two long-standing Board Members Bob Dillinger and Bernie McCabe, which was presented to Ray Hensley of the Florida Department of Health in Pinellas. His decades of leadership and dedication to young children and their families is undeniable and unmatched!

WHAT: JWB 2023 Kids First Awards Luncheon
WHEN: Friday, April 28, 11:30 AM – 1 PM
WHERE: The Coliseum, 535 4th Avenue North, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
WHO: Nonprofit and Community Leaders, Elected Officials, Child Advocates

Our largest crowd ever with nearly 600 attendees, including current and former JWB Board members, nonprofit CEOs, and other dignitaries. Special guests of honor included Mrs. Denise McCabe and The Honorable Bob Dillinger, retired Pasco-Pinellas Public Defender.

Facebook photo album: https://bit.ly/2023KidsFirstPhotos
YouTube videos at @JWBPinellas: JWB 2023 Kids First Awards Luncheon | April 28, 2023; JWB 2023 KidsFirst Award Winners; JWB 2023 Dillinger-McCabe Putting Children First Leadership Award Intro

Additional photos and videos available upon request; interviews with winners can be arranged.


MEDIA CONTACTS:

April Putzulu | 727.804.6404 | aputzulu@jwbpinellas.org

Jennifer Dodd | 813.767.7895 | jdodd@jwbpinellas.org

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ABOUT JWB:
For 75 years, the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) has been investing in the futures of children to strengthen our community. Governed by an 11-member Board and driven by data, JWB ensures children are ready to learn, ready to succeed, and ready to thrive in homes, schools, and neighborhoods that are healthy and safe. In FY21, JWB and our partners served more than 58,000 children and families through 85 programs with 55 nonprofit agencies. Plus, collective efforts to address childhood hunger, grade-level reading, and preventable child deaths served thousands more. JWB was created by Pinellas County citizens who were the first in the nation to collectively make children a priority. At that time, few alternatives existed for children experiencing trauma or abuse other than adult jail. Three early champions – Attorney Leonard Cooperman, Judge Lincoln Bogue, and St. Petersburg Junior League Founder Mailande Holland Barton – drafted legislation, and on November 5, 1946, Pinellas County voters enacted the Juvenile Welfare Board Special Act into law. It was the first time in U.S. history that such an entity had been created to guard the rights and needs of children. Learn more at www.jwbpinellas.org.

JWB CFO Laura Krueger Brock Named Tampa Bay Business Journal CFO of the Year Honoree

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Twenty financial executives from businesses across the Tampa Bay area have been named honorees for the 2023 CFO of the Year awards.

CFO of the Year awards recognize the top financial executives who help grow their companies and are active in the Tampa Bay economy.

This year’s honorees are presented in alphabetical order in the attached gallery. They represent a range of industries, from sports and nonprofits to transit and higher education.

Nominations began late last year and ended on March 17. Over 100 nominations were received this year. Nominees submitted detailed materials and recommendation letters, and an internal judging team led by the Tampa Bay Business Journal newsroom and publisher evaluated the submissions.

Among the criteria, nominees were asked to describe how their contributions led to continued success for their companies in the past year, with a focus on leadership ability, the impact of their ideas, and initiatives. 

The judging panel asked nominees to provide details on how their efforts strengthened their company’s strategic market position and how they demonstrated excellence and accountability. The judges also explored nominees’ contributions to the community and their volunteer work.

An event will be held on May 31 at 11:30 a.m. at the Hilton Downtown Tampa.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.bizjournals.com/tampabay/news/2023/04/12/revealed-2023-cfo-of-the-year-honorees.html

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Florida Campaign Seeks to Reduce Accidental Infant Deaths

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Accidental suffocation is the leading cause of death for children under one year of age according to the Florida Department of Health. In 2018, the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County, Florida, utilizing data from the medical examiner’s office, found that over one hundred infants had died due to sleep-related suffocation during a period of ten years. The infants were otherwise healthy at the time of death, which led the Juvenile Welfare Board to conclude that these deaths were preventable.

Their realization led to the formation of the “Sleep Baby Safely” campaign, which seeks to educate parents, caregivers, and other citizens about how to prevent accidental infant deaths due to suffocation. According to April Putzulu, a senior Board manager, infant deaths have reduced by half in Pinellas County since the launch of the campaign.

Florida is now expanding the campaign to include eight more Florida counties, including Miami-Dade, with funds being allocated from the Florida Department of Health’s budget to prevent death in children.

How To Keep Infants Safe While Sleeping

The Sleep Baby Safely campaign recommends caregivers follow the “Safe Sleep ABCs”. The acronym helps caregivers to remember the following words: Alone, Back, and Crib.

– Alone: infants should sleep alone.

– Back: infants should always be laid down on their backs with their heads and bellies facing up.

– Crib: infants should sleep in an empty crib, bassinet, or Pack n’ Play

The campaign also recommends adults share a room with a small child, but not a bed. Additionally, an infant’s mattress should be firm to further prevent suffocation. Often adult beds, air mattresses, and sofas are too soft and increase the risk of child suffocation. A caregiver should also set alarms during feeding time to ensure they do not fall asleep with an infant in a chair, sofa, or other location. An infant should always be returned to their crib or bassinet.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.islandernews.com/news/florida/florida-campaign-seeks-to-reduce-accidental-infant-deaths/article_d5ee2a1a-c272-11ed-b643-cbb8146d1482.html

Juvenile Welfare Board Receives Top Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting

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Juvenile Welfare Board Board chair and staff posing with GFOA's top award for Excellence in Financial Reporting: (l to r) Senior Accountant Richard Godfrey, Senior Manager of Accounting Lynn De la Torre, JWB Board Chair Mike Mikurak, and Fiscal Specialist Lilia Pletnev.
Juvenile Welfare Board Receives Top Award for Excellence in Financial Reporting: (l to r) Senior Accountant Richard Godfrey, Senior Manager of Accounting Lynn De la Torre, JWB Board Chair Mike Mikurak, and Fiscal Specialist Lilia Pletnev.

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recently awarded the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County (JWB) with the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Award for the 2021 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.

This is the third year in a row JWB has received the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting.

GFOA established the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program (COA) in 1945 to “…encourage and assist state and local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles to prepare annual comprehensive financial reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure and then to recognize individual governments that succeed in achieving that goal.”

Submission requirements are very detailed—the first award, given in 2021 after nearly nine months of review of the 2019 financial report, required the compilation of 10 years of statistical data. JWB accounting staff poured tremendous effort into this endeavor while completing the day-to-day duties associated with the organization’s annual impact budget of $87.3 million, which strengthened the lives of nearly 60,000 children and families.

“The GFOA award is a testament to the JWB Accounting team’s dedication to organizational transparency and accountability,” said JWB Board Chair Michael Mikurak, while presenting the newest award to staff at the March 9th Board meeting. “Accounting Manager Lynn De la Torre and her accounting team deserve our congratulations for this recognition of their hard work and dedication to excellence!”

Learn more about how JWB has been putting Pinellas County children first for more than 75 years at https://www.jwbpinellas.org/about/

JWB Board Chair Mike Mikurak (left) and JWB Accounting Manager Lynn De la Torre (right) at the March 9, 2023, Board meeting, where it was announced JWB has received the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting, the Government Finance Officers Association’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Award, for the third year in a row.

DeSantis Announces State Board Members Overseeing District for Walt Disney World

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Gov. Ron DeSantis announced appointments to a new state board overseeing the district encompassing Walt Disney World on Monday.

The board includes Martin Garcia, Bridget Ziegler, Brian Aungst, Jr., Mike Sasso and Ron Peri.

“The state of Florida is the new sheriff in town,” DeSantis said. “We’ve created a state control board that is going to be responsible for this area.”

DeSantis signed legislation to remake Disney’s Reedy Creek board in an effort to ensure that the company’s debts are not passed down to local taxpayers. 

The district will now be named the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

The changes strip Disney of its control over the district, ultimately doing away with many of the company’s self-governing powers.

Rep. Fred Hawkins, R-St. Cloud, sponsored the legislation.

The legislation allowed DeSantis to appoint members, who are confirmed by the Senate, to the district’s board.

“These are folks who have a variety of experience that I think all are pertinent,” said DeSantis.

Martin Garcia will serve as chair of the board. Garcia practiced law from 1981 through 1995 and was a partner in two premier law firms. From 1992 through 1998, he owned and operated a successful private equity investment firm. Since then, he has served as chairman of his own family office and chairman of his family charitable foundation that he founded.

Bridget Ziegler is a mother of three and a member of the Sarasota County School Board. She assumed office in 2014 and was subsequently reelected in 2018 and 2022. She is the director of School Board Programs at the Leadership Institute. Prior to joining Leadership Institute, she worked in the risk and insurance industry for 15 years as a Corporate Risk Consultant with two of the largest global risk and insurance brokerage firms.

Brian Aungst, Jr. is an attorney and shareholder at the law firm of Macfarlane Ferguson & McMullen, P.A. in Clearwater. He recently served as the Chairman of the Pinellas County Commission Redistricting
Committee. He is a gubernatorial appointee and past chairman of the Juvenile Welfare Board of
Pinellas County, and a gubernatorial appointee and Past Chairman of the Sixth Judicial Circuit Judicial Nominating Commission.

Mike Sasso is a lawyer and partner at Sasso & Sasso. He has served as the president of the Seminole County Bar Association, president of the Seminole County Legal Aid Society, president of the Seminole County Inns of Court, and as an elected governor for three terms on the Florida Bar Board of Governors, Young Lawyers Division.

Ron Peri is chairman and CEO of The Gathering USA, a ministry that focuses on areas where faith and culture intersect. He has founded, successfully managed, and grown three companies, while also functioning as a consultant to many international and Fortune 500 companies as well as multiple government agencies.

DeSantis said the board will meet in the coming weeks. He asked the board to look at the compensation for the first responders and give them more compensation for doing a good job.

“There’s a board meeting scheduled a week from Wednesday and so they will be in charge during that board meeting. So buckle up, there’s a lot to get done,” said DeSantis.

Read the article as originally published at https://flvoicenews.com/desantis-announces-state-board-members-overseeing-district-for-walt-disney-world/

BREAKING: DeSantis Reveals New Board Members as Disney Loses Control of Reedy Creek District

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Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced new board members who will immediately take control of the 40-square mile Reedy Creek Improvement District – now functioning under a new name, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

The move comes as DeSantis signs legislation passed in a recent special session that removes the Disney-selected board and imposes a state-controlled, term-limited board appointed by the governor.

MEET THE NEW BOARD

Bridget Ziegler, Board Member, Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

Bridget Ziegler, a mother of three, is a member of the Sarasota County School Board. Ziegler was appointed to the school board in 2014 by Governor Rick Scott to fill a vacancy and was subsequently reelected in 2018 and 2022. Ziegler is a strong conservative who believes in limited government, parental rights, transparency, and fiscal responsibility.

In 2015, Ziegler co-founded the Florida Coalition of School Board members which served as a rival to the Florida School Board Association. The board was instrumental in passing numerous pieces of legislation focused on school choice, parental empowerment, and curriculum transparency.

Ziegler helped draft the Parents Bill of Rights with Florida State Representative Erin Grall. The legislation played an instrumental role in Governor DeSantis’ Executive Order prohibiting school districts from imposing mask mandates. Ziegler, who worked closely with Moms For Liberty in its early stages of development says it’s critical that “the proper role of education is restored to protect our children and the future of our country.”

Brian Aungst, Jr., Board Member, Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

Brian Aungst, Jr., is an attorney and shareholder at the law firm of Macfarlane Ferguson & McMullen, P.A. in Clearwater. Aungst recently served as the chairman of the Pinellas County Commission Redistricting Committee and is a gubernatorial appointee and past chairman of the Juvenile Welfare Board of Pinellas County. Aungst currently serves on multiple boards, including Ruth Eckerd Hall, one of the largest performing arts centers in the Tampa Bay region, the YMCA of the Suncoast, and the St. Petersburg College Public Policy Advisory Committee.

Mike Sasso, Board Member, Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

Michael A. Sasso serves as a partner in his law firm and focuses his practice on high-stakes litigation in Florida’s state and federal courts. He has served as the president of the Seminole County Bar Association, president of the Seminole County Legal Aid Society, president of the Seminole County Inns of Court, and as an elected governor for three terms on The Florida Bar Board of Governors, Young Lawyers Division. Michael has also been appointed by the president of The Florida Bar to the Florida Bar Civil Rules Committee. Governor Ron DeSantis appointed Michael to the Judicial Nominating Commission for Florida’s Ninth Judicial Circuit and to Florida’s Public Employee Relations Commission. In 2021 Sasso was elected as chair of the commission.

Martin Garcia, Board Member, Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

Martin Garcia is an attorney and former partner of two law firms. He has owned and operated a private equity firm and served as chairman of his family’s charitable foundation. Garcia previously served as chairman of the Investment Advisory Council for the Florida Pension Fund System, chairman of the Trial Lawyer Section of the Florida Bar, chairman of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nomination Commission and on the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, Board of Governors of the Florida Bar Association and Board of Trustees of Wake Forest University.

Ron Peri, Board Member, Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

Ron Peri is chairman and CEO of The Gathering USA, a ministry that focuses on areas where faith and culture intersect. Peri was founder, chairman, and CEO of Orlando-based airline software company Radixx International from 1993 to 2017. He has founded and managed three companies while also working as a consultant to international corporations and government agencies.

Read the article as originally published at https://www.theflstandard.com/breaking-desantis-reveals-new-board-members-as-disney-loses-control-of-reedy-creek-district-2/