I'm proud of the dedication, creativity and work ethic of VISIT FLORIDA's Partners, leaders, volunteers and staff who have done a tremendous job over the past 10 years of continually seeking better ways to conduct our business. I see this evolutionary spirit continuing to drive our success in the future.

There seems to be, from the last two hurricane seasons, growing concerns out there. We'll have growth, but it may not be as good.

Florida is amazingly resilient compared to other destinations. There is no state, and possibly no country, that is better equipped to deal with these storms.

Florida residents reap many rewards from the $57 billion that visitors spend here annually and the $3.4 billion in tax revenues in 2005 that resulted from their spending.

They've let them define us and that's our mistake.

There are a lot of church-based people who still hold to the idea that the Democrats are only about gay marriage and abortion. But I think people are starting to realize there are other issues out there besides those two. There are issues such as school funding, the price of gas, medical care, health insurance and other areas that involve taking care of people.