Sunshine Matters

I am pleased to announce that the Florida Seafood Celebration, held at Florida House on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 17, was a huge success with more than 200 legislators, staffers and seafood enthusiasts in attendance.  Senator Bill Nelson and Senator-elect Marco Rubio were two members of Florida’s congressional delegation who joined the festivities and addressed the crowd in support of Florida’s tourism and seafood industries. 

The event showcased fresh Florida seafood and featured three top chefs from Florida, who prepared their signature creations on site.  Chef Jim Shirley of the Fish House in Pensacola prepared his Grits a Ya Ya; Chef Josh Butler, Executive Chef for Florida’s Governor’s Mansion prepared Dog Island Grouper Sliders; and Chef Dean Max of 3030 Ocean and the winner of the Great American Seafood Cook-off prepared his award winning Sebastian Inlet Clams BBLT. In addition to thanking these three distinguished celebrity chefs who gave of their time and talents, I would like to acknowledge the incredible support VISIT FLORIDA received for the Seafood Celebration from our partners at Florida House, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Department of Citrus.

In addition to inviting our congressional delegation, we also invited premier media outlets to cover the event.  As a result, a myriad of TV stations posted our news release about the event which was picked up by multiple news outlets.  More than 72 million web visitors were exposed to the release and we received coverage in the Washington Times, Yahoo!, the Miami Herald, World News Washington and AOL.com.

We all know that the tourism and seafood industries are crucial to Florida’s economy, and that both have faced significant challenges in the wake of the Gulf oil spill.   This event was VISIT FLORIDA’s opportunity to show Congress and the nation that Florida’s seafood is as wonderful and plentiful as ever by giving them a chance to taste for themselves.  It was an incredible evening with a terrific turnout and I challenged all who attended to help us continue to spread the word to the world that Florida’s beaches and seafood are ready to be enjoyed.