Congratulations to Randy Berridge and the FHTCC

Although the awards noted below are for much more than just photonics, I thought you would like to see the news about the Florida High Tech Corridor Council (FHTCC) award from the IEDC and also the award to Randy Berridge, president of the FHTCC, for your publication and news. Randy Berridge has led the FHTCC almost since its founding, and MJ Soileau, Founding Director of CREOL and now UCF's VP for Research, was a prime mover in establishment of the corridor. Randy and the FHTCC have been strong and effective supporters of the Florida photonics community -- education, research, and industry -- for many years. I think the FHTCC is an excellent model for any region/state that wants to build the high-tech economic and educational infrastructure of their regions. You can see more on the FHTCC website: http://www.floridahightech.com/

Jim Pearson
FPC Executive Director

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Dear Core Team members,

It has been a very busy and proud week for the Florida High Tech Corridor Council. Last Friday the Seminole County Regional Chamber of Commerce conferred its Lifetime Achievement Award on Randy Berridge, and since he would no doubt fail to share the nice things that have been said about him, we have attached not only a copy of the Chamber’s news release but also you may want to take a quick look at Roger Pynn’s blog post (http://thestrategicfirm.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/well-deserved-attention/) because there is a link embedded to the video tribute to Randy that was produced for the luncheon. Dr. Hitt – himself a past recipient of the award – represented all of us on the Corridor team in both teasing and honoring Randy.

And tonight in Reno, NV, Randy will accept on the Corridor Council’s behalf the first-ever award from the International Economic Development Council in a category of its awards program designed to single out economic development partnerships with educational institutions. Calling the FHTCC “an exceptional educational institution partnership,” IEDC Chair Ian Bromley said the FHTCC was “a clear standout” for the award.
Congratulations to everyone on the FHTCC team. As Randy would say, “it is all about you.”

Best regards,

Kerry Martin

Kerry Martin Communications SpecialistCurley & Pynn TheStrategicFirm.com Taking Aim - blog