Ben Hill Griffin, Jr., started out in the citrus business with a 10-acre grove given to him by his father and subsequently built one of the largest agricultural enterprises in Florida. He has made major financial contributions to citrus research and education work conducted by the University of Florida and served in leadership positions on many committees and boards directly associated with Florida's citrus and cattle industries. As a member of the Florida Legislature for more than a decade--serving in both the House and Senate--Griffin introduced and pushed through many measures important to Florida's citrus and cattle industries.
Anthony T. Rossi is the founder of Tropicana Products, one of the world's largest producers and marketers of orange juice. Rossi, who had the equivalent of a high school education in Sicily, came to America at the age of 21 and educated himself to the point that he became an expert mathematician and mechanical engineer. His many inventions and ideas helped spur the growth of Florida's giant citrus industry. Among his inventions was the process to aseptically pack pure chilled juice in glass bottles, allowing it to be shipped and stored without refrigeration. He also devised a method of freezing pure whole citrus juice in 20-gallon blocks for storage in cold warehouses, and was a pioneer in the sales of Florida citrus juices in the nation's schools.
J.O. Pearce, Jr., an Okeechobee native, has been a long-time leader in the development of programs to control and eradicate cattle disease and pests in Florida. As president of the Florida Cattlemen's Association in the late 1950s, he lobbied Congress and the Florida Legislature for the appropriation of funds aimed at eradicating the deadly screwworm in Florida and the Southeast. Largely as a result of his efforts, this cattle pest was eradicated. Pearce headed the U.S Livestock and Health Technical Committee that negotiated the federal and state policies for the brucellosis eradication program in Florida. In 1984-85 he was president of the United States Animal Health Association, which is dedicated to the elimination of animal disease.
James S. Wershow was a professor of law and agricultural law at the University of Florida and provided numerous state government agencies with counsel on agricultural law. He owned and managed a successful beef breeding farm. Wershow was a principal author of the Florida "Greenbelt Law" which provides for agricultural use assessment of Florida farmland for tax purposes, rather than assessment based on development or speculative values. He also served as an advisor to the Florida House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture and served as counsel to the Florida Senate Committee on Ways and Means and Finance and Taxation, taught at the University of Florida from 1970 to 1985.
