Staff Writer
Between wandering visitors and people with a purpose, the State Capitol is visited by thousands each session. Quite a few of them stumble across or seek out Don Hardy in the process.
A fixture on the first floor of the Capitol building, Hardy has manned the Capitol Welcome Center for 20 years, providing help to visitors making their way to see their legislators or find a committee room. Sometimes he simply points them in the right direction.
When he’s not providing help, he’s enjoying his vantage point.
“I’ve got the best seat in the house,” said Hardy, who took the position after retiring from the airline industry. “You get to people watch and see all the comings and goings.”
While he does have some time to soak it all in, he usually stays busy. Last session, Hardy and the kiosk saw 8,600 people in March, another 9,300 in April and ended with 5,100 in May. In addition, there’s plenty of reading material, 10 million to 12 million pieces throughout the center, and he provides for a little extra take-home information.
“We definitely stay busy around here,” he said, “but it’s a fun job.”
Questions of the “Who is ...?” and “Where is ...?” variety are common, but there are some different inquiries. People try to pay their electric bill at the kiosk (City Hall is next door), and others are looking for U.S. Congress members or U.S. Senators who aren’t located in the building.
But the strangest occurrence in his time, he said, was the chaos that broke out in 1991 when Marshall Ledbetter, then a Florida State University student, broke into the building and sent a list of demands from the office of Wayne Todd, then-Sergeant at Arms.
“It’s quite the story around here,” he said.
The masses who came with the 2000 presidential election and the physical alterations of the building have been other highlights of his time in the Capitol. Hardy helps organize tours for visiting groups and meets interesting people every day, he said, including the legislators.
“I’ve met many of them,” he said. “I even help the new ones who have questions.”
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