About 350 area business and political leaders, friends and family members wondered Monday evening if they surprised former First Coast Manufacturers Association President Lad Daniels at his “Thanksgiving” retirement roast.
Daniels, who arrived at the Omni Hotel ballroom with friends Tom Healy and Mike Hartley, claimed he didn’t know about the evening event.
“This was a complete surprise to me,” Daniels said after three presentations and six roasts, including by Florida Rep. Lake Ray, who succeeded him as president of the manufacturers association.
At least a dozen current and former City Council members attended, including several former Council presidents.
Daniels served two terms on Council, from 1999-2007, including a term as Council president in 2003-04.
Current Council President Stephen Joost read a resolution honoring Daniels “for his decades of outstanding service” to the City and Northeast Florida.
Herschel Vinyard, secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, served as master of ceremonies.
Daniels, who runs Daniels & Associates Inc., isn’t retired, however.
Gov. Rick Scott appointed Daniels in April to a four-year term on the St. Johns River Water Management District. On Nov. 8, the governing board elected him as board chairman for the coming year.
While the roast honored Daniels, speakers also paid tribute to Daniels’ wife, Carol, who died in June 2010. They had been married for 48 years.
Daniels said their move to Jacksonville in 1972 was “the best move we ever made.”
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