Press Releases
For Immediate Release - September 25, 2007:
BRINTON AWARDED FIRST PRIZE FOR CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
JACKSONVILLE, Florida – The Community Foundation in Jacksonville awarded the first Prize for Civic Engagement to Jacksonville attorney William D. Brinton during the Foundation’s annual meeting Tuesday, September 25, 2007.
The Prize for Civic Engagement recognizes and encourages citizens in Northeast Florida who speak out courageously for the common good on matters of civic importance. The prize carries a $10,000 cash award for the recipient.
“We are honored to present this award to Bill Brinton and deeply grateful for his leadership in our community through the years,” said Hon. Harvey Schlesinger, chair of the Foundation’s trustees. “Jacksonville is a better place because of his fine efforts.
Brinton was awarded the prize for his work on a series of voter initiatives.
In 1987, he spearheaded a petition drive to put a strong billboard ban on the ballot for vote by the citizens; it passed by a landslide. In 1990, he organized an initiative that successfully placed a two-term limit on Jacksonville City Council members. And in 2000, he launched yet another petition drive calling for developers to plant, or pay to plant, a tree for every one of a certain size they cut down. It, too, won by a landslide.
The Prize for Civic Engagement is “a radical and grand idea,” said Sherry Magill, president of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, who delivered remarks during the ceremony. “We are so mired in our roles as taxpayers that we forget to think about our roles as citizens…. Bill Brinton is a true citizen hero. He keeps the dream of active citizenship alive.”
The prize recognizes qualities that are not often publicly acclaimed, including:
Thoughtful candor, especially concerning civic matters in which there is little or no public discussion; Attention to longer-term consequences of situations where the focus is principally on short-term considerations; Balanced perspective on matters in which the prevailing views are heavily one-sided; Persistence in communicating facts about a situation where the public discussion is heavily subjective or emotional; Courage in advancing actions that enhance the public good, especially when those actions are unpopular
Brinton has served as president of both Leadership Jacksonville, Inc. and Jacksonville Community Council, Inc. He serves on the board of directors of Scenic America, Inc., based in Washington, D.C., and is the present and past chair of Scenic America’s Billboard Control Committee. He is the co-founder of Citizens for a Scenic Florida, Inc. and Scenic Jacksonville, Inc. He served as chairman of the Jacksonville Landscape Commission. In 2005, Brinton received Jacksonville Community Council, Inc.'s first Milestone Award for Citizen Advocacy in recognition of his efforts over the past three decades.
He is a graduate of the University of Virginia and received his law degree from the University of Florida.
The Prize for Civic Engagement is awarded solely at the discretion of the selection committee, which is anonymous. The donor who created the prize also has requested anonymity.
The Community Foundation in Jacksonville, Florida’s oldest community foundation, works to stimulate philanthropy to build a better community. It has assets of $125 million and has made grants in excess of $118 million since 1964.
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CONTACT:
Nina M. Waters, President
The Community Foundation
nwaters@jaxcf.org
Mary Kress Littlepage
KBT & Associates
mekl@comcast.net
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