From the Desk

of the Executive Director

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FHPC Access Initiative Diversity Summit

You should have received multiple contacts from us about the forthcoming Diversity Summit. The material gives you a pretty good idea of what to expect in terms of the speakers and facilitators. This may sound odd, but let me tell you what the summit is not. It is not an event where a group of “talking heads” or self-appointed experts are going to tell you how it’s done. I wish it were that simple. Rather, it will be an opportunity for some folks, who have the requisite experience and qualifications -- to frame the issues from a variety of paradigms and to “put the ball into play,” so to speak. The idea is for the facilitators to help us share what we know and have learned. The goal is for every hospice program in Florida to better understand our diverse communities, and to learn how to reach into those potentially underserved areas and meet their needs. If you have successful diversity programs, we really need you to attend and participate. No one person or program has all of the answers, but collectively, we can share what we’ve learned and help everyone to run more successful diversity outreach programs. It’s like a group effort to paint a mural. Without everyone there to share their successes and expertise, we may well be left with blank spots on the mural.

100 Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future

Members of the Florida House of Representatives, led primarily by Rep. Marco Rubio (R) of Miami and his leadership team, are in the process of developing “a bold vision for the future of Florida.” Rubio is the Speaker-Designate of the Florida House of Representatives, and will serve as Speaker from November 2006 through November 2008. This bold vision will be outlined in a book entitled “100 Innovative Ideas for Florida’s Future,” that will be published during the Fall of 2006. These 100 Innovative Ideas will come from you, the people of Florida, through “idearaisers” (town hall-style public meetings with lawmakers) or by logging on to their website -- http://www.100ideas.org/. To find an “idearaiser” occurring near you, look at the calendar on the website. To submit an idea via the website, simply register as a user of the system, and brainstorm away. You can submit ideas about any topic you want. Readers can vote on how good they think your idea is, and can also post comments. Each week an “idea of the week” is selected and posted prominently on the home page. So, if you have some good ideas, serve them up and see what happens! You may end up in Rubio’s book. Please note that the 100ideas website is sponsored by the Republican Party of Florida, but there is absolutely no ideological screening that takes place. From what I can tell, the ideas, comments, and votes look pretty balanced.

Paul A. Ledford

Executive Director