The Florida Keys represent less than 0.004% of the land area in the United States. But on March 27-29, unique challenges facing the island chain had a national audience as 10 members of Leadership Monroe County (LMC) Class XXX – “Leaders Gone Wild” – flew to the nation’s capital on a nonpartisan advocacy mission.
Representing Class XXX were real estate agent Lauren Hoefert Dunn, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Superintendent Sarah Fangman, First Horizon Bank Market President Dwight Hill, Monroe County Project Management Director Cary Knight, Assistant County Attorney Christine Limbert-Barrows, Florida Keys Brewing owner Craig McBay, Hemingway Home and Museum Director Andrew Morawski, Marathon Weekly Editor Alex Rickert, First State Bank residential lending Vice President Chris Rivett and Monroe County Solid Waste Management Director Cheryl Sullivan. The delegation was joined by County Administrator Roman Gastesi and virtually by United Way Keys Area President Leah Stockton.
Tasked, as is every group graduating from the LMC program, with developing a year-end class project, Class XXX identified a need and opportunity for members of Florida’s congressional delegation to be reminded of critical issues in the island chain as they work to pass legislation during the spring 2023 sessions of the U.S. House and Senate.
Inspired by the example set by LMC Class XVII’s Florida Keys Days in Tallahassee, now a hallmark event for elected officials and government staff throughout the islands, Class XXX hopes the inaugural trip will serve as the opening chapter for expanding yearly advocacy visits well into the future.
“It’s not often that our legislators are approached in person by such a diverse group of community leaders from their home states, without a devoted special interest agenda, during their time on Capitol Hill,” said Knight. “Providing firsthand, honest accounts of our daily realities impacted by legislation in the hands of these representatives can be a powerful tool that we hope can serve our islands well into the future.”
The contingent’s perseverance found a welcoming audience in D.C., where class members secured meetings with five members of Florida’s Congressional delegation, including U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and U.S. Reps. Carlos Gimenez, Jared Moskowitz, John Rutherford and Mario Diaz-Balart. The class also attended the opening of a photography exhibition showcasing the Florida Wildlife Corridor, where they had the pleasure of conversing with U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor and Darren Soto at the Florida House, the only established state embassy on Capitol Hill.
U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez discusses his role on the Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party. Photos by Alex Rickert, Cary Knight and Brianna Dapuzzo 
Stops on a tour of the Capitol included the old Supreme Court chamber used from 1810 to 1860. 
Hemingway Home and Museum director Andrew Morawski takes in the halls of the Library of Congress. 
‘Tastes like freedom’: Key lime cookies from Sweet Savannah’s of the Florida Keys made the trip to the capital as thank-you gifts for those who took the time to meet with Class XXX – with a few left over to enjoy after two packed days of meetings. 
Billed from the start as a nonpartisan mission with a focus on education and advocacy while avoiding direct lobbying, the trip’s priority topics with Congressional delegates included Everglades and coral reef restoration and protection; necessary upgrades to bridges, pipelines and other related infrastructure; and addressing the Keys’ status as ground zero for sea level rise. With roughly half of Class XXX making the trip to D.C., the remaining class members tackled similar issues in advocacy letters addressed to the same delegates.
The group also secured a heavily-staffed meeting with more than a dozen representatives from FEMA and a presentation from U.S. Capitol Police general counsel Thomas A. DiBiase arranged by Monroe County Attorney Bob Shillinger. Conversations with FEMA lasted more than an hour and covered a wide range of topics from insurance hikes to the unique statutory challenges hindering rebuilding efforts in the Keys and the lived reality of residents searching for decisive answers in the wake of major disasters.
“I’m very enthusiastic about building the bridge between our federal government and the Florida Keys,” said Sullivan. “Every representative and agency we met with was very receptive to our concerns.”
“The reception from Florida’s delegation and organizations we met with was overwhelming, especially for a first-time visit,” said Rivett. “Every office expressed their commitment to maintaining and developing a partnership to enhance their connection and communication with Keys community leaders moving forward.”
“We generated some exciting initial momentum toward our goal, and established new relationships while learning valuable lessons about ways to be impactful with federal agencies and elected officials,” added Fangman.
Tours of the Capitol building, Library of Congress and National Archives, as well as admission to the House gallery during active debates of the HR 1 energy bill passed on March 30, rounded out an all-encompassing 72 hours.
Class XXX extends its sincere thanks to each and every senator, representative and agency and their staff who made such crucial meetings and opportunities a reality, including Erin Miles, Clayton Stein, E.J. Valentine, Elliott Shin, Carlos Fanjul, Alex Ferro, Katie Heffernan, Elizabeth Dos Santos and Diana Beckmann.
The class also extends its thanks for the generosity of the Gardens Hotel Key West, Monroe County, Florida Keys Brewing Company, Waste Management, First State Bank, First Horizon Bank, the Hemingway Home and the Keys Weekly Newspapers in sponsoring the ambitious project. They also extend a special thanks to County Commissioner Holly Raschein for her presence and invaluable guidance throughout the planning of the inaugural visit.
“The trip was a phenomenal experience for all of us,” McBay concluded. “We will start working towards making it a yearly visit to continue advocating and working to keep issues facing the Keys in the minds of our federal legislators and agencies.”
Established in 1992, Leadership Monroe County is an educational nonprofit community leadership organization developed to address the rapidly changing needs and concerns of the county, develop a group of well-educated leaders, help guide the community in a positive direction and foster countywide effective and nonpartisan alliances. Through a series of single or multi-day sessions over seven months, participants examine the fundamental public and private segments throughout the county. These experiences help participants grow as Monroe County residents and leaders as well as provide invaluable connections among other leaders across the county.
