Florida A&M University (FAMU) played a significant role in welcoming Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll to their newly elected seats this week.
At the inaugural prayer breakfast on Jan. 4 in the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center and Teaching Gymnasium, Gov. Rick Scott ushered in his administration with prayer, affirming his faith in God.
“My faith has been important to me all my life,” said Scott. “Jesus Christ has been with me all my life.”
Guests from across party lines attended the annual the prayer breakfast. Charles Colson served as the keynote speaker. Colson is the founder and chairman of the Wilberforce Forum, participates in Prison Fellowship, has a daily radio broadcast show and has written several books. Among the participants were Rabbi Moshe Scheiner, who read Psalm 23; Bishop Vaughn McLaughlin of the Potter’s House in Jacksonville, Fla.; and Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Fla. Scott’s pastor, Kurt Anderson of Naples Community Church, presided over the breakfast.
“What a way to start 2011,” said FAMU President James H. Ammons. “FAMU stands ready to assist the Scott-Carroll Administration in its efforts to make Florida a much better place to live and work.”
In addition to the breakfast, on Jan. 2, FAMU and Lawson & Associates honored Carroll during a black tie reception.
“Lt. Gov. Carroll, we at Florida A&M University look forward to establishing a genuine friendship and partnership with you and Gov. Scott to create the kinds of new jobs that Florida needs in this new decade,” said President Ammons, who also attended a private breakfast with Gov. Scott. “Over the next few days, the eyes of Florida will be focused firmly on the events in Tallahassee watching as our great democracy engages in the peaceful transition of power.”
Lt. Gov. Carroll received special presentations from Tallahassee Mayor John Marks, the Black Caucus of the Florida Legislature, the Delta Kappa Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and FAMU.
“I have the distinct pleasure to introduce one of my dearest friends who I’ve always considered like my little sister,” Lawson said of Carroll. “She is someone you can count on. She is one who was always willing to stay into the wee hours of the night to make sure her constituents were well taken care of. I can guarantee that she has already hit the ground running.”
Carroll said on Nov. 2, 2010, she received a phone call from former Florida Senator Alfred Lawson, D-Tallahassee, showing his support for her in the election.
“I could feel the excitement in him that he felt what I felt and that this was going to be a reality,” said Carroll, Florida’s first woman and first African-American lieutenant governor about Lawson. He told me, ‘We have to do something. This is historic. We have to throw you a party.’”
Carroll is a legislator, small business owner and United States veteran who served the Florida House of Representatives’ District 13 prior to her election as lieutenant governor.
“I want to thank Rick Scott for saying this is the person I want by my side to help lead Florida out of this economic condition that it is in,” said Carroll, a native of Trinidad at the reception. “You are about to see great things.”
FAMU’s Director for Governmental Relations Tola Thompson said it was an honor for FAMU to open its doors to the community for these memorable events.
“It was a historic moment in our state and as the state’s largest historically black university, we would be remised if we did not recognize this historic opportunity and commemorate it,” Thompson said.
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