The organization consists of business executives,
professionals, and others active in our community.
It has become the “go-to” venue in Broward, where
featured key players engage in discussions of timely,
critical issues to encourage positive change.

Though these are trying times, we are continuing
this tradition, by inviting our members and their
guests to attend our Zoom webinars.

All Tower Forum members will receive invitations to the events; click on the URL link contained therein for registration approval. You will then be issued your unique link to join the webinar.

Members’ guests must obtain their own unique URL link to join the webinar by using the registration URL in the member invitation.

If you registered for any Tower Forum sessions, we have added you to our active e-mail distribution. If you wish to be added, please send your request to towerforum@towerforum.org –please include your name, email, phone number and affiliation. When verified, we will include you in future events.

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Next webinar: Thursday 6/3/21
from 9-10:30 AM

(to register for this event, please scroll down to REGISTER button)

 

8th Annual Reality Check: Press Corps Recap/analysis of the Florida State Legislative Session 2021

With an historical year marked by a virus pandemic, our state legislature has faced extraordinary challenges. Acting in the public interest is normally a daunting task, with the myriad of bills before it, but public health repeatedly took center stage.

Our top-notch panel of journalists has dutifully covered this tumultuous session with a range of bills. In a Republican-dominated body, a number of issues like election reform appealed to right-leaning voters. Democrats see some bright spots in the 2021 session, such as a bipartisan police reform package that establishes basic training standards across the state.

Beyond the hot-button social issues that dominated headlines, Gov. DeSantis avoided painful budget cuts thanks in part to $10.2 billion in federal aid that cushioned the pandemic’s financial blow in Florida. Legislators approved a $101.5 billion budget that includes $1,000 bonuses for educators, police officers and firefighters. It continues DeSantis’ push to raise the minimum starting pay for teachers to $47,500. The minimum wage for the lowest-paid state employees will be bumped up to $13.

On the environment, the budget includes more money for Everglades restoration and $500 million to combat sea level rise.

Join our veteran panel, moderated by an eminently-experienced Tallahassee participant.

PANEL:

Steve Bousquet

Steve Bousquet has been reporting from Tallahassee for over three decades, and has been arguably the senior political reporter in Tallahassee for a number of years. His journalistic and community ties and institutional knowledge of Broward County are unmatched by anybody in the news business. He serves currently as Political Columnist for the Florida Sun Sentinel, based in Tallahassee, and is on the Editorial Board of the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel.

Dara Kam

Senior writer for The News Service of Florida, Dara Kam has spent over two decades based in Tallahassee covering Florida government, politics and campaigns. 

Skyler Swisher

Skyler Swisher is the Sun Sentinel daily reporter covering politics. Before joining the Sun Sentinel, he wrote about health care for The Daytona Beach News-Journal. A native of Memphis, he is a graduate of the University of Tennessee.

MODERATOR:

Shane Strum

With a legacy of public service spanning nearly three decades, Shane Strum is President and Chief Executive Officer of Broward Health, one of the nation’s 10 largest public healthcare systems with an operational budget of $1.2 billion and more than 8,200 employees.

Before joining Broward Health, Strum served as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff and led the Governor’s staff in implementing a $90 billion budget, overseeing 20 state agencies with more than 100,000 employees, gubernatorial appointments, and cabinet affairs.

In addition to his healthcare experience, Strum has excelled in higher education, having served as vice chancellor of Keiser University and director of corporate and government relations at Nova Southeastern University.

Attendees, please register for this event.

Each webinar is scheduled for 9:00 – 10:30 A.M., and must be registered for separately in advance. They are for Tower Forum members and their individually invited guests only at no cost. To attend, please click on this blue REGISTER button.

We hope you stay safe, be well and help keep the COVID19 from spreading by continuing social distancing, avoiding crowded interior spaces, wearing face masks, and thorough, frequent handwashing.

• Become an active participant and network with community business leaders, professionals and public officials.
• Engage directly with key players regarding hot, current topics which impact you and the community.
• (Because of the Coronavirus Pandemic, breakfasts in person have been suspended.)
  
• Your membership begins on payment and lasts one year from joining. Submit your information with a credit card on our convenient online Membership Application, or print out the form and postal mail it with your check.