On February 16, 2018, Democratic veterans and veteran advocates from all over Florida converged on the Mission Inn Resort and Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida for the 2018 Democratic Veterans Caucus of Florida Retreat. The Retreat, which began on February 16, 2018 and ran through February 18, 2018, brought together Caucus members, Democratic Veterans, veteran advocates, Democratic elected officials and Democratic candidates from throughout Florida. The three-day event included a welcome reception Friday evening, training for candidates and strategizing for battle in the 2018 elections on Saturday, as well as a dinner Saturday night, with committee meetings Sunday morning.
We sincerely thank our special guest speakers. Mark Lipton, lawyer, candidate for Florida House District 79 and Diamond sponsor of our Retreat, was speaker at our breakfast, discussing healthcare. John Lantigua of the Florida ACLU, in conjunction with a coalition of organizations including Floridians for a Fair Democracy, discussed the necessity to fight for the passing of Amendment 4 on the November ballot. This amendment will automatically restore voting rights to felons, other than murderers and sexual offenders, who have served all parts of their sentence. The Saturday night dinner featured former UN Ambassador Nancy Soderberg as guest speaker and Ron Armstead, the Executive Director of the Congressional Black Caucus Veterans Braintrust in Washington, D.C., as Keynote Speaker. We also thank Colonel Andrea Brayboy (Ret.) and Bob Keenan of Hillsborough County and Richard Lockette of Lake County for their presentations pertaining to veteran issues.