(c) Ray Carson / Brechner Center
Marion B. Brechner is inducted into the Florida Freedom of Information Hall of Fame by Executive Director Sandra F. Chance (right), joined by Ralph Lowenstein (left) and Pete Weitzel, both members of the first class of inductees.

At the awards luncheon Friday, following a keynote address by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum, The Brechner Center inducted six individuals into its Florida Freedom of Information Hall of Fame and recognized the Top 30 FOI stories of the past 30 years.
The six Hall of Fame inductees are: James C. Adkins Jr., Marion B. Brechner, Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte, H.G. “Buddy” Davis, Louis Michael “Skip” Perez and D. Thomas.

The late James C. “Jimmy” Adkins Jr., a Florida Supreme Court justice, earned the nickname “Justice Sunshine” for his interpretations of Florida’s fledgling Open Meetings Law in favor of the public.

Philanthropist and former media executive Marion B. Brechner was inducted for her continuing support of FOI and the First Amendment.

President Emeritus of Florida State University Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte was a key figure in several important events in the history of freedom of information in Florida – including the passage of the Sunshine Law and the success of the cameras in the courtroom experiment.

Longtime journalism professor at the University of Florida and a Pulitzer-Prize winning editorialist the late H.G. “Buddy” Davis Jr., played a key role in the development of Florida’s Open Meetings Law, which he helped draft.

Louis Michael “Skip” Perez, executive editor of The Lakeland Ledger, has consistently fought for the right to government information and been a leader in Florida’s FOI movement.

Gregg D. Thomas is a media attorney with the law firm Thomas & LoCicero in Tampa. Thomas has spent the past 30 years advocating for the media in courtrooms across the state and in the U.S. Supreme Court.
More information about the 2007 class of Hall of Fame inductees can be found at www.brechner.org.

Learn More About the Inductees