News Release: Rick Joyce for State Representative
Oct 9, 2009
This news release was publised by Rick Joyce’s office on October 9, 2009
REPUBLICAN RICK JOYCE TO SEEK HD 25 SEAT
TAVARES, Fla. – Today, Republican Rick Joyce announced that he has officially launched his campaign for Florida House of Representatives, District 25.
As a long-time resident of Central Florida and Lake County and as a mediation attorney and former CEO of Dixon-Ticonderoga, Joyce is uniquely qualified to lead the charge on restoring growth to Florida’s economy and will run an aggressive grassroots campaign focusing on economic policy.
“We are facing some tough challenges right now, and small businesses and working families are hurting,” said candidate Rick Joyce. “Our first job is to get job growth going again, and our next job is to look for things that we can do to create the kind of economic environment for our small businesses and entrepreneurs to succeed.”
Joyce has been visiting with friends, business associates, and constituency groups about his potential candidacy. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, and he will now officially begin his campaign by spending the next several months speaking with the voters about key issues including: the economy and job growth, taxation and public spending, improving schools, bringing sensible, private-sector driven solutions to healthcare, and developing new energy sources.
Joyce graduated from the University of Delaware and earned a law degree from St. Louis University School of Law in 1981. From 1981 to1991, Joyce served as an attorney with Bell Boyd and Lloyd in Chicago, Weinstein Conn Pellicer and Joyce in St. Augustine, and then Conn and Joyce in St. Augustine. From 1991 to 2005, Joyce served as general counsel, president, and later co-ceo of Dixon-Ticonderoga, a 1,700 employee international writing instrument company.
From 2005-2008, Joyce served of counsel to Akerman Senterfitt in Orlando and Tavares. In 2008, he started Central Florida Mediators, a company that resolves a variety of business disputes throughout central Florida.
Joyce currently serves as an Adjunct Professor at the Crummer Graduate School of Rollins College teaching Negotiation, heads up OFB Commercial Properties, and most recently, along with his wife Debbie, opened and began to operate the “World’s Worst Deli” in downtown Tavares.
Joyce has a strong record of public service. He has served on the board of the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission, served as the first private sector chair of the Metro Orlando International Affairs Commission, was a member of Florida Citrus Sports, served as a Lake Mary Pop Warner Football Coach, and Co-Founded the Central Florida All Star Football Game benefiting the Special Olympics. He also served as a Director on the Lake County Industrial Development Authority.
Joyce currently serves as a member of the Tavares Community Redevelopment Association Advisory Council and a Director of the Seminole County Regional Chamber of Commerce. He sits on the Lake County Economic Development Advisory Council and on the board of the Lake Community Foundation.
Rick has been married to his wife Debbie since 1978. They have four grown sons and are members of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Mt. Dora. Rick is a member of the NRA and the Lake County Republican Executive Committee, and he graduated from Leadership Florida in 2009.