Florida Young Democrat Chapter of the Year Award Goes to:

This past weekend the Florida Young Democrats had several very successful meetings at the Florida Democratic Party conference. Today Matt Cole, Immediate Past FYD Chair, had these words to say:


Fellow Democrats,

I am honored to report that Omar Khan (LCYD member) has been elected to succeed me as Chair of the Florida Young Democrats. Omar's work as FYD Executive Director is greatly appreciated and I look forward to his continued contributions to the development of future Democratic leaders.

Over the past two years, right up through this past weekend, this administration:

Developed an executive structure based upon the Democratic Party and its nomenclature.
Instituted a chartering process that eliminated dues, encourages closer ties with county DECs, and prevents the possibility of competing claims of authority.
Established a Mission and Vision statement to more clearly define our goals.
Enacted the positions of Regional Directors to more plainly establish geographic regions and Outreach Directors to more formally target Young Democrat sub-groups.
Founded the Florida College Democrats as an associate group of the newly created Florida Young & College Democrats.

Our caucus was joined by FDP Chair Thurman, Congressman Barney Frank, and Governor Mark Warner. We were also joined by several local, regional, and statewide candidates including Jim Davis, Rod Smith, and Alex Sink.

The FYD Annual Awards winners were presented. They include:

County Chapter of the Year: Leon County Young Democrats
College Chapter of the Year: Florida State University College Democrats
High School Chapter of the Year: East Side High School Young Democrats, Alachua County
FYD Event of Distinction: Leon County Young Democrats, for the Democratic Legislative Staff Reception
Jeffrey Mattison Wershow Award: Stephen Gorham, US Navy Veteran
Young Democrat of the Year: Kristian Cosme
Democrat of the Year: Honorable Karen Thurman
Lifetime Achievement Award: Senator Bob Graham

The role of FYD Chair requires a great deal of time, energy, and diplomacy. There are scores of Young Democrats who have assisted me and contributed greatly to this organization over the past few years. It would be impossible to name every member individually, but in addition to Omar, I would like recognize: John Reid, Chris Gallaway, Michelle M'Sadoques, Gershom Faulkner, Alan Brock, Kristian Cosme, David Geller, Bret Berlin, Kristin Carter, Alex Patton, Dave Cutler, Erica Graves, Rick Minor, and Reggie Cardozo. State Representative Ed Jennings, Jr. and State Senator Dave Aronberg should also be acknowledged as both supporters of and role models for the FYDs. For her love and patience, I am also grateful to Carolyn Develle.

Although I have passed along these guiding principles to many of you already, they are worth revisiting: Be Local: Invite locally elected Democrats for discussions on current issues; Be Connected: Help members develop connections with local Democratic leaders, either elected or in your DEC;Be Social: Keep meetings lively and informal so that your members will enjoy this time with their political peers;Be Rewarding: Allow members to sharpen their political skills by presenting or debating a topic.In conclusion, it has been a privilege to serve you as FYD Chair. In my new Executive Board role as Immediate Past Chair, I look forward providing institutional memory and assisting Omar to the best of my abilities.

Democratically Yours,

MattMatthew Cole,
Immediate Past Chair
Florida Young Democrats