The American Center for Political Leadership (ACPL) will host U.S. Senator Bill Nelson for a town-hall-style event titled “An Evening with a Statesman” on Thursday, October 24. The ACPL is a bi-partisan education and research center housed at Southeastern University. During the evening, Nelson will reflect on his 40 years in public service.
“Civility and statesmanship are qualities and virtues desperately needed, yet rarely exhibited in our political process today,” said Dennis Ross, former congressman and director of the ACPL. “Over his 40 years in public service, Senator Nelson exhibited those values, and despite what political differences one may have had with him, the one constant was that he was always a statesman.”
As a fifth-generation Floridian, Nelson’s roots run deep in Florida. Nelson was a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 47th District from 1972 to 1978. Nelson ran for Congress and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1978, representing both the 9th and 11th districts from 1979 to 1991. Next, Nelson served as Florida’s Treasurer, Insurance Commissioner, and Fire Marshall, from 1995 to 2001. It was then that Nelson ran for U.S. Senate, and represented Florida from January of 2001 to January of 2019. Nelson attended the University of Florida, Yale, and the University of Virginia Law School.
The discussion will be moderated by Ross and former State Senator Rick Dantzler. There will also be a time for questions from the audience. The event will take place in the Buena Vida auditorium at Southeastern at 6:30 p.m. It is open to the public and free of charge.
For more information, contact Shelee Meeker at [email protected].