1000 Friends of Florida mourns the passing in August of our dear friend and past chairman, Lester Abberger of Tallahassee. Lester was not only a leader of our organization, but also a tireless advocate for the people and places that make Florida special.

For decades, Lester gave his time, talent, and wisdom to 1000 Friends, helping to shape the direction of our work and inspiring others with his vision of a Florida where growth and conservation could co-exist in balance. Like his friend and mentor, Nathaniel Reed, Lester passionately believed that citizens should have a strong voice in planning the future of their communities, and he worked to ensure that voice was heard. His leadership left an enduring mark on Florida’s growth management policies and on generations of advocates who carry forward his example.

Lester’s generosity of spirit extended far beyond 1000 Friends. An investment banker and lobbyist by profession, he poured his energy into an extraordinary range of public, charitable, and cultural endeavors. He served as chairman of the LeRoy Collins Institute for Public Policy at Florida State University and Horizon Communities in Prisons, a national faith-based prison ministry. He also gave his leadership to Audubon Florida, Florida Healthy Kids, the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Leadership Florida, Habitat for Humanity, the Florida Humanities Council, and many other worthy causes. Whether working in education, the arts, conservation, or health care, Lester’s constant goal was the same: to strengthen communities and improve lives.

A graduate of Davidson College and a Knight Fellow at the University of Miami School of Architecture, Lester combined intellectual curiosity with a deep sense of responsibility. He had an extraordinary ability to bring people together — across politics, disciplines, and perspectives — to find common ground and achieve lasting progress.

Lester was a dedicated conservationist who cherished the natural world. He loved spending time outdoors fishing and hunting birds. He earned the title of Florida Master Gardener and Florida Master Naturalist, and he collected Florida landscape art.

Those who knew Lester will remember his sharp mind, his warmth, his humility, and his unwavering dedication to service. He had a gift for mentorship and for making everyone feel valued, whether they were a longtime colleague or someone just beginning their career.

Lester leaves behind not only an extraordinary legacy of civic leadership, but also countless friends and colleagues who are better for having known him. Florida is a stronger, more thoughtful, and more compassionate place because of his life’s work. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and loved ones, including his wife, Amanda Leigh Stringer, and his two stepchildren.

For decades, Estus Whitfield of Tallahassee has been a leader on environmental policy in Florida.

From 1979 to 1999, he served as chief environmental advisor and policy coordinator to four Florida governors. He represented those governors and the state of Florida before the Legislature and Congress, and oversaw policy and budgets for the Florida departments of Environmental Regulation, Transportation and Community Affairs, as well as its five water management districts.

In 1983, under the direction of Governor Bob Graham, he co-authored Florida’s Save Our Everglades program. He also was the principal staff person in the development and implementation of Florida’s Save Our Rivers, Save Our Coasts and Preservation 2000 programs. After retiring from state service in 1999, he became an environmental consultant. In 2011 he and Graham created the Florida Conservation Coalition, representing more than 40 organizations, including 1000 Friends of Florida. Estus has been honored for his leadership by numerous organizations. He continues to stay on top of environmental issues and dispense his wisdom on them, sharing information regularly with dozens of environmental advocates on his email contact list.

We asked Estus to share his thoughts on the future of Florida and the role of 1000 Friends:

You’ve been a loyal contributor to 1000 Friends of Florida for years. Why have you chosen to support our organization?

I choose to support 1000 Friends because it effectively and uniquely advocates for a broad spectrum of protections and safeguards for Florida — for planned, rational development and growth; protection of water quality and natural systems; and land conservation through outright purchase, purchase of development rights, and conservation easements.

Do you have a message for other 1000 Friends of Florida supporters?

I congratulate you for choosing a conservation organization that is broad spectrum in its approach to protecting the state’s natural resources and is very effective in its actions to achieve these objectives.

There is considerable overlap between your time as an environmental advisor in Florida and Nathaniel Reed’s time. What sticks out in your memory about Nat?

Florida has never had better and more effective advocates for Florida and its environment than Bob Graham and Nat Reed — they were extraordinary. There are not enough words to describe Nat’s influence and achievements on behalf Florida and the U.S. environment. I remember Nat as a prominent advisor to the governors, as Assistant Secretary of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in the U.S. Department of the Interior, as a long-time board member of the South Florida Water Management District, and for his frequent communications with me to discuss problems and solutions to an array of environmental issues.

Do you have a favorite place in Florida?

I was born and lived in Crestview, Florida for three days before growing up in Niceville. I still have fond memories of swimming in Turkey Creek, wading in the swamp behind our house, gigging bull frogs in the old mill pond and flounders in Boggy Bayou, but my favorite place is Tallahassee with its rolling hills, lakes, canopy roads, tall pines and massive live oaks.

What do you consider to be Florida’s greatest environmental challenge?

I consider the greatest challenges to Florida to be balancing inevitable growth with planned, rational development; protecting the quality and quantity of our natural water — rivers, streams, springs, lakes and coastal waters, and remediation of impaired waters; conserving water, especially ground water, and limiting development and growth according to safe use; protecting the best of Florida’s land through purchase and less-than-fee purchase; and better educating the public as to the benefits of a clean and orderly state through an environmental education program including the public school system starting in kindergarten.

What is your fondest hope for Florida’s future?

My best hopes for Florida’s future would be to see a happy, successful resolution of the challenges in item 5 (above), and that will require the all-out efforts of our future leaders who will be as dedicated as were Bob Graham, Reubin Askew, and Nat Reed.

James F. Murley became 1000 Friends’ first Executive Director in 1986. His many subsequent leadership posts include Secretary of Florida’s Department of Community Affairs, Director of Florida Atlantic University’s Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions, Executive Director of the South Florida Regional Planning Council, and, most recently, Chief Resilience Officer for Miami-Dade County. Jim remains a loyal contributor and advisor to 1000 Friends. He was one of the panelists in our September webinar tribute to the late Governor Bob Graham.

We asked Jim to share his thoughts on the future of Florida and the role of 1000 Friends:

Your ties to 1000 Friends go back to its origins. What motivates you to keep supporting the organization nearly 40 years later?

Yes, it was an honor to be asked by the original 1000 Friends Board of Directors to accept the position of their Executive Director.  Together we created a professional and financial organizational foundation necessary to ensure successful policy and legal actions. That initial commitment to stay the course by doing what is best for Florida, regardless of the politics, continues to justify my support and that of many other friends. 

Nat Reed led 1000 Friends’ Board during your time as Executive Director. What stands out in your memory about working with him?

Nathaniel was a perfect fit for 1000 Friends. He exuded a love of Florida that was irresistible when he asked someone for financial support.  He was the moral touchstone for the balanced stewardship of Florida’s special places.

After serving as Miami’s CRO, you’ve recently retired. What are your plans?

I am still trying to figure out the retirement gig. Actually, I plan to dedicate some of my time to several not for profits, for example, Florida Civic Advance.  1000 Friends taught me that much can be accomplished by showing government and the private sector that doing the right thing is a good investment.

What is your fondest hope for Florida’s future?

Florida’s future is tied to climate change.   We must help reduce worldwide carbon emissions and fund creative adaptation measures for our urban and natural environments.   We owe that to our children and grandchildren.

Do you have a message for other 1000 Friends supporters?

Stay the course by continuing to provide financial support.  Let’s build an endowment for Florida’s future that honors our founders, Nathaniel Reed, John DeGrove, Bob Graham and many others. 

P.S. Make sure you vote!

Roger Wilson was a freshman Republican legislator representing his native Pinellas County in 1969 when he had a great idea: with some environmentally sensitive lands in Florida already designated by the state as preserves to be protected, why not establish preserves to protect environmentally sensitive waters, too? Roger had grown up in the John’s Pass fishing village on Boca Ciega Bay, and had seen its water quality degraded and marine life decimated by dredge and fill development.

Under Roger’s leadership, the Legislature designated Boca Ciega Bay as Florida’s first aquatic preserve, bringing an end to dredge and fill in the area. Today, 53 year later, Roger’s great idea has blossomed into 42 aquatic preserves throughout Florida, protecting some 2 million acres.

It was during the freshman legislator’s successful campaign to protect Boca Ciega Bay that Roger first met Nathaniel Reed, who was already one of the nation’s top environmental advocates. Nat recognized Roger for his campaign, and wished him luck. The two would continue to cross paths at meetings on conservation policy in subsequent years.

“Nat Reed was an established, energetic conservationist,” Roger says. “He was well connected, and he worked hard at it. You’d think, if I need to talk to someone about conservation, I can always trust Nat Reed.” That enduring impression has led Roger to support the organization Reed co-founded in 1986. “I had to think 1000 Friends of Florida was a good organization because Nat Reed was involved,” he says.

At 85, Roger remains actively engaged in efforts to protect Florida’s environment. “You can’t take natural resources for granted,” he says. We’re grateful for all that Roger has done to promote conservation in Florida, and we’re proud to have his support.  

Douglas Head of Orlando was a political and civic leader and successful business executive who cared deeply about his community and his state. A mentor and an inspiration to many, he was admired for his philanthropy and fearless advocacy for his principles. He was a “bulldog” in his beliefs, according to colleagues, but also polite and empathetic.

Roger Wilson was a freshman Republican legislator representing his native Pinellas County in 1969 when he had a great idea: with some environmentally sensitive lands in Florida already designated by the state as preserves to be protected, why not establish preserves to protect environmentally sensitive waters, too? Roger had grown up in the John’s Pass fishing village on Boca Ciega Bay, and had seen its water quality degraded and marine life decimated by dredge and fill development.

Under Roger’s leadership, the Legislature designated Boca Ciega Bay as Florida’s first aquatic preserve, bringing an end to dredge and fill in the area. Today, 53 year later, Roger’s great idea has blossomed into 42 aquatic preserves throughout Florida, protecting some 2 million acres.

It was during the freshman legislator’s successful campaign to protect Boca Ciega Bay that Roger first met Nathaniel Reed, who was already one of the nation’s top environmental advocates. Nat recognized Roger for his campaign, and wished him luck. The two would continue to cross paths at meetings on conservation policy in subsequent years.

“Nat Reed was an established, energetic conservationist,” Roger says. “He was well connected, and he worked hard at it. You’d think, if I need to talk to someone about conservation, I can always trust Nat Reed.” That enduring impression has led Roger to support the organization Reed co-founded in 1986. “I had to think 1000 Friends of Florida was a good organization because Nat Reed was involved,” he says.

At 85, Roger remains actively engaged in efforts to protect Florida’s environment. “You can’t take natural resources for granted,” he says. We’re grateful for all that Roger has done to promote conservation in Florida, and we’re proud to have his support.  

Charley Williams is a Winter Park resident and a past president of the League of Women Voters of Orange County.  He organized an event in December 2021 for 1000 Friends President Paul Owens and Policy & Planning Director Jane West to discuss policy priorities with interested Winter Park citizens.

We asked Charley to share his thoughts on the future of Florida and the role of 1000 Friends:

I often ponder the question: “What will Florida look like in 2030?”, less than 10 years from today. Our state’s natural assets are rich, but also fragile. My support for 1000 Friends and its leadership team is to help nurture that outcome.

Our state story has always been one of balance — between growth and development and less intensity. Our cascading red flags are impossible to ignore: coastal municipal flooding, Category Five storms, entire water bodies impacted by septic and agricultural runoff.  As Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Everybody, soon or late, sits down to a banquet of consequences”. He could be parroting the phantom character Skink in one of Carl Hiaasen’s novels!

Wolcott Henry serves as president and chair of the Curtis and Edith Munson Foundation and the Henry Foundation, both of which support conservation projects in South Florida. He has served as a director and advisor for numerous environmental organizations, and is an award-winning underwater photographer.

We asked him why he has been such a long-standing supporter of 1000 Friends of Florida and its work:

Q:  You were friends with our co-founder, Nathaniel Reed. What drew you and Nat together?
A:  Nat Reed inspired me and mentored me when we were setting up the foundations’ grantmaking programs in the mid-1980’s. We shared a strong sense of place. We shared a passion for Florida and her natural resources, and a concern about Florida’s future.

Victoria Jean Tschinkel of Tallahassee has been one of Florida’s top leaders on environmental policy for decades. Her resume includes stints as Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, State Director of the Florida Chapter of the Nature Conservancy and a member of the National Commission on the Environment, among other high-profile positions. She has been a member of 1000 Friends of Florida’s Board of Directors since 1987, with only a break during her time with The Nature Conservancy. She and her husband, Walter, have also been 1000 Friends’ most generous benefactors for several years.

We asked Vicki about her long commitment to 1000 Friends and her life in Florida.

Q: What has led you to dedicate so much of your time and resources to 1000 Friends?
A: Nathaniel Reed, Florida’s pre-eminent environmental leader of modern times, and Professor John DeGrove, the renowned scholar of land management, founded 1000 Friends. Although I was part of the early years, it wasn’t until John DeGrove fondly but critically told me that I was an “incrementalist” that I understood how essential 1000 Friends is.

Jennifer Johnson Duke is one of 1000 Friends of Florida’s most generous and steadfast donors. She and her husband, Joseph Zachary Duke III, have long been among Florida’s top environmental leaders and patrons. They have served on multiple boards of directors and contributed abundantly to conservation causes.

The Dukes have a home in Hobe Sound, and Jennifer says she first became interested in 1000 Friends because of a fellow Hobe Sounder — “our great leader Nathaniel Reed.” She and 1000 Friends’ late co-founder served together on the board of The Nature Conservancy. Joseph Duke served with him on the board of the Everglades Foundation.