Florida Senate - 2009 (NP) SR 2738
By Senator Dockery
15-02733-09 20092738__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution honoring the memory of Samuel Randolph
3 Roberts and recognizing April 18, 2009, as “Randy
4 Roberts Day” in Florida.
5
6 WHEREAS, Samuel Randolph Roberts, known to his family and
7 friends as “Randy Roberts,” was born in Miami, grew up in
8 Pembroke Pines, and attended Miramar High School, where he was a
9 member of the Civil Air Patrol, served in the Student Government
10 Association, and was the first student representative elected to
11 serve on the Broward County School Board, and
12 WHEREAS, Randy attended the University of Florida, earning
13 a degree in Journalism and Communications, was a member of the
14 Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society and the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity and,
15 as he often said, “loved him some Gators,” and
16 WHEREAS, Randy met his wife, Sara Rust Roberts, while
17 serving as a volunteer at Best Buddies, a nonprofit organization
18 that serves Florida’s students, and
19 WHEREAS, Randy and Sara built a loving marriage spanning 9
20 years and producing two beautiful children, Charlotte and
21 Samuel, and
22 WHEREAS, Randy was a tireless leader in the state’s
23 political process, recruiting, training, and supporting hundreds
24 of candidates at the local, state, and federal levels, and
25 WHEREAS, Randy was a passionate advocate for the state’s
26 business community, promoting policies and programs to generate
27 jobs, encourage innovation, and stimulate growth, and
28 WHEREAS, Randy served with distinction as the director of
29 government relations for Publix Super Markets, the largest
30 employee-owned supermarket chain in the United States and a
31 model for corporate citizenship, and
32 WHEREAS, Randy never ceased to remind his employees that
33 Publix is the place “where shopping is a pleasure” and that the
34 people of Florida were as important to Publix as Publix was to
35 Florida, and
36 WHEREAS, Randy was the consummate bridge-builder,
37 connecting people of diverse backgrounds and political
38 affiliations, cultivating coalitions with the goal of making the
39 world a better place, and making Florida the best that it could
40 possibly be, and
41 WHEREAS, Randy taught those he knew countless lessons about
42 the value of family, friendship, loyalty, humility, generosity,
43 vision, and integrity, and
44 WHEREAS, Randy was also a man of mischief, whose sense of
45 humor and good-natured teasing brought a smile to the faces of
46 many who have served in this very chamber, and
47 WHEREAS, Randy had a profound appreciation for those
48 privileged to serve in elected office and also for the tireless
49 staff and volunteers who make such service possible, and
50 WHEREAS, Randy showed equal and abundant love for those
51 having great power and those without, treating each of his
52 friends as though he or she was his Very Best Friend, and
53 WHEREAS, Randy was a man of integrity, a patriotic
54 American, and a loyal Floridian, and
55 WHEREAS, Randy Roberts was taken from us suddenly on
56 February 27, 2009, leaving behind a loving family, countless
57 friends and colleagues, and a hole in the heart of Florida’s
58 Capitol that will never be filled, NOW, THEREFORE,
59
60 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
61
62 That the Senate expresses its admiration and appreciation
63 for the life and legacy of Samuel Randolph Roberts and expresses
64 grief over his untimely death.
65 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Florida Senate recognizes
66 April 18, 2009, the date of the Orange & Blue game at the
67 University of Florida, as “Randy Roberts Day” in the State of
68 Florida.
69 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
70 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to Sara Rust
71 Roberts, of Lakeland, Florida, and to the corporate offices of
72 Publix Super Markets as a tangible token of the sentiments of
73 the Florida Senate.