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TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet
today signed a resolution sponsored by Chief Financial Officer Alex
Sink recognizing Florida Park Service Director Mike Bullock. Family
and coworkers joined Cabinet members to honor his June 30 retirement
after 38 years of outstanding service and dedication as a member of
the Florida Park Service.
“Retiring with a legacy of accomplishments, Mr. Bullock’s career
with the Florida Park Service demonstrates his dedication to
Florida’s natural and cultural resources,” said Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Michael W. Sole. “I am
honored to recognize a friend and a colleague today whose leadership
has been influential in making Florida the best state park system in
the nation.”
Mike Bullock was appointed director of the Division of Recreation
and Parks in the summer of 2003. Through Bullock’s innovative
leadership and team-oriented work ethic, Florida State Parks have
contributed nearly $5 billion to local economies throughout the
state, served nearly 128 million visitors and earned more than $273
million in revenue since 2003. DEP’s Florida State Parks have also
recently experienced three consecutive record breaking years in park
attendance, serving 19.5 million visitors in fiscal year 2006-2007,
20.7 million in 2007-2008 and 21.4 million in 2008-2009, due in part
to Bullock’s commitment to high quality visitor services and
nature-based recreation.
Bullock’s pride in Florida’s 160 state parks also led Florida to
become the nation’s first and only two-time Gold Medal winner for
the nation’s best state park system, awarded for the second time to
Florida by the National Recreation and Park Association in 2005. As
Bullock exits the administration of the Florida Park Service, he
will remain a part of the park service family as he travels the
state to recreate in the state park system he has worked to shape
and influence. He will also be awarded the 2010 Florida Park Service
Distinguished Service Award, honoring his life’s work to the Florida
state park system, its resources and its staff and volunteers.
“I am honored by the recognition of the Governor and Cabinet and
CFO Sink for her sponsorship of the Resolution. It has been a
pleasure to come to work every day and dedicate 38 years to ensuring
Florida’s system of exceptional state parks continue to grow and
prosper,” said Mike Bullock. “I am humbled to have had the privilege
to serve the great state of Florida and its precious natural and
cultural resources alongside Florida’s dedicated park professionals
and Secretary Sole.”
Bullock was raised in Gainesville, Florida. After serving in the
U.S. Marine Corps, he graduated from the University of Florida in
Landscape Architecture. He received further training from Harvard
University’s Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design,
Indiana University and Florida State University.
Florida State Parks is celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2010.
Created in 1935 by the Florida Legislature, Florida State Parks has
grown from eight to 160 parks over the last 75 years. Today, the
Florida Park Service manages more than 700,000 acres of Florida’s
natural environment, including 100 miles of beaches, eight National
Historic Landmarks and 39 sites on the National Register of Historic
Places.
For more information on Florida’s state parks, visit
www.FloridaStateParks.org.
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2012 State of Florida