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House Resolution 1
A resolution designating August 9, 2025, as "Bob 2
Graham Day" in the State of Florida. 3
4
WHEREAS, born on November 9, 1936, Daniel Robert "Bob" 5
Graham was raised on a cattle and dairy farm deep in the Florida 6
Everglades, attended Miami Senior High School, earned his 7
bachelor's degree in political science at the University of 8
Florida in 1959, and earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law 9
School in 1962, and 10
WHEREAS, after serving in both the Florida House of 11
Representatives and the Florida Senate, Bob Graham was elected 12
as Florida's 38th Governor in 1978, and his career in state 13
politics enabled him to personally witness Florida's rise from a 14
rural Southern backwater to an economic and political 15
juggernaut, and 16
WHEREAS, in Governor Graham's first term, led by First Lady 17
Adele Graham, Florida became a national leader in providing in -18
home services to seniors, creating a statewide network of 19
services, assuring access to assistance for needy elders in the 20
metropolitan areas and to those in the most rural of Florida 's 21
counties, and allowing more families to live out their days at 22
home, and 23
WHEREAS, in 1979, Governor Graham instituted the 24
Conservation and Recreation Act, t he premier land acquisition 25
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program in the country, which led to the Preservation 2000 26
Program and the current Florida Forever Program, and 27
WHEREAS, in 1981, Governor Graham established the Save Our 28
Rivers program, which raised $320 million over 10 years and 29
enabled the water management districts to acquire 1.7 million 30
acres of land for water conservation; established the Save Our 31
Coast program, which resulted in the purchase of 73 miles of 32
coastline, protecting natural Florida beauty for future 33
generations; and, with singer Jimmy Buffett, founded Save the 34
Manatee, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation 35
and recovery of the manatee species as defined by the federal 36
Endangered Species Act of 1973, and 37
WHEREAS, in 1982, Governor Graham, togeth er with renowned 38
environmental champion Marjory Stoneman Douglas and others, 39
developed what became the Save Our Everglades program to restore 40
Everglades National Park, which was announced on August 9, 1983, 41
and 42
WHEREAS, in 1984, Governor Graham enacted th e Warren 43
Henderson Wetlands Protection Act, Florida's first law directed 44
specifically at preservation and protection of wetlands, and 45
WHEREAS, at the end of his Governorship in 1987, Bob Graham 46
was sworn in to the United States Senate, where he was known not 47
only for his grasp of domestic issues such as Everglades 48
restoration, immigration, and off -shore drilling but also for 49
his expertise in foreign policy and intelligence, serving as 50
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chair of the Intelligence Committee and co -chair of the Joint 51
Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After 52
the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, and 53
WHEREAS, ever mindful of his undergraduate alma mater, 54
where he was president of the Epsilon Zeta chapter of Sigma Nu 55
fraternity, served as chancellor o f the student honor court, and 56
was inducted into Blue Key and the University Hall of Fame, Bob 57
Graham established the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at 58
the University of Florida in 2006 to continue his legacy of 59
leadership and public service as well as to train the next 60
generations of Florida leaders, and 61
WHEREAS, in 2011, Bob Graham established the Florida 62
Conservation Coalition, comprised of concerned Floridians 63
representing various organizations, for the purpose of 64
advocating for positive environm ental initiatives and opposing 65
adverse proposals, and 66
WHEREAS, throughout his 38 consecutive years in public 67
office and nearly 20 years thereafter as an author, speaker, and 68
advocate, Bob Graham worked tirelessly to further environmental 69
preservation, economic opportunity, public education, national 70
security, and civil rights, and his outstanding record of 71
service has established Bob Graham as one of the most 72
accomplished public figures in the history of this state, NOW, 73
THEREFORE, 74
75
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Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of 76
Florida: 77
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That, in recognition of the date on which the Save Our 79
Everglades program was founded, August 9, 2025, is designated as 80
"Bob Graham Day" in the State of Florida. 81