Chiles Advocacy Award

The Chiles Advocacy Award, in honor of Lawton and Rhea Chiles' dedication to Florida's children and families, is presented annually to a Floridian who has dedicated his or her life to improving the lives of children and families, and who has successfully engaged others to promote policies and programs that benefit those children and families. The recipient of the annual Chiles Advocacy Award exemplifies the integrity, dedication, and commitment to improving the lives of Florida's children and families for which we all strive.

Jim Kallinger and Ted Granger presents the 2009 Chiles Advocacy award to Jim Mills

Governor Crist presents the 2008 Chiles Advocacy award to Maryann Barry

Lawton and Rhea Chiles embody the spirit of what public service is intended to be. The wisdom and experience they gleaned during Lawton Chiles' decades of public service taught them that society's most precious natural resource - its children and their families - deserve the special attention of society and its representatives in governmental office. Together, they elevated understanding and awareness of the critical importance in the lives of children to new levels and helped craft state and national policy that will benefit children and their families for generations to come.

As the former Executive Director of the Juvenile Welfare Board (JWB) of Pinellas County, Jim Mills has worked to shift emphasis from a categorical funding of deficient focused programming to an asset-based prevention and intervention strategy. In 1986, Jim was involved in the passage of the enabling act that allows any county in Florida to establish by referendum a special taxing district.

Jim has served on a variety of state-wide and national committees and was awarded the Florida Social Worker of the Year in 1989 by the state chapter of NASW as well as the Community Advocate Award in 2003 from the Children's Forum. Although Jim is retired, he continues to give generously of his time as a volunteer to many organizations and boards.

Please click here to view the Chiles Advocacy Award winners over the years.

To nominate a child advocate for the 2010 Chiles Advocacy Award please complete the 2010 Chiles Advocacy Award Nomination Form and submit by Monday, February 1, 2010.