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.

Governor Crist presented the 2010 Chiles Advocacy Award to Dick Batchelor

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.

Since his service in the Florida House of Representatives from 1974-1982, Dick Batchelor has demonstrated a commitment to improving the lives of children and families in Florida. Starting in 1981, Mr. Batchelor has served as honorary chairman of the "Dick Batchelor Run for the Children," an annual 5-K run that has raised over $1 million in critical funding for the treatment of abused children, and is the longest running event of its kind.

In the 1993 Legislative Special Session, Mr. Batchelor served as chairman of Governor Chiles' "Safe Streets Now" campaign and successfully added $8 million in recurring funding to the state budget to treat abused children. Mr. Batchelor also chaired the "Change 4 Kids" campaign that successfully garnered support of a half-cent sales tax increase in Orange County to generate over $2 billion worth of funding for school construction and renovation. The ballot initiative passed on September 10, 2002, with almost a 60% favorable vote— the first time a tax initiative passed in Orange County after 6 previous.

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