91香蕉视频

The hundreds gathered in 91香蕉视频's College of Law fell silent and turned their attention to the screen in front of them. Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan appeared as her voice filled the room: 鈥淚 think love for Jacksonville, the belief in civic responsibility and public service.鈥� Steve Halverson followed: 鈥淗is scorching intellect.鈥� President Tim Cost added: 鈥淧reston believes in the best of everything.鈥�

For almost 14 minutes, leaders from across Jacksonville painted a portrait of a man whose influence has helped shape the city for six decades. At the conclusion of the video, Preston Haskell was welcomed to the stage by a roaring standing ovation. The 87-year-old visionary, who happened to also be celebrating his birthday, was honored for his extraordinary contributions to the Public Policy Institute that now bears his name.

ABOVE: Tim Cost, President of 91香蕉视频, honoring Preston Haskell, founder and former chair of The Haskell Company.

BELOW: Scott Bacon, Senior Vice President of External Affairs, 91香蕉视频; Nick Allard, Randall C. Berg Jr. Founding Dean, College of Law, 91香蕉视频; Tim Cost, President of 91香蕉视频; Preston Haskell; Rick Mullaney, Executive Director & Robert T. Shircliff Chair, 91香蕉视频 Haskell Public Policy Institute; Dr. Jason Altmire, Chairman of the Public Policy Advisory Board at Jacksonville University; and John Miller, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at 91香蕉视频.

Foundational for the Future

BUILDING ON VISION

The Public Policy Institute began with nothing more than an idea. In fall 2011, Rick Mullaney, executive director of the Public Policy Institute and Robert T. Shircliff Chair in Public Policy, visited Duke University鈥檚 School of Public Policy, where the dean delivered crucial advice: to start Florida's first institute of its kind from scratch, he would need a respected board of advisors.

鈥淲e had no students. We didn't have any faculty, we didn't have a class, we didn't have a degree program,鈥� said Mullaney. 鈥淲hat we had was a vision and an idea.鈥� When Mullaney approached Haskell in 2012, the response was characteristic. Halverson, former chairman and CEO of The Haskell Company, remembers that first meeting. 鈥淧reston dives right in, and he gives chapter and verse about, 鈥榟ere's how you need to organize it, here's things you need to do, ' and was busy designing curriculum in this first meeting. I could see Rick was drinking from a fire hose,鈥� said Halverson.

鈥淲hen I'm down around Preston, I tend to do a lot of listening, which is a pleasant change for a lot of people when it comes to me,鈥� Mullaney said with a grin. Haskell was insistent that academic excellence
was non-negotiable. 鈥淵ou can always lower your standards, but it's hard to raise those standards,鈥� he told Mullaney. That principle helped shape an institute that has grown from eight students in 2013 to 85 today, establishing itself as Florida's premier forum for nonpartisan civic dialogue and leadership development.

THE ARCHITECT OF CHANGE

Haskell transformed his industry through design-build, a concept so radical that, at the time, 43 states had laws prohibiting it. Halverson remembers Haskell鈥檚 response when told about those legal barriers: 鈥淗e goes, 鈥業 know, and we're going to change every one of them.' I thought it was the most absurd thing I ever heard. And guess what? They all changed,鈥� said Halverson.

This relentlessness, which Halverson calls one of Haskell鈥檚 defining characteristics, extends well beyond business innovation. In 1999, when Hurricane Floyd threatened Jacksonville, businesses were closing out of an abundance of caution. When Halverson approached Haskell about closing, he pulled out handwritten calculations showing there was only a 16% chance Jacksonville would be impacted. Haskell
believed that if they stayed open, they could get ahead of the competition by a couple of days. Ultimately, Haskell sided with Halverson's recommendation, the company erred on the side of caution and closed. The hurricane did exactly as Haskell predicted, skating to the north of Jacksonville. 鈥淚 had to listen to 鈥業 told you so鈥� for the next two weeks,鈥� Halverson said.

In 2000, during the presidential election, Duval County had 30,000 votes that were improperly counted. With the situation on the brink of national controversy, then-Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney asked Haskell to chair a task force. Halverson remembers being in the adjacent office one Saturday afternoon, listening to Haskell dictate the final report into an old machine. 鈥淗e was dictating the words, he was dictating the footnotes to the words, remembering what page the testimony occurred on,鈥� said Halverson. 鈥淥ne draft, light edits, it was a masterpiece. As a result of that, the integrity of Jacksonville's elections was preserved and enhanced.鈥�

THE QUIET PHILANTHROPIST

In a day and age where many seek recognition for their contributions, Preston Haskell operates from a different playbook. He hosts community gatherings at his home without fanfare. He constructs buildings, institutions and homes, then steps back, letting the work speak for itself. His humility, paired with extraordinary generosity, has quietly transformed Jacksonville's cultural and educational landscape for decades.

This quiet generosity extends to Haskell's love and support of the arts. He is widely considered the most influential philanthropist in arts and culture in Jacksonville. While he served as the Honorary Chair of the 91香蕉视频 Future. Made. campaign his contributions to 91香蕉视频 remain largely unheralded. 鈥淭here are world-class pieces of art on this campus that he has donated to us,鈥� said Jacksonville University President Tim Cost. 鈥淗e takes great pride in being able to make this university better, to enrich the experience of the students and faculty here.鈥�

Mayor Deegan smiled as she reflected on how much Haskell has invested in Jacksonville's arts community. 鈥淗e believes that art really does teach people how to think differently,鈥� she said.

SHAPING LEADERS, BUILDING LEGACY

鈥淎ll of us are shaped by the things we choose to do and the people we do them with, and the tendency is to put too much emphasis on the former and not enough on the latter because the people shape you,鈥� said Halverson. 鈥淧reston certainly has shaped me.鈥�

Mullaney calls Haskell the embodiment of excellence, and this ability to shape leaders now extends to future generations through the Haskell Public Policy Institute. 鈥淚f there has ever been a time in our history where we understand the importance of civil discourse, where we understand the importance of leaning into policy, I think it's now,鈥� said Mayor Deegan.

The institute's downtown presence at 91香蕉视频's College of Law creates new opportunities for students to engage directly with government offices, community leaders and the legislative process. It's a strategic positioning that Haskell, a visionary, surely appreciates.

鈥淭here's a hunger for role models. There's a hunger for knowing what excellence looks like,鈥� said Mullaney. 鈥淧reston Haskell stands for excellence.鈥�

A PARTNERSHIP IN PURPOSE

As 91香蕉视频 celebrates this transformational moment, the naming carries profound significance for the institution's future. 鈥淗e is the embodiment of what this Public Policy Institute is all about,鈥� said Mullaney.

It's not easy to summarize the indelible mark Preston Haskell has left on Northeast Florida. 鈥淚 think his greatest contribution though is in education. He's a natural educator,鈥� said Halverson. 鈥淭hat's how he built the business, that's how he built the community. It is perfectly poetic that his name and the company's name and Jacksonville University are linked forever.鈥�

THE FUTURE FOR PUBLIC POLICY AND LAW

As the mid-October naming celebration drew to a close, Preston Haskell stood once more before the assembled crowd in the downtown College of Law. The same building that houses future lawyers and policymakers, the same downtown corridors where civic decisions shape Jacksonville's tomorrow. But this time, instead of watching his inspiring story unfold on screen, he was looking out at the faces of those who will carry it forward, students who are bright and intellectually curious, faculty who inform and enrich others at the intersection of law and policy, community leaders who understand that true legacy isn't built in concrete and steel alone.

Haskell's words were fittingly forward-looking: 鈥淚'm thankful to everyone who has built this program, and I'm confident these students will make meaningful contributions to Jacksonville and beyond.鈥� No mention of his own contributions, no catalog of past achievements, just gratitude and confidence in what comes next.

The Haskell Public Policy Institute isn't the culmination of Preston's vision. It's another foundation upon which Jacksonville will continue to rise, shaped by those who, like Preston Haskell, dare to see the world through a unique lens and have the rare courage to change it.

WATCH THE SURPRISE TRIBUTE VIDEO HONORING PRESTON HASKELL'S LEGACY AT JACKSONVILLE UNIVERSITY