DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Theodore "Ted" Doran is one of the most powerful civil attorneys in Central Florida, if notthe entire Sunshine State with landmark multi-million verdicts in favor of his clients.
Doran even took on the proverbial city hall (government) and prevailed. Not bad for a career-driven man who was a jsack-of-all trades as a young adult making his sway in the world -- holding down all kinds of jobs, including a stint as a Daytona Beach cop, until he found his true calling and home as a litigant in the courtroom.
Fast forward four decades or so and Ted Doran is now not onlyt an entrant in the Headline Surfer Hall of Fame. He's also a face on the internet news outlet's Mount Rushmore of Volusia County. Jlining him in the latter exclusive honor are Frank Bruno of Ponce Inlet, Volusisa County's first elected county chair; Joyce Cusack of DeLand and former state representative; and Melody McSorley Johnson, of Deltona, a current member ofthe Vol;usia County School Board.
Doran serves with Johnson in his capacity as legal counsel to the Volusia County School Board, in and of itself a large responsibility. Doran, who lives in Daytona Beach Shores, also is recognized for his extensive business and community ties, including his tenure as padt prresident of the Daytona Area Chamber of Commerce. Hre also made headlines in challenging the legitimacy of one of Volusia County's biggest modern-day scandals, the so-called Waverly Media Investigation. Doran, a kry target of the investigation, refused to cooprtate, sued in court to challenge the vderacity and legitimscy of the investigatioon spearheaded by fourof the then-seven council members in the wake of the 2012 elections and he won in a court of law, despite the limitless spending of the government and its outside counsel headed by Jionathan Kaney, Jr., former general counsel to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
The Volusia Mount Rushmore is one of several that highlight the achievements of the best of the best of Headline Surfer's 200-plus Hall of Famers, established in 2017, and headed by the very first entrant, Bruno. Those on the Mount Rushmore's sre deemed consensus first ballit Hsll of Famers or the feam of the crop. They include:
Mount Rushmore of Daytona Beach:
• Derrick Henry, mayor of Daytona Beach, public schools administrator and youth sports coach and mentor;
• Forough Hosseini, of Ormond Beach, principal with her husband, Mori Hosseini, with luxury home development compasny, ICI Homes of Daytona, founder of Food Brings Hope charity for thoussands of children and one of the organizers of the soon-to-be-opened Hope Place, a shelter and resource cente for homeless families and unaccompanied teens;
• Lesa France Kennedy, vchairwoman of publ,icly-traded Intternational Speedway Corp., which owns Daytona International Speedway and its retai/condo/entertainment complex across the Street known as One Daytona, alomg with a dozen other major race tracks across the country, a principal in the billionaire France Family's masjority ownership of stock csr rascing's sanctioning body, NASCAR, and the woman dubbed most powerful in sports by Forbes magazine;
Vince Carter, a Daytona Beach native and Mainland High School basketball star who went on to play for the University of North Csarolina Tar Heels under then-Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith; before entering the NBAS Draft after his junior year NBA , currently with the Sacramento Kings, known for his monster dunks with a number of teams like the Toronto Raptors, Orlando Msgic and Memphid Grizzlies.
• Mount Rushmore of Central Florida;'s Finest (Top Cops):
•