Governor appoints Oviedo resident and A. Duda & Sons VP to seat on Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

Photo for Headline Surfer® / Rick Hanas, vice president of A. Duda & Sons of Seminole County has been tapped by the governor to sit on a a key Florida board.
 
By HENRY FREDERICK
Headline Surfer

OVIEDO, Fla. -- Gov. Rick Scott on Monday appointed Oviedo resident Richard Hanas to a vacant seat on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Hanas, 65, is the senior vice president of A. Duda & Sons Inc., a diversified land company He fills a vacant seat and is appointed for a term that began Monday and ends Aug. 1, 2017.

Rick Hanas, 65, is the senior vice president of A. Duda & Sons Inc., a diversified land company He fills a vacant seat and is appointed for a term that began Monday and ends Aug. 1, 2017.

The other six commissioners are Charles W. Roberts, III of Tallahassee, Aliese P. "Liesa" Priddy of Immokalee, Ronald M. Bergeron of Fort Lauderdale, Adrien Bo Rivard of Panama City, Richard A. Corbett of Monticello, and Brian S. Yablonski of Tallahassee.

FAST FACTS: A. Duda & Sons
DUDA of Seminole County, FL / Headline Surfer®-- Based in Oviedo in Seminiole County, Fla.
-- A. Duda & Sons, Inc. is a diversified land company engaged in a variety of agricultural & real estate operations. The family-owned and -operated company is in its 5th generation of family ownership. The company traces its roots back to 1909 when Andrew Duda immigrated to America from the Slovak region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Duda settled in the small Slovak colony of Slavia in Central Florida. In 1926, Andrew Duda and his three sons harvested their first cash crop of celery and established A. Duda & Sons. The company was formally incorporated as A. Duda & Sons, Inc. in 1953. 
Today, DUDA operates through several business organizations, including joint ventures, partnerships, wholly owned subsidiaries and operating divisions. The company is managed today by members of the third and fourth generations of the Duda family and a team of experienced managers.
There are 13 direct descendents of Andrew Duda and an additional five family members working in the business. The company is governed by a board of directors consisting of members of the Duda family & non-family members from varying business backgrounds.
-- A Duda & Sons reported consolidated gross revenues of $425 million. The company employs 550 full-time employees and 445 seasonal employees.
 
Did You Know?
The Florida Constitution authorizes the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to enact rules and regulations regarding the state's fish and wildlife resources. To do this, the seven Commissioners meet five times a year to hear staff reports, consider rule proposals & conduct other Commission business. Because stakeholder involvement is a crucial part of the process, it conduct Commission meetings in different locations across the state, offering citizens the opportunity to address the Commission about issues under consideration.