Sponsored by the Riley Institute at Furman University, Greenville Forward and the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce, Hood's talk is part of the Vision 2025 Lecture Series.  The public is invited to attend without charge.

      Florida Governor Jeb Bush appointed Hood as Secretary of State in 2003. Government restructuring has expanded her office into one of the most powerful state agencies in the country, and Hood is responsible for, among other things, the state's elections, library and information services, historical resources, and cultural affairs.

      Hood is working with Enterprise Florida and the Agency for Workforce Innovation to develop the state's strategic and economic development plan, and she is also helping lead Florida's Free Trade Area of the Americas in its quest to encourage international partnerships among the 34 countries of the Western Hemisphere.

      Prior to her appointment as Secretary of State, Hood was elected the first female Mayor of Orlando in 1992.  During her three terms, she served as Chair of Florida's Domestic Security Advisory Panel and worked with then-Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to carry out Florida's Statewide Security Summit.

      She has been president of the National League of Cities, the Florida League of Cities, and the Florida Chamber of Commerce.  A native of Orlando, she is a graduate of Rollins College and the Executive Program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.

      For more information, contact Furman's Riley Institute at 864-294-3251.

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9-15-05