Media Contact:
Elizabeth Ray
FRLA Communications Director
850.224.2250 x255
[email protected]
(Tallahassee, FL) – The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association (FRLA) is proud to present an opportunity for business leaders to receive licensing, regulation and inspections insights from Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) Secretary Ken Lawson. Secretary Lawson is scheduled to be at two separate FRLA events on Wednesday, September 16, at The Fish House Deck in Pensacola and Edgewater Beach and Golf Resort Conference Center in Panama City Beach.
“Secretary Lawson has worked hard to help streamline the regulatory process across the state and is full of invaluable information for business owners,” said Carol Dover, President and CEO of the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association. “It is crucial that restaurateurs and hoteliers understand the regulatory process and Secretary Lawson can shed light on the best practices that promote the health and safety of the public.”
A native Floridian, Lawson has spent more than 12 years serving and protecting the public in numerous regulatory positions. Lawson began his legal career in the United States Marine Corps, Judge Advocate General’s Division and spent seven years serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. After serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Lawson was appointed Assistant Secretary of Enforcement for the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He most recently served as Vice President of Compliance at nFinanSe Inc., a financial services company in Tampa, where he was responsible for the company’s Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering program and its compliance with state money transmitter licensing regulations for 42 states.
DBPR’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants (H&R) is responsible for licensing, inspecting and regulating public lodging and food service establishments in Florida. The mission of the division is to protect the health and safety of the public by providing the industry with quality inspections and fair regulation. The division is also responsible for licensing and regulating elevators, escalators and other vertical conveyance devices.
Media is invited to both events, which are free to all attendees. The schedule is as follows:
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16:
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
FRLA Greater Pensacola Chapter Meeting
The Fish House Deck, Pensacola
3:00 – 5:00 PM
FRLA Bay Chapter Meeting
Edgewater Beach and Golf Resort Conference Center, Panama City Beach
Public interested in attending the event in Pensacola should contact John Bloodworth, and those interested in attending the event in Panama City Beach should contact Ray Green. Please click here for information on the Greater Pensacola Chapter Meeting or click here for the Bay Chapter Meeting.
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About the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association
FRLA is Florida’s premier non-profit hospitality industry trade association. Our mission is to ‘Protect, Educate and Promote’ Florida’s $82 billion hospitality industry which represents 23% of Florida’s economy and more than 1.1 million employees – making it the state’s number one industry. We offer regulatory compliance and food safety training needs (RCS and SafeStaff®); industry developed career-building high school programs (FRLAEF); sponsor the only event in Florida exclusively serving the restaurant and foodservice industry (FR&L Show, October 6-8, 2015 in Orlando); and we safeguard the needs of the hospitality industry by providing legislative advocacy. We represent and serve more than 10,000 independent and household name members, suppliers, and theme parks. For more information, go to www.FRLA.org and find us on Twitter @FRLAnews, Facebook and YouTube.