Carlton Jones to Chair TPL’s Jacksonville Council (FL)

Jacksonville, FL, 7/18/2008: – The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit land conservation organization, announced today that Carlton Jones has been appointed chair of its Jacksonville Field Office Advisory Council.

Mr. Jones has been a member of TPL’s advisory council for three years and previously served as vice chair. He succeeds Bob Rhodes, who served as chair for two years.

A major focus of TPL’s work in Northeast and Central Florida is the St. Johns River Initiative, a program to conserve land for people along the 310-mile length of this American Heritage River. The initiative’s goal is to conserve the character and heritage of sites along the river and create an interconnected system of access points so that people have opportunities to connect to and experience the river for generations to come. Two recent grants totaling $25,000 will enable TPL to continue its greenprinting work on the river, a process that employs GIS technology and local input to identify lands that could be conserved as part of the system.

“I am very excited to be taking the helm of TPL’s advisory council in Jacksonville at this particular time, as we turn our focus to the St. Johns River,” said Jones. “I am blessed to have the opportunity to help ensure that our children, and our children’s children, will have the opportunities we have had to connect to the life’s blood of our region, the St. Johns River.”

Mr. Jones is chairman of Colbyco Enterprises, Inc., a company that performs site work, excavation landscaping, installation, and real estate development, and offers advertising and marketing consultation. Jones serves as president of Renaissance Design Build Group of Jacksonville, Inc. He is former president of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce–Northwest Council, Associated Builders and Contractors, and Leadership Jacksonville. He is a member of Leadership Florida, president of the American Beach Property Owners Association, and has served on a variety of local boards, including the First African-American Chamber of Commerce, the Jacksonville Zoological Gardens, and the Edwards Waters College Board of Trustees.

“Carlton has been an important member of our leadership team for three years,” said Rhodes. “I am very much looking forward to working with him in this new role.”

The other members of TPL’s Jacksonville Field Office Advisory Council are: Mr. Henry Dean; Mr. John Delaney; Mr. Jack Diamond; Mr. Fred Franklin; Ms. Doris Goldstein; Mr. David Hammers; Mr. Clay Henderson; Ms. Linda King; Ms. Ginny Myrick; Mr. Bob Rhodes; Mr. John Schultz; Ms. Ann Shorstein; and Mr. Richard Skinner.

Operating in Florida since 1975, The Trust for Public Land (TPL) has protected more than 340 sites – over 200,000 acres at a market value of about $700 million. Closer to home, with the support of people, corporations, and foundations that support our mission, TPL has preserved 60 places in the St. Johns River watershed, 10 of them directly on the river or its tributaries.

“Now we want to take the next step – a giant leap – to create a regional vision for the entire St. Johns River, to acquire riverfront land, develop parks, and get people out to experience this treasure firsthand,” said Susan Grandin, director of TPL’s Jacksonville office.

Other important TPL efforts in northeast Florida include acquisition of the historic Broward House on Heckscher Drive, a 30-acre expansion to the popular Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, the Thomas Creek Fish Camp, Camp Milton Historic Park, Castaway Island Preserve, Cradle Creek Preserve in Jacksonville, the 260-acre Moccasin Slough property on the St. Johns River in Clay County, and three sites at American Beach in Nassau County.

The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural areas, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. Since its founding in 1972, TPL has helped protect more than 2.5 million acres of land in 46 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Trust for Public Land depends on the support and generosity of individuals, foundations, and businesses to achieve our land for people mission.