DESTIN — Gov. Rick Scott slipped into town Wednesday to have lunch with recently elected state Rep. Mike Hill before he attends Thursday's Enterprise Florida board of directors meeting.
On message — as he has been since his election three years ago on a promise to create 700,000 jobs in seven years — Scott said he would “celebrate successes” in economic development when he speaks to the Enterprise Florida gathering and encourage attendees to continue to “help market the state.”
“The big thing we’ve got to do is continue to get the message out to people to come to Florida,” he said.
Scott arrived at Destin Airport shortly before noon and spent about 30 minutes talking to a handful of local Republicans who turned out to greet him.
Steve Czonstka, Okaloosa County’s elected Republican State Committeeman, said he’s spoken in the past to Scott’s team about better organizing trips to Northwest Florida so as not to catch supporters off guard.
“I’ve told them ‘you need to let the field guys know. You’re going to need us to deliver the votes,’ ” Czonstka said. “This time he let us know for the first time.”
Those who greeted Scott included new Okaloosa County Republican State Committeewoman Sandra Atkinson and Gaye Ellis, the county’s new chairwoman of the Republican Executive Committee.
Scott said his lunch with Hill, who represents District 2 in Pensacola, was basically an opportunity to get to know the new legislator.
“He’s new. I just want to talk,” Scott said.
Among those speaking at the public portion of Thursday's Florida Enterprise meeting at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa will be Jeffrey Barger, vice president and general manager of L-3 Crestview Aerospace at Bob Sikes Airport.
Scott often has pointed to L-3 Crestview Aerospace as a success story. The company employs more than 1,000 people and has added more than 200 workers since 2011.
Enterprise Florida President Gray Swoope and Park Brady, CEO of the St. Joe Co., also will speak about the “impact the military and defense industry has on the Florida economy,” Enterprise Florida spokeswoman Nancy Hines said.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.