We hear so often of Florida’s resiliency — especially during hurricane season — and nothing could be closer to the truth this past season. Florida’s preparedness is extraordinary. The way cities, counties and the state came together, both before and after the storms, is a lesson in civility for all of us.
I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention our state’s business community. Whether it is our utility partners, contractors and suppliers, retailers and restaurants — all that they do in preparation and response is nothing short of amazing, stepping up to help wherever it is needed. We also mustn’t forget all our frontline workers — police, firefighters, EMTs, nurses, doctors and medical personnel of all kinds. Neighbors, too, jumping in to help one another show how challenging times bring out the best in all of us.
This season, FLORIDA TREND personally felt the wrath of Hurricane Milton. I am sure that most everyone is familiar with the crane that fell on the building in downtown St. Pete and became a national news story. That building that the crane smashed into was where FLORIDA TREND’s corporate offices resided. In fact, a portion of the crane was positioned directly in my personal office.
Falling in the middle of the night when it did and landing on a commercial property rather than a residential building was a godsend, as no one was injured. However, the sheer force of the impact broke water lines and piping, setting off the building’s fire sprinklers, which I am told ran for nearly 24 hours. Unfortunately, we believe FLORIDA TREND has lost most everything in the office — if not from the damage from the crane’s collapsing, surely the damage from the water. As I write this column in early November, we have not yet been able to realize the full extent of the damage — nor have we been allowed access to our office due to the compromised structural integrity of the building. City and building engineers are currently assessing the situation.
In the meantime, FLORIDA TREND has moved into temporary office space while awaiting more details regarding the building.
Just as Florida and Floridians are resilient — so, too, is FLORIDA TREND. We are not looking backwards — only forward. Although many of our company’s historical treasures have been lost in the damage, FLORIDA TREND’s future is bright and only continues to grow stronger and stronger.
One ask that I do have of our readers — if any of you have saved your FLORIDA TREND magazines over the years and have built up a collection, I would love to hear from you. Given the damage to the building, we believe that our hardbound copies dating back to our original issue in 1958 have been destroyed. Any help you might be able to provide in building back up our collection again would be greatly appreciated.
— David G. Denor, Publisher ddenor@floridatrend.com