At the end of last week, Gov. Ron DeSantis named Gary Lester and Gary Nicklaus and reappointed Steven Hudson to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The son of legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus, Gary Nicklaus, who lives in Jupiter, is a managing partner of Nicklaus Brown & Company and is the chairman of Camden Capital. He is also the co-chairman of the Children’s Healthcare Charity, Inc.
A talented junior golfer during his teens, Gary Nicklaus made the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1985. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in finance from the Ohio State University where he continued to play golf, including becoming an All-American and twice qualifying for the U.S. Amateur. In 1991, Nicklaus won the Porter Cup, one of the top amateur tournaments which is often a springboard for professional success. The year before Nicklaus won it, Phil Mickelson won the Porter Cup. The year after Nicklaus won it, David Duval claimed the Porter Cup.
Nicklaus played as a professional for more than a dozen years, including losing a playoff to Mickelson at the BellSouth Classic in 2000. He and his father won the Father/Son Challenge–now the PNC Championship–in 1999. In recent years, he has played on the Champions Tour.
Steven Hudson
Hudson, of Fort Lauderdale, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Hudson Capital Group. He serves as the Vice Chair of Broward Workshop and is on the Executive Committees of the Marine Research Hub and the Humane Society of Broward County. Hudson earned his bachelor’s degree in business economics from Southern Methodist University.
Gary Lester
Lester, of Oxford, is the Vice President of The Villages for Community Relations. He is the Chairman of the Villages Charter School Board and has previously served on the Florida Constitutional Revision Commission. Lester earned his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana Tech University and his master’s degree in divinity from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
