Ben Hill Griffin is known throughout the country and state for his citrus empire and strong work ethic.  Born in Tiger Bay, near Fort Meade, Florida, Griffin gained his knowledge of citrus at the University of Florida. Griffin parlayed a 10-acre grove into a vast empire of citrus and cattle. He owned nearly 100,000 acres, but he controlled about 275,000 through private holdings and Alico, a company he founded.  He would repay the University for that knowledge through donations totaling nearly $20 million. In his honor, the university named its football stadium Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, and an auditorium at its Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred after him.  

Like his namesake, U.S. Senator Benjamin Hill of Georgia, Griffin also found himself in politics, where he represented Polk County in the Florida House for eight years beginning in 1956, and in the Senate for four years after that. He made an unsuccessful bid for governor in 1974, losing to Reubin Askew. Three years earlier, Griffin chaired an Askew blue-ribbon committee credited with helping pass the state’s first corporate tax.  On citrus, his word was law — literally. A political writer once noted that amending a Ben Hill Griffin citrus bill “would be like amending the book of Genesis.”  Griffin’s wealth, estimated by some to be more than $300 million, ranked him as one of the wealthiest men in America until his death at 79 in 1990 at his Avon Park home.   

Over a long and distinguished career, Ben Hill Griffin garnered many civic, fraternal, and professional titles over his lifetime including, Chief Executive Officer, Ben Hill Griffin, Inc., Frostproof; citrus grower, grove management, cattle ranching, Griffin Fertilizer Co. and Lake Wales Country Club; Past President and Chairman of the Florida Citrus Showcase; he was elected to the Citrus Hall of Fame in1979; Also elected to the Florida Agricultural Hall of Fame and honored with the Great Floridian Award (Distinguished Service Medal of the State of Florida) in 1987;  Member, Florida Council of 100;; Member of the Florida Land Council; Advisor, Honorary Life Member, Future Farmers of America; Past Board Member, Gulf Ridge Council Boy Scouts of America; Honorary Lifetime Member, Boy Scouts of America/Explorer Division, Tampa, FL; Honorary Lifetime Member, Florida Sheriff’s Association; Honorary Member, Florida Blue Key; Honorary Lifetime Member, Frostproof Rotary Club; Mason of the Scottish Rite, Shriner, Jester and Elks Lodge; Member, Presidents Council Florida Hospital Foundation, Orlando, FL; Former Member, Board of Directors, Walker Memorial Hospital, Avon Park, FL; Florida Enterprise Medal- Merchants Association of Florida, Inc., 1989; and 1989 Frostproof’s Man of the Year.