Who are the Flood Defenders?

I had the opportunity to meet with Flood Defenders founder and
CEO Jay Faison yesterday afternoon at a Dunkin Donuts shop
off of Davis Hwy in Pensacola.  The conversation was interestng...

I've seen their signs around town in a few locations.

I've seen some posts on local social media.

Former Escambia County employee Chris Curb has come to a few meetings representing this group..

So who are the Flood Defenders?

I hadn't spent much time thinking about it  until last week when I was "introduced" to founder and CEO Jay Failson via a state representative's group text message-- encouraging me to sit down with him to talk about the issue of flooding.

So I scheduled a meeting with Mr. Faison, and had to pivot, at the last minute, from meeting yesterday afternoon in my office to meeting him instead at the Dunkin Donuts Shop location on Davis Hwy.

So I walked in, purchased a beverage,  and introduced myself  to Faison and his product manager Jonah Driggers--and we had an exteremely honest, frank discussion on a variety of topics (local politics, local budgets, and local flooding, mainly).

"Sorry for the switch at the last minute" I told them both.."This isn't exactly where I normally have county meetings.." I chuckled.

"No--this is fine.  It's actually a lot quieter than Starbucks would have been!" Faison quipped.

"So tell me what you guys are all about?"  I asked to kick off the discussion.  

"I was fortunate to sell a company for more than it was worth, and I founded Flood Defenders--this is what I am doing now." said Faison.

"Why did you decide on this as a cause?"  to which he replied "Someone close to me lost everything in a flood--so I decided I would do something about that."  He replied, succinctly.

"What does winning look like to you and Flood Defenders?"  I asked.

He leaned back in his chair, clapped his hands together, and then leaned forward over the table and said-"That's a great question, thanks for asking"..at which point he dug into this topic that he is certainly passionate about.   "Winning is getting local, state, and Federal governments to take this problem seriously, and to spend more on addressing flooding.  In the last session here in Florida, we worked very closely with [speaker] Chris Sprowls to pass historic legislation that will provide hundreds of millions of dollars in grant funding for the state and for counties like Escambia--these are some wins."

He and Mr. Driggers went on to describe how Escambia county was one of the most flood-affected counties in the state--to which I described some of the reasons why this might be..."We were the only county out of 67 that were allowing builders to build storm ponds and developments to a 25 year standard--while everyone else in the state was already at the 100 year standard."  He already knew that, but he pointed to some different, more profound and troubling issues in Escambia County.  "Escambia County's approach to the flooding problem is all over the map..I'm just trying to wrap my arms around it and it is a basin study

here, a report there-but no real coherent strategy." he pointed out.

I went on to let him know about my campaigns going door to door and how folks had related to me very frequently that stormwater issues were a HUGE concern--that and traffic issues.  So he certainly had my attention when he set a nicely organized, printed PowerPoint presentation down in front of me, showing a couple of examples of lingering stormwater issues in my district that could be constructed with a significant portion of the costs coming from the state.  So I suggested that he coordinate directly with staff--including a meeting with County Engineer Joy Jones.  He intimated he would meet with her "In three weeks when I come back to town."

I told him about two current stormwater projects I have funded with discretionary LOST funds(Sarasota street/Floridian Ditch and Fridinger/Dunaway)--with a query to him about whether or not current project, already funded, could qualify for some of this new grant money.   "I'm not sure, that's a great question."

We talked a little politics too--with me sharing in complete honesty (probably a bit more honest than I needed to be) about what I think about some of the dynamics on our current board and some local chat sites... 😏.  We also talked impact fees, my staunch resistance to raising year over year tax rates on current property tax payers in the county, his thoughts on global warming, and whether or not his organization would delve into local politics by endorsing and supporting candidates for office.

"Yes, we probably will.  We want action and we want to support people who want to work on this problem" he stated unequivocally.

So there was that.

As we were wrapping up our discussion and everyone was preparing to leave the donut shop, Faison pulled out a crisp and very nicely designed and costructed business card and handed it to me.  I opened my billfold, placed his card in there, and pulled out one of mine, folded with creases from the way it is stacked in my wallet and handed it to him.  Momentarily it reminded me of the infamous business card scene from American Psycho.... (Suffice it to say my standard, carbon copy card is nothing special....)

I was appreciative of their time and their willingness to change venues to the donut shop for the meeting--and I expressed this to them as we all walked out of the shop together to our cars. (as we were leaving, a donut shop "customer" -who hadn't made a purchase--laid back in the booth right behind where we were sitting, plugged in her cell phone(s), and stretched out for a nap.....so that was kind of bizzare.

Nevertheless--the meeting was a good introduction to what these guys are about....The takeaway:  The passion just oozed out of Mr. Faison.   No question about it--he is serious about the issue of properly addressing flooding.  And he is putting his money where his mouth (and passion) is.   

This group is aiming to be a major player in this space--- not just in Escambia County--but throughout the region and country.

It will be interesting to follow their progress, for many reasons, going forward.

Check out their website, here.