(850) 671-4401
Po Box 10570, Tallahassee, FL, 32302-2570, 
Subjects: All Subjects
Links:Website
3) Apple Inc
4) Artificial Intelligence for Manufacturing, Inc. (AIM)
6) AtkinsRealis
7) Bay County Board of County Commissioners
9) Beep, Inc.
14) EcoLandCo, LLC
17) Florida Senior Living Association
18) Florida Sheriffs Association
19) Florida Trucking Association
20) Gopher Resource
21) IBM
22) International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
23) JAX Chamber
24) Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC and Affiliates
25) Lake Wales Property Holdings, LLC
29) NASCAR, LLC
30) Neal Communities
33) OnSolve, LLC.
34) Osceola County
36) Punam, LLC.
37) Raydient LLC
38) ReCap, LLC
41) Second Harvest of the Big Bend
44) Tall Timbers Research, Inc.
46) TECO Energy, Inc
47) The Mahaffey Apartment Company
49) Tom Thumb Food Stores, Inc.
50) TSG Public Safety Advisors, LLC.
51) Urban SDK
Rachel Cone joins Southern Strategy Group after more than a decade of service in the highest levels of local and state governments. Rachel served as the Interim Secretary for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), where she successfully shepherded the department's policy agenda and $11 billion budget across the finish line of the 2017 legislative session.
During her time at FDOT she also served as the Assistant Secretary for Finance and Administration, overseeing the offices of work program and budget, finance, procurement, technology, human resources, performance management and other administrative functions. She managed three of the largest transportation work programs in state history and represented the department in front of the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Treasury, Fitch and Moody's rating agencies.
Rachel also directed changes to how the department finances the work program, and successfully advocated for statutory changes that resulted in a new financing vehicle for the department. This allows the department to fund additional, major transportation projects at a lower cost. She also oversaw the reorganization of the department's technology offices, which resulted in a culture shift for the department in how it prioritizes, spends and manages transportation-specific and traditional technologies.
In 2012, Governor Rick Scott appointed Rachel to serve as his Deputy Chief of Staff, where she was responsible for advising him on statewide issues, appointments to boards and commissions and providing guidance and direction to 14 state and quasi-governmental agencies on operational and management issues, including policy, budget, communication, legislative strategy and agency priorities. Those agencies were the Departments of Business and Professional Regulation, Citrus, Emergency Management, Economic Opportunity, Environmental Protection (and Water Management Districts) and Transportation. Also included under her purview were Florida Wildlife Commission, Space Florida, Visit Florida, Volunteer Florida and CareerSource Florida.
Rachel previously served as the External Affairs Director for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection where she directed planning and statewide communications strategies for the department, and coordinated communications efforts with Florida's five water management districts. This included topics such as renewed water management district oversight, various departmental restructuring, the health of Florida's springs, Governor Scott's Everglades Restoration Strategies plan and Florida's ongoing recovery after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Prior to her family's move to Tallahassee, Rachel served on the executive leadership team in the Mayor John Peyton administration in Jacksonville. Rachel began her career as a military reporter at the Florida Times-Union.
Rachel is a proud graduate of Auburn University. She and her family are active members of Trinity United Methodist Church, and Rachel serves as a member of the Board of Trustees at Holy Comforter Episcopal School in Tallahassee.
(850) 671-4401
Po Box 10570, Tallahassee, FL, 32302-2570, 
Subjects: All Subjects
Links:Website
1) Airbnb, Inc.
3) Altria Client Services LLC and its Affiliates
4) American Property Casualty Insurance Association
6) Apple Inc
7) Association of Florida Colleges, Inc
9) AtkinsRealis
11) Beep, Inc.
13) Breakthru Beverage Florida
16) Cengage
17) City of Orlando
19) Copart, Inc
21) CVS Health
22) Darden, Inc.
24) Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County
25) EcoLandCo, LLC
29) Fidelity National Financial, Inc
30) Flagler College
31) Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association
32) Florida Blue
33) Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority
34) Florida Prepaid College Foundation, Inc
37) Florida State Alliance of YMCA
38) Florida State College at Jacksonville Foundation
39) Florida Trucking Association
40) Friends of Florida Iron & Steel
41) G.L. Homes of Florida Corporation
42) Gopher Resource
45) International Business Machines Corporation (IBM)
46) Jack and Nancy Dwyer Workforce Development Center, Inc.
49) Lake Nona Property Holdings, LLC
51) Museum of Science & History
52) NASCAR, LLC
55) Pearl Holding Group (Ocean Harbor)
57) RedSpeed USA
59) Smart Horizons Career Online Education
60) Tall Timbers Research, Inc.
62) TECO Energy, Inc
63) Tenet Healthcare Corporation
64) Tesla, Inc.
67) University of Florida Foundation, Inc.
68) Vestcor Companies, Inc., The
69) Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, U.S.
70) Wells Fargo
Chris joined the firm in November of 2000 after serving seven years in Florida government. During this time, Chris served as the Assistant to the Chief of Staff and the Deputy Chief of Staff to former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Prior to serving in Governor Bush's administration, Chris served as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Deputy Legislative Director, and Special Assistant to former Florida Education Commissioner and former Florida Lt. Governor Frank T. Brogan. Chris also served as a legislative aide in the Florida House of Representatives. Throughout the years, Chris has worked on various state and local campaigns, including the 1998 and 2002 Bush/Brogan gubernatorial campaigns.
A devoted community activist, Chris was a finalist for Volunteer of the Year in 2007. Chris has served on the Board of Directors for the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science, where he served for two years as Chairman, the Board of Directors for the United Way of the Big Bend, and the Board of Directors for the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce. Chris is currently the Chairman of the Florida Network of Youth and Family Services, a not-for-profit statewide association representing agencies which serve homeless, runaway, and troubled youth. Chris also serves on the local advisory board for Hancock Bank and is a member of the Board of Trustees for the Maclay School. Chris was recently appointed by Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum to the Tallahassee Downtown Improvement Authority, an entity created by the Florida Legislature to promote the business and hospitality interests of downtown Tallahassee.
A native of Fort Myers, Florida, Chris Dudley graduated from the University of South Florida in 1993 with a Bachelor's degree in Political Science. Chris, his wife Susanne, and their two sons live in Tallahassee.
(850) 671-4401
Po Box 10570, Tallahassee, FL, 32302-2570, 
Subjects: All Subjects
Links:Website
3) Altria Client Services LLC and its Affiliates
5) Aucilla Research Institute, Inc.
8) Caesars Enterprise Services, LLC
10) Clay County Board of County Commissioners
12) Daytona State College Foundation, Inc
14) Dixie Board of Public Education/Dixie District School Board
17) Easterseals Northeast Central Florida
18) Easterseals Southwest Florida, Inc.
19) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
21) Fidelity National Financial, Inc
22) Flagler College
23) Florida Association of Broadcasters, Inc
24) Florida Blue
25) Florida Court Clerks and Comptrollers
26) Florida Insurance Council, Inc.
27) Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority
28) Florida Prepaid College Foundation, Inc
30) iEnable, Inc.
31) IMG Academy LLC
36) Key West International Airport
37) LEO Technologies
38) Martin County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller
39) Metro Development Group, LLC
41) NASCAR, LLC
43) Pearl Holding Group (Ocean Harbor)
46) Putnam County
48) Rood Chartrand Partnership
50) Second Harvest of the Big Bend
53) TECO Energy, Inc
54) The Arc of Putnam County, Inc.
57) Timberline Real Estate Partners
58) TrueHaul LLC
59) Two Roads Development, LLC
60) United States Sugar Corporation
61) Universal Protection Service, LLC
62) University of Florida Foundation, Inc.
63) Vestcor Companies, Inc., The
64) Volusia County
65) Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, U.S.
66) Workday, Inc.
David Browning is one of Florida's top political campaign operatives. David has worked with Florida's most powerful elected officials and brings a new dimension to Southern Strategy Group's team of lobbyists in Tallahassee. David was instrumental in raising millions of dollars for campaign war chests in the 2010 election cycle for Governor Rick Scott. David also worked for Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and set fundraising records for those campaigns. Fundraiser, strategist, and confidante, David is among a handful of insiders who help guide candidates to victory in Florida.
David has been equally busy helping the legislative branch. David served as the chief fundraiser for Speaker Dean Cannon. David's responsibilities included raising money for Speaker Cannon's personal campaign, as well as working with House leadership to raise money for the House Republican Caucus. Through these efforts, the Florida House returned 81 republican members giving them a supermajority.
In the Florida Senate David represented Senate President Mike Haridopolos and Senate Majority Leader Andy Gardiner. David worked with Senator John Thrasher who was elected in a highly contested special election. David brings his unique expertise to the Tallahassee team and offers our clients unprecedented insight into the workings of state government.
David is a graduate of Florida State University with a degree in Political Science.
1) Advantage Behavioral Health Services
3) Altria Client Services LLC and its Affiliates
5) American Property Casualty Insurance Association
7) Apple Inc
8) Aramark Correctional Services, LLC
10) Beer Industry of Florida, Inc
12) Clay County Board of County Commissioners
13) Copart, Inc
15) Fidelity National Financial, Inc
16) Florida Blue
17) Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority
18) Florida Pulp & Paper Association
19) Florida Sheriffs Association
21) Friends of Florida Iron & Steel
23) Gulfstream Natural Gas System, LLC
27) Key West International Airport
28) Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC and Affiliates
29) LEO Technologies
31) Metro Development Group, LLC
34) Putnam County
35) Raydient LLC
36) Rayonier, Inc
37) Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC
38) SCI Funeral Services of Florida, Inc
39) SMG Drones, LLC dba DARIUS
40) South Central Florida Express, Inc
42) The Arc of Putnam County, Inc.
45) Two Roads Development, LLC
46) United States Sugar Corporation
47) University of North Florida
A leader within Florida's government relations arena, Mercer Fearington, Jr. has been representing clients before the executive and legislative branches of Florida government since the mid-1990's. Mercer is the past Chairman of the Florida Agricultural Coalition and is a graduate of the Wedgworth Leadership Institute for Agriculture -- an affiliate of the Institute of Food and Agriculture and Sciences at the University of Florida. Mercer is a graduate of Mercer University.
Mercer lives in Tallahassee with his wife, Lindsey, and their three daughters.
(850) 671-4401
Po Box 10570, Tallahassee, FL, 32302-2570, 
1) Advantage Behavioral Health Services
2) Airbnb, Inc.
3) Altria Client Services LLC and its Affiliates
5) American Property Casualty Insurance Association
7) Apple Inc
8) Aramark Correctional Services, LLC
9) Artificial Intelligence for Manufacturing, Inc. (AIM)
11) Baldwin Risk Partners, LLC
12) Bay County Board of County Commissioners
13) Beach Mosquito Control District
15) Beer Industry of Florida, Inc
18) Caesars Enterprise Services, LLC
20) CGL Companies
22) City of Marathon
24) Copart, Inc
26) Fidelity National Financial, Inc
27) Florida Blue
28) Florida Prepaid College Foundation, Inc
29) Florida Pulp & Paper Association
30) Florida Senior Living Association
31) Florida Sheriffs Association
33) Friends of Florida Iron & Steel
34) Gopher Resource
36) Gulfstream Natural Gas System, LLC
41) Koch Companies Public Sector, LLC and Affiliates
42) LEO Technologies
44) Metro Development Group, LLC
45) Monroe County Sheriff's Office
47) NASCAR, LLC
48) National Emergency Management and Response
49) Next Insurance
51) Nutanix, Inc.
52) On Track School c/o TSG Education Advisors
54) Prescribed Pediatric Extended Care, Inc
56) Putnam County
57) Rayonier, Inc
58) ReCap, LLC
60) Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC
62) SCI Funeral Services of Florida, Inc
65) SMG Drones, LLC dba DARIUS
66) Southern Gardens Citrus Holding Corporation
68) Talitrix LLC.
70) TECO Energy, Inc
71) The Arc of Putnam County, Inc.
73) United States Sugar Corporation
74) Universal Protection Service, LLC