1983: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, for efforts to save the Everglades.
1984: Mary Wiley, who founded the first Florida chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
1985: John DeGrove, who pushed the Legislature to pass tough growth-management laws.
1986: Glen Doran, researcher at the Windover archaeological site near Titusville.
1987: Augustin Roman, Catholic auxiliary bishop who helped immigrants in South Florida.
1988: Jack Eckerd, for his work on prison reform.
1989: Jack Levine, for championing the cause of child welfare.
1990: Charles Reed, for his accomplishments as university-system chancellor.
1991: Hank and Katherine Collins, for their work in the crusade for decent, affordable housing.
1992: Kate Hale, for fighting for hurricane preparedness as Dade County’s emergency-management director.
1993: Janet Reno, for her visionary leadership as U.S. attorney general.
1994: Henry Landwirth, for trying to give sick kids the world.
1995: Hugh McKean, for sharing his passion for art and culture.
1996: Jim Henry, for promoting racial reconciliation as head of the Southern Baptist Convention.
1997: Frederick Humphries, for his work as president of Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University.
1998: The firefighter, for battling wildfires that threatened Central Florida.
1999/Floridian of the Millennium: John Gorrie, for inventing air conditioning.
1999/Floridian of the 20th Century: The newcomer, for all those new to Florida and what they did for the state in the past century.
2000: Peter C.H. Pritchard, for efforts to protect Florida’s wildlife.
(The award was called Floridian of the Year until 2001, when it was rebranded Central Floridian of the Year to provide a more local focus.)
2001: The Apopka Little League team, for winning the national championship and uniting the region.
2002: Dick Batchelor, for helping to rally Orange County to pass a tax increase for schools.
2003: Central Floridians who fought in Iraq, for defending freedom.
2004: Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings, for work during the record hurricane season.
2005: John Hitt, for his overall efforts to make UCF one of the best public universities in the nation.
2006: Joe Lewis, owner of Tavistock, for his drive to turn a “medical city” in Lake Nona into a reality.
2007: Catholic nuns Cathy Gorman, Ann Kendrick, Gail Grimes and Teresa McElwee, for helping the poor.
2008: Dr. Deborah German, dean of UCF’s College of Medicine, for her efforts to build the medical school.
2009: Dave Krepcho, president and CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, for his tireless efforts to feed the hungry during hard times.
2010: Michael Dippy, founder of IDignity, for helping homeless people regain their identity papers so they can restart their lives.
2011: Harris Rosen, hotelier, for his contributions to the region’s economy, and for his philanthropy.
2012: Deirdre Macnab, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida, for her determination on behalf of the state’s voters.
2013: Katie Porta, for her work with the developmentally disabled through Quest Inc.
2014: Harriett Lake, for years of support and generous contributions to arts and cultural organizations and other good causes.
2015: Andrae Bailey, CEO of the Central Florida Commission on Homelessness, for achieving a record year for fundraising and other milestones.
2016: Emergency Medicine and Trauma Teams/ORMC, for extraordinary efforts to save lives in the Pulse nightclub shootings.
2017: Dave Green, for leading his Feeding Children Everywhere charity, which sent aid to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
2018: Desmond Meade, for leading the Amendment 4 effort that restored voting rights to ex-felons.
2019: The Rev. Mary Lee Downey, for her efforts to alleviate poverty and homelessness in Osceola County.
2020: Central Florida’s health-care workers, for their selflessness, dedication and efforts to heal during the historic COVID-19 pandemic.
2021: Richard Lapchick, for a career spent battling racism in the sports world and beyond.
2022: Gary Cain, who spent four decades building the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida into one of the most successful branches in the country.
