If ever there were a person who made you proud to be a Central Floridian, it's Bob Kealing. From broadcast news to authoring books, Kealing digs up the stories that tell us about a Florida that is as nuanced and culturally rich as anywhere in the country. He's lent his talents and reputation to lift up and celebrate the things that give us some communal bragging rights, like the Kerouac House in College Park. His books range from the female-empowerment story of Brownie Wise and Tupperware to the genesis of country rock via Gram Parsons. His most recent, Good Day Sunshine State, digs deep into the Beatles touring in Florida at the height of Beatlemania, just as the nation was bouncing back from the JFK tragedy and mass social change began to sweep across the state and the world.
Best of Orlando: Local Notables
1st: Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, feedhopenow.org
2nd: Zebra Coalition, zebrayouth.org
3rd: Aeras Foundation, aeras.foundation
1st: Equality Florida, eqfl.org
2nd: Stand With Abortion Now (SWAN), swanoforlando.org
3rd: League of Women Voters of Florida, lwvoc.org
1st: Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando, petallianceorlando.org
2nd: Pet Rescue by Judy, petrescuebyjudy.com
3rd: Orange County Animal Services, orangecountyanimalservicesfl.net
1st: State Rep. Anna Eskamani, annaforflorida.com
2nd: Mayor Buddy Dyer, orlando.gov
3rd: U.S. Rep. Maxwell Alejandro Frost, frost.house.gov
1st: Scott Maxwell, orlandosentinel.com/author/scott-maxwell
2nd: Savannah Boan, facebook.com/thesexysavannah
3rd: Johnny Magic XL 106.7, xl1067.iheart.com/featured/johnny-magic/about
1st: WTKS 104.1-FM Real Radio, realradio.iheart.com
2nd: WMFE 90.7-FM, wmfe.org
3rd: WDBO 107.3-FM and 580-AM, wdbo.com/on-air
1st: Johnny Magic, XL 106.7 xl1067.iheart.com/featured/johnny-magic/about
2nd: Sabrina Ambra, Real Radio 104.1, facebook.com/sabrina.ambra
3rd: Russ Rollins, Real Radio 104.1, realradio.iheart.com/featured/monsters-blogs-russ-rollins
1st: "Johnny's House" on XL 106.7, xl1067.iheart.com/featured/johnny-s-house-live-blog
2nd: "Monsters in the Morning" on Real Radio 104.1, realradio.iheart.com/featured/as-heard-on-the-monsters
3rd: "The News Junkie" on Real Radio 104.1, thenewsjunkie.com