Ron DeSantis appoints former Jeopardy champion as new board member for the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District

Jun 01, 2023 in "Reedy Creek Improvement District"

Posted: Thursday June 1, 2023 4:!5pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has today announced the appointment of Charbel Barakat to the board of his hand-picked Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

 

Charbel Barakat, a former Jeopardy champion, replaces Michael Sasso who resigned last week from his board position after less than four months in the job.

Barakat, of Tampa, is the Regional General Counsel for D.R. Horton, Inc. He currently serves as a Commissioner for the Second District Court of Appeal Judicial Nominating Commission and serves on the Florida Development Finance Corporation. Barakat is Vice President of the Federalist Society for the Tampa Bay Chapter and Chairman of the Volume Builders Council for the Florida Home Builders Association. Barakat earned his bachelor’s degree in international studies from Johns Hopkins University and his juris doctor from New York University School of Law.

The appointment is subject to confirmation by the Florida Senate.

Barakat will join the board that was appointed by DeSantis to replace the Reedy Creek Improvement District at the end of February 2023. Other members of the five-person board are Bridget Ziegler, one of the authors of Florida's controversial Parental Bill of Rights law, Ron Peri, a former senior pastor of Evangel Baptist Church and now CEO of The Gathering, and lawyers Martin Garcia and Brian Aungst.

The entire board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District is being sued by the Walt Disney Company as part of the lawsuit against the district and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

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lazyboy97o11 hours ago

From the Disney’s Animal Kingdom thread about Dinoland. This is something to watch going forward. Reedy Creek Improvement District predates the municipalities because it started as the Reedy Creek Drainage District. Water management is something the District took very seriously and was one of those areas where they were quite demanding.

Goofyernmost22 hours ago

That would mean finding a tiny battery charger and attempt to charge up a number of braincells that have died off in the Florida heat. From what I can tell none of those cells are firing and all actions are coming directly from their wallets or close proximity to the wallet.

JoeCamel1 day ago

ding ding ding indeed

JAB1 day ago

Maybe it means the legislature should "rescue" the district by having the "courage" to do the "honor"able thing and "fire" the CFTOD board. 😏

lentesta1 day ago

This is the funniest thing I've read so far today.

MisterPenguin2 days ago

Courage! Fire! Honor! That's what those who rescue bring to the table! Perhaps the FIRE and RESCUE could have been red lettering on gold background to cue one that they should be read together.

LAKid532 days ago

Ya think? 😂

Figgy12 days ago

What is this almost you speak of?

castlecake2.02 days ago

HiGhLy UNUZhOOaL FiRe DePartMenT

Chip Chipperson2 days ago

It's almost as if they're not qualified to hold their positions on the Board.

LAKid532 days ago

Guess someone forgot there's a formal process to do so.

GCTales2 days ago

I thought this was all done back in January?? https://www.wesh.com/article/reedy-creek-fire-department-rebranding/46537970

Brian2 days ago

It's like Ron Swanson (of Parks and Recreation) picked the name. "I wanted to communicate the nature of the department without sounding braggy." Of course, this would be his plan B, with plan A being fighting all the fires in the district himself, at no cost to the taxpayers.

LAKid532 days ago

Which will have this emblem....like all the other thousands of fire departments in the US Another waste of RCID taxpayer $$$... 🙄