UPCOMING ENTREPRENEURSHIP LUNCH & LEARN EVENT TO FEATURE FORMER STATE HOUSE SPEAKER ALLAN BENSE

Former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and chair of the FSU Board of Trustees, Allan Bense will be the guest for January’s Entrepreneurship Lunch & Learn event at Florida State University Panama City.

This event will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 22, in the St. Joe Community Foundation Lecture Hall at FSU Panama City’s Holley Academic Center, 4750 Collegiate Drive. A free box lunch will be provided, and the event is open to the public.

Born on a farm in Panama City, Bense exemplifies perseverance and hard work, according to FSU PC instructor Brian Baber, the Entrepreneur in Residence at the Jim Moran College of Entrepreneurship. Baber holds Lunch & Learn entrepreneurship discussions several times a year with special guests from the business world.

“Allan’s life story is a testament to resilience, vision and servant leadership,” Baber said.

After losing both parents at an early age, Bense was raised by his grandmother and worked numerous jobs to support himself through school. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1972 and an MBA in 1974 from FSU. During his last semester, he lived in his station wagon and worked nights cleaning bathrooms at the Capitol.

Bense’s career began in banking, where he turned around struggling institutions. With his mentor, Charles Hilton, Bense built a diversified portfolio of businesses spanning real estate, construction, health care and more. He was also a founding shareholder in Simply Healthcare Holdings, which sold for $1 billion in 2015.

In public service, Bense was the first Republican to win his district’s seat in the Florida House of Representatives. He became Speaker of the House in 2004 and chose to step down after serving eight years, remaining true to his promise to prioritize his family and business.

Bense’s leadership extends to numerous boards, including Florida State University, the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Triumph Gulf Coast. He has served on organizations such as the Bay County Tourist Development Council and HCA Gulf Coast Community Hospital. His accomplishments have been recognized with awards like the NAACP Appreciation Award and an honorary doctorate from FSU. The atrium of the Holley Center bears his name.

Bense and his wife, Tonie, have been married since 1975. They have three grown children and six grandchildren.

Baber’s Entrepreneurship series can be streamed through Apple Podcasts and Spotify.