“Why choose rural Florida? We go back to the people. The people who live here and work here support everyone around them. We’re neighbors, we’re friends, we’re family.”

– Jennifer Daniels

“FREDA is a combination of 30+ counties. At the legislative level, we focus on our rural components, which are all 30 counties, to ensure that we are trying to meet the needs of those people when we go to Tallahassee or Washington, and making sure that we bring back the things that’s going to make our communities better than they are today.”

– Terry Burroughs

“It was such a pleasure to attend the 2024 FREDA Summit! The energy in the room was incredible, surrounded by passionate and welcoming people who truly care about making a difference in their communities. The conversations and connections we made were valuable, and we left feeling inspired and grateful for the opportunity to be part of such a meaningful event.”

– David Petr / Marketing Alliance

“It was an incredible privilege to be part of the 2024 FREDA Summit. Every detail reflected a true commitment to Florida’s rural communities and aligned perfectly with our mission to support small business and local growth. We’re already looking forward to next year!”

– Lacy Beasley / Retail Strategies

“Having FREDA gives us a couple of things. One: it gives us a chance to collaborate and learn best practices from each other. Two: it gives us a chance to advocate to legislators with a stronger voice. 3. It allows us to have friendly competition (collab-etition) with each other, where a business may choose a site in one of our neighboring RAOs, but it all helps build a stronger rural Florida.“

– Richard Williams / Chairman Opportunity Florida