Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida names Jeff Fridkin, Adria Starkey to 2018 Business Hall of Fame, Collier County
FORT MYERS, Fla. (July 19, 2018) – Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida is pleased to announce that Jeff Fridkin, founding member of Grant Fridkin Pearson, P.A., and Adria Starkey, Collier County president for FineMark National Bank & Trust, will be inducted into its 2018 Business Hall of Fame, Collier County. The laureates will be honored during a dinner and awards ceremony on Thursday, Nov. 1 with a cocktail reception at 5 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. at the Naples Grande Beach Resort in Naples.
The prestigious award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who serve as role models for youth through their professional accomplishments and commitment to the community. Fridkin and Starkey will join a distinguished group of individuals who have been inducted into the Business Hall of Fame since it was founded in 1988. For more information on the event, or to learn about sponsorship opportunities and purchasing tickets, please visit www.JASWFL.org.
A founding member of Grant Fridkin Pearson, P.A., Fridkin has practiced law in Southwest Florida since 1985. A Florida Bar Board-Certified Civil Trial and Business Litigation Specialist, Fridkin heads the firm’s litigation group. Over the years, he has successfully represented clients in hundreds of substantial disputed matters involving commercial, wills/trusts and personal injury fields of law.
Fridkin is a longtime community advocate and has served Southwest Florida through his involvement on a variety of boards and committees. He currently serves as chair emeritus of Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation and board member of Health Care Network of Southwest Florida Foundation’s Board of Directors. He formerly served in various capacities for Collier County Bar Association Trial Lawyers Section, Economic Development Council of Collier County, Florida Gulf Coast University Financing Corp., Florida Gulf Coast University Presidential Search Committee, Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce, Leadership Collier Foundation, Lee County Port Authority’s Airports Special Management Committee, Partners in Education, and the Grievance Committee of the Florida Bar’s Twentieth Judicial Circuit.
For 25 years, Fridkin has maintained an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He is a Florida Super Lawyer (2006-2016) and has also been designated as a Legal Elite in commercial litigation by Florida Trend Magazine (2013-2017). He has been named to the Bet-the-Company Litigation, Commercial Litigation, Litigation-Construction, Litigation-Real Estate and Litigation-Trusts & Estates sections of The Best Lawyers in America (2006-2018), also earning “Lawyer of the Year” for Best Lawyers’ Fort Myers Bet-the-Company Litigation (2014), Litigation-Construction (2014-2016, 2018) and Litigation-Real Estate (2017). In 2009, he was presented with The Donald E. Van Koughnet Lion of the Law Award for professionalism by the Judiciary of Collier County, Florida.
Fridkin earned his Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Missouri.
As the Collier County president for FineMark National Bank & Trust, Starkey has 30 years of experience in financial services. Prior to joining FineMark, Starkey was chief operating officer of The Sanibel Captiva Trust Company and president of The Naples Trust Company, and has held executive positions at major banking institutions including Wachovia National Bank (Wells Fargo) and Northern Trust.
Starkey serves her community with distinction through involvement in a number of organizations and committees. She was recently re-appointed by Governor Rick Scott to the Florida Prepaid College Board, is a lifetime trustee and former grant committee member of the Naples Children & Education Foundation, on the Advisory Board for FGCU’s Lutgert College of Business and Institute for Entrepreneurship, a mentor for Champions for Learning, an emeritus trustee and former chair of The Shelter for Abused Women and Children and a founding member of Girls Inc. (now Boys and Girls Club of Collier County). She served as 2014 co-chair of the Naples Winter Wine Festival and past directorships also include Artis Naples, the University of Florida Harn Museum, Economic Development Council of Collier County, Gulfshore Playhouse, The Education Foundation and the Community School of Naples.
Starkey has received many honors for her community involvement. In 2000, she was named Woman of the Year by Gulfshore Life magazine and Woman of Achievement by The Community Foundation. She received the 2008 Edison College Leadership in Fostering Education Award and in 2013 she was awarded a Glass Slipper by Champions for Learning for her continued commitment to education. Most recently, Starkey was recognized in the Naples Daily News’ 25 Over 50.
Starkey holds a degree in Finance from the University of Florida and has done postgraduate work at Florida International University, University of Miami and the University of North Carolina. She and her husband of 15 years, Jerry Starkey, live in Naples and are proud parents of four children.
ABOUT JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT:
Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. Junior Achievement programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. Today, JA reaches 4.8 million students per year in more than 100 markets across the United States, with an additional 5.6 million students served by operations over 100 other countries worldwide. Locally, Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida partnered with more than 280 classroom business volunteers during the 2016-2017 school year to provide more than 10,600 students with Junior Achievement programs in more than 440 classes throughout Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties. For more information on Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida, visit www.JASWFL.org.
