TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Saturday night Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam participated in the Purple Heart State Convention, which was hosted by the Purple Heart Veterans of Florida, in Jacksonville. The Purple Heart Veterans of Florida awarded Commissioner Putnam with the Military Order of the Purple Heart Distinguished Service Award. Below are excerpts from his remarks:
“Florida is and aspires to continue to be the number one most veteran and military friendly state in the nation.
“As Commissioner of Agriculture, one of things we began a little over seven years ago is Operation Outdoor Freedom. To my knowledge, it is still the only one of its kind, size and scope in the nation. We have served over 3,600 veterans and given them opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors in Florida.
“We have constructed two designated camps in our state forests, managed by the Florida Forest Service. We built a brand new beautiful camp called Camp Prairie. It was our first Operation Outdoor Freedom camp. We recently opened our second camp, called Peace River Camp.
“We hosted 11 Congressional Medal of Honor recipients last fall. We began this program as a way of giving back and saying thank you. What it has become is much deeper.
“The therapy that’s taking place in those woods and around those campfires is extraordinary. We would not be able to continue to identify and promote this program without your help.
“We need to be able to let every veteran know that this is an opportunity for them and a small way for the State of Florida to say thank you for your service to our great country.
“In addition, we’ve dedicated a Purple Heart Trail in the Withlacoochee State Forest. We will continue, every single day, to build out these facilities, to support our veterans, support the families of our veterans and our active duty military so everyone knows that no state treats its veterans and active duty military any better than the great State of Florida.”