Governor Mixson Highway to be designated

MARIANNA -- Florida’s 39th Governor, Wayne Mixson, will be honored Friday in Marianna for his 20 years of service to the people of North Florida with the opening of Governor Mixson Highway.
State 73, from the Calhoun County line to U.S. Highway 231, was designated by the 2014 Florida Legislature to commemorate Mixson’s legacy of public service, which began as Jackson County’s member of the House of Representatives in 1967 and concluded when he served briefly as governor in 1987.
Mixson and his wife, Margie Grace, will attend brief designation ceremonies beginning at 9:30 a.m. Friday next to Hancock Bank located at 2900 Jefferson St. in Marianna. The public is welcome.
In announcing the designation, state Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, recalled Mixson’s lifetime of advocacy for agriculture, farm families and rural communities.
Mixson served six terms in the Florida House of Representatives and was chosen by then-Sen. Bob Graham as his running mate in the 1978 gubernatorial election. Graham and Mixson were successful and, in January, 1979, Mixson became lieutenant governor. In 1987, following Graham’s resignation to assume a seat in the U.S. Senate, Mixson became the state’s 39th governor.
In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will be moved across the street to the Jackson County School Board meeting room located 2903 Jefferson Street in Marianna.