Jody Hudgins

Florida Bar Foundation board member Joseph “Jody” Hudgins has made a $10,001 donation to the Foundation. Hudgins, who was appointed to The Florida Bar Board of Governors as a public member in 2019, also serves on the Foundation’s board as designate for John M. Stewart, The Bar’s Immediate Past President.

A banker for more than 40 years, Hudgins is now the Chief Credit Officer of First Florida Integrity Bank in Naples. He has run 38 marathons, including the Boston Marathon twice.

At his first Board of Governors meeting, Hudgins was introduced to the Foundation when Foundation Executive Director Donny MacKenzie presented.

A short two years later, Hudgins has found several ways to support the Foundation. In 2020, he proposed a rule amending rule 5-1.1 of the rules regulating The Florida Bar. The proposed rule, if passed, would establish a clarified framework for banks to pay interest rates on lawyers’ trust accounts.

The rule is designed to provide more certainty in interest rate calculations for banks and the Foundation. It would also most likely increase IOTA revenues, which would allow the Foundation to award more grants

The proposed rule is scheduled for final action by The Bar Board of Governors on March 5, 2021.

Hudgins’ recent donation was given as an undesignated gift to be used for the Foundation’s greatest needs.

“Those of us that have been blessed to have the acumen and the resources to obtain an undergraduate and graduate degree, and therefore enjoy a very prosperous and fulfilling career, should be willing to share of their time and resources for the benefit of others,” Hudgins says. “Especially those that have not had the resources or family support to reach for their goals.”

In December 2023, The Florida Bar Foundation changed its name to FFLA. Posts prior to this date contain our former name.