July 1, 2009

Dear Friends:

We celebrate our Independence Day this Saturday, and I hope you all will have the opportunity to enjoy some downtime with your friends and families. I plan to spend the holiday at my cabin in the woods of North Georgia with my wife, Cindy, and grandson, Zach. It’s a great place to relax and contemplate the great blessings we have living in a free country.

I was again reminded of this blessing when I visited the Dosal Tobacco Corporation in Miami last week. Deputy Secretary Scott Ross and I met with Yolanda Nader, the CEO of the company, who graciously guided us through the factory explaining the manufacturing process as well as the family history.

Yolanda explained that Margarita and Martin Dosal were living in Cuba when Fidel Castro's rebel army toppled Fulgencio Batista's regime and the Dosals became exiles, their land, factory and personal possessions confiscated by the new communist government. They had run a successful cigarette business in Havana and now were left with nothing.

Mr. and Mrs. Dosal, along with their three young children, fled to the United States and set-up shop in their new country in Miami, Florida. The family joined other families and rebuilt the business until eventually assuming sole proprietorship of the company.

When I think about business and Independence Day, I think about the immortal words spoken by Thomas Jefferson at his first inaugural address in 1801. In describing the needs of America, he stated that the country needs "a wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned."

As we celebrate our freedom this weekend, we are keenly aware of our part here at DBPR to follow the sentiments of our third president. I believe it is my job to create an environment that nourishes successful businesses while protecting the public. I also realize how fortunate we all are for that Independence Day in 1776. I wish everyone a very safe and happy 4th of July.

Sincerely,

Charles W. Drago
Secretary

Department of Business and
Professional Regulation
1940 North Monroe Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399
Customer Contact Center:
850.487.1395
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