Board

David “Lefty” Durando was born on the edge of Florida’s Everglades in Hialeah, Florida. He grew up with a love for agriculture and Florida’s natural environment. He began working as a cowboy while a teenager and began professional bull riding at age 19. He won multiple championships across the country over a period of 18 years. In the late 1970’s he turned to his true passion, and became a full-time cattle rancher. For the last 40 years he has been cattle ranching across Florida; today he and his family have cattle ranches spanning 20,000 acres.
He has combined his love of ranching with his love for Florida’s wildlife; the Durando Family Ranches are managed for native wildlife and contain high quality habitat that is dedicated towards that purpose.

He was instrumental in establishing the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge in 2012, and has been active in lobbying on a federal and state level for conservation easement funding for the Northern Everglades. He works closely with federal and state government agencies in developing landowner incentive programs for wildlife management. He is a past Board Member for Partnerscapes, a national landowner-led organization that promotes conservation incentive programs and stronger relationships between landowners and government agencies.

James Arthur “Jim” Strickland, Sr., has six decades of ranching experience. Born into a family that has been ranching in Florida since the 1800s, Jim grew up working with his father along the west coast of Florida. When his father died in the 1970’s, Jim took over the family cattle operations at the age of 17, primarily leasing land for cattle. He and his family own Strickland Ranch and Lost Girl Prairie Ranch; he is also the managing partner of Big Red Cattle Company and Blackbeard’s Ranch. Jim is a strong advocate for Florida agriculture and conservation, and is a spokesperson for ranchers across the state on the need for conservation funding to protect Florida.

Jim is a past President of the Florida Cattlemen’s Association and past Chairman of the Florida Cattlemen’s Foundation. He has also served two terms as the Chairman of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Political Action Committee. He is active in the Farm Bureau on the county, state and federal levels and is a Florida State Committee Member of the USDA Farm Service Agency. He sits on the board of the Florida Agriculture Center and Horse Park. Jim also sits on the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s Environmental Stewardship Awards Selection Committee, which recognizes and awards the ranches demonstrating outstanding stewardship practices and conservation achievements across the nation

Jim has been widely recognized for his work in agriculture and conservation. He was honored as the 2019 Audubon Florida’s Sustainable Rancher of the Year and named as one of Florida Trends 500 Most Influential Business Leaders from 2018-2024. Under his leadership, Blackbeard’s Ranch was awarded the 2018 Florida Cattleman’s Association Environmental Stewardship Award, Florida Agricultural Commissioner’s 2018 Agricultural-Environmental Leadership Award and was the national winner for the National Cattleman’s Beef Association’s 2019 Environmental Stewardship Award. Jim was inducted to the Florida Agriculture Hall of Fame in 2025.

Born in Gainesville, Donald “Don” Quincey is a fifth-generation Florida cattleman. He began his career in law enforcement, but after two years of service, his unquestionable love for the land and raising cattle brought him back to the family’s feed store and cow-calf operation. He was actively engaged in ownership and operations from 1977 to 2003, when the store was sold.
While supporting the family business, Don also founded Quincey Cattle Company in 1992, a diversified cattle-feeding operation in Chiefland. The operation has grown in size and scope to meet fellow cattle producers’ needs, providing services to improve marketability for Florida cattle. His commitment to innovation has led to improved sustainability for the industry, with approximately 80 percent of his commodity needs coming from within 20 miles of his ranch.
An advocate for the industry and role model for future generations, Don was recently inducted into the 2023 Florida Agriculture Hall of Fame. He is a lifelong supporter of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) and a founding member of Florida Cattle Ranchers. He has held all elected officer positions with the Florida Cattlemen’s Association and has served on the board of directors for Drummond Community Bank, Florida Beef Council, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and Cattle Fax. He has also been recognized by the University of Florida’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) with an Award of Distinction and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association with a Leadership Award.

As a member of the Suwannee River Water Management District Board for many years, Don has been an advocate for mutually beneficial environmental and agricultural policy – seeking to bridge the gaps between production and regulation. He served as chair for nine of his twelve years at the district. During his tenure, he initiated the district’s cost-share program and was instrumental in developing a water-use monitoring program to assist agricultural stakeholders with reporting actual water use instead of estimated data.

Mark Mizell is a ranch manager, a land acquisition consultant and a realtor, specializing in the sales of agricultural properties and rural land. With a family legacy of Florida farming and fishing dating back to the 1850s, Mark is no stranger to agriculture in the Sunshine State.
Beginning with a degree in landscaping, Mark has always been connected to the land. He now works at Land South Realty, a real estate brokerage company specializing in large tracts of agricultural land in Florida. Land South Realty has sold more than 400,000 acres of land throughout the Southeast consisting of Florida ranches, timberland, commercial property, industrial property and development property.