Azoria CEO James Fishback signaled he will launch a campaign for Governor.

“I have made my decision, and I will announce it imminently,” he told Florida Politics.

That’s after weeks of raising his profile on social media and through media interviews, and after making clear he was considering running for office and only considering the Governor’s race.

He will run on a starkly anti-immigration platform and a “Florida First” message. He also has signaled an allegiance to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who will wrap his second term next year and cannot run again because of term limits.

“Gov. Ron DeSantis has a historic record I would be honored to preserve and build upon,” Fishback told Florida Politics. “I want to ensure every family in Florida can buy a home, obtain a good-paying job and retire with dignity.”

The Madison Republican notably met recently with Lt. Gov. Jay Collins, a former state Senator many expected to launch his own campaign for Governor as soon as this week. Fishback has repeatedly called Collins a “patriot,” but also suggested Collins’ political moves won’t affect his own.

But Fishback has been deeply critical of U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, who launched his campaign for Governor earlier this year. Most notably, Fishback has called on an end to the H-1B visa program, which allows foreign individuals to live in the U.S. legally to work in specialty occupations. That’s a system Donalds has said needs an “overhaul” but he has not called for its disposal.

“I want to end and deport every H-1B,” he said. “If a job held by an H-1B foreigner could be filled by a Floridian, that upholds a slanderous lie, which is that Americans are lazy, unqualified and unskilled, and that’s nonsense.”

But his promotion that “replacement theory is real” and that American workers are all being replaced in the labor market by immigrants has drawn criticism that he represents the right-wing fringe.

He also has heavily criticized the Israeli government, which typically has bipartisan political support in Florida. That has drawn accusations of anti-Semitism, an issue currently creating a schism in the political right.

But Fishback has stressed his own family background in the Sunshine State, known he’s a fourth generation Floridian.

The University of West Florida is welcoming two new members to its Governing Board.

The Florida Board of Governors appointed Janice Gilley and Kishane Patel to the UWF Board of Trustees, adding two figures with deep Panhandle roots and complementary records of public service and leadership.

Their five-year terms begin Jan. 7, pending Senate confirmation.

“The University of West Florida continues to benefit from strong, experienced leadership, and I’m confident that Janice Gilley and Kishane Patel will make valuable contributions to the Board,” said interim UWFP President Manny Diaz Jr., a former Senator and Florida’s immediate past Commissioner of Education.

“Their deep ties to Pensacola, combined with their proven records of service, will help guide UWF’s continued growth and success.”

Gilley, currently the Director of Administrative Services for Santa Rosa County, brings decades of experience in government, academia and public budgeting. She previously served as Escambia County Administrator, Deputy Chief of Staff in the House and Budget and Policy Director for former Gov. Jeb Bush.

She also spent 12 years at UWF under four Presidents, most recently as Assistant Vice President of External Affairs and Government relations. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi and a master’s in public administration from the University of Florida.

Patel, a Pensacola-born lawyer and entrepreneur, is founder of KJP Counsel, a boutique firm serving clients in the hospitality, construction and franchise sectors.

A former UWF Student Government Association President, he previously sat on the Board of Trustees in that role and later on the Florida Board of Governors and the AMIkids Board of Trustees.

Patel earned his bachelor’s in political science from UWF and Juris Doctor from Barry University.

Gilley and Patel’s appointments follow a politically charged year for UWF’s governance, during which Ron DeSantis named five conservative Trustees to the panel, including think-tank affiliates who drew national attention.

Two, Boise State University professor Scott Yenor and Pinehill Capital Partners CEO Gates Garcia, ultimately resigned amid controversy.

The new Trustees join a university experiencing significant leadership renewal.

In the past year, UWF added David Bryant as Chief Audit Executive, Jerry Lin as Associate Vice President of Research Administration and Engagement, Alex Smith as Director of External Affairs and Denise Soares as founding Dean of UWF’s new School of Education.

In all the chaos, running brought peace for Michael Sickler, a two-time cancer survivor who lost his parents to the disease.

He put on some heavy metal and listened to his favorite songs over and over while training at Neptune Beach, first stopping to admire the sunrise.

At the start of the year, Sickler was too ill to run.

Now, on Saturday, Sickler will test himself in Saturday’s Wild Florida 50K.

Sickler envisions the finish line and thinks about how much his legs will hurt at the end.

“I love it. I can’t wait,” said the 31-year-old Jacksonville resident who works as a Trulieve project manager for the dispensary. 

Sickler, who grew up in Tallahassee, was heading into his senior year of high school when the wrestler and soccer player underwent a routine annual physical. The blood test was off, a red flag that something was wrong. His white blood cell count came back 10 times normal. 

“It was more of a surreal experience,” Sickler said as he was getting ready to navigate college and not expecting to deal with cancer as an athletic young man. “The first question I asked the doctor was, ‘Am I going to die? … That was the only question I asked, too. He was like, ‘No, of course not. You’re going to be fine.’”

The cancer had been caught early, so Sickler didn’t need formal chemotherapy or radiation. He took eight pills a day that “killed cells indiscriminately,” ravaging his body for a few months. He threw up 10 to 20 times a day. 

“I got really good at driving my stick shift Jeep and throwing up at the same time,” Sickler said. 

He went into remission. The cancer seemed behind him.

Through it all, Sickler stayed upbeat. He went to musical festivals and told himself YOLO. You Only Live Once.

But in the cruelty of life, cancer ran in his family — although it wasn’t genetic, each person’s circumstances were unconnected.

Sickler’s father, a beloved public school teacher, died in 2014 of what turned out to be pancreatic cancer. Sicker’s mother, a stay-at-home mom, died in 2021 of kidney cancer.

Sickler found his peace in running.

“You can drown out the chaos that is the world around you,” he said.

He had picked up running in his early 20s. He hated lifting weights and he was skinny, so it came naturally to him. He liked running best in the quiet of the woods, away from any concrete.

And Sickler liked testing his mental boundaries. How far could he push himself? Another major challenge was coming.

Sickler got sick after a fishing trip in 2024 and landed in urgent care with a fever that wouldn’t break. He was fighting for his life and was flown to the Baptist MD Anderson Cancer Center, where he spent 30 days in the hospital.

The cancer was back.

He underwent chemotherapy and had a bone marrow transplant in October 2024.

He spent months going through intensive entreatment and immunocompromised, isolating from others. For four months, he had a chest catheter. Running was undoubtedly out of the question. Taking a shower alone was a physical feat.

“I had to basically put Saran Wrap over my body to take a shower. It wasn’t fun,” Sickler said. 

Finally, doctors told him the cancer was undetectable in February.

“I basically just watched football for 12 hours a day. That’s not really my MO. I’m a pretty active person,” Sickler said. “The moment they ripped out that chest catheter out of my chest, I pretty much immediately tried to get out there and start going at it.”

He started slowly. Walking. Then jogging. Then he kept going.

Since February, he has run 1,000 miles, leading up to Saturday’s race.

He counts his blessings. 

“I can’t articulate how thankful and appreciative and blessed I feel,” Sickler said.

The positivity and the drive set him apart, his supporters say.

“Whether in his professional career here at Trulieve or his personal life, Michael doesn’t recognize the meaning of the word quit,” said Kyle Landrum, Trulieve’s Chief Production Officer. “He serves as a tremendous example of what persistence looks like when faced with challenges. He just inspires people to be better and push through any obstacles.”