Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry has appointed Jacksonville business and civic leader M.C. “Ceree” Harden, III to JAXPORT’s Board of Directors. Harden’s appointment was unanimously approved by the Jacksonville City Council on Oct. 26 and his first JAXPORT Board meeting will be on Monday, Dec. 6.

Harden is Area Chairman for Harden, an Arthur J. Gallagher company, a leading global insurance broker and employee benefits consulting firm. He oversees the organization’s executive leadership, strategic planning, corporate visualization, and community stewardship. 

Ceree Harden
Ceree Harden

Harden has served on the Board of Directors for numerous business and civic organizations, including FPIC Insurance Group, the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, and Baptist Medical Center Jacksonville. He is also a First Coast Business Hall of Fame inductee, an honorary member of Leadership Jacksonville, and a recipient of the Hope Award, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s highest honor for outstanding civic and community service.

“Ceree is one of Jacksonville’s most well-known and respected business leaders and we are thrilled to have him join our Board,” said JAXPORT Board Chair Wendy Hamilton. “From his expertise in strategic business growth and economic development to his decades of service giving back to the community, his background and leadership skills will be a tremendous benefit to us during this time of record-setting growth for JAXPORT.”

Harden joins the following officers and members of the JAXPORT Board:
JAXPORT has an unpaid, appointed seven-member Board of Directors which provides policy guidance. Four board members are appointed by the Mayor of Jacksonville and three members are appointed by the Governor of Florida. Board members serve four-year terms and may be appointed to one additional term.

  • Wendy Hamilton – Chair
  • J. Palmer Clarkson – Vice Chair
  • Daniel Bean – Treasurer
  • Brad Talbert – Secretary
  • Jamie Shelton – Immediate Past Chairman
  • Ed Fleming – Member

A record 1.4 million TEUs (containers) moved through JAXPORT in Fiscal Year 2021, a 5% increase over the port’s previous container volume record set in FY2019. JAXPORT is Florida’s largest container port and one of the nation’s top vehicle-handling ports. Cargo activity through Jacksonville’s seaport generates 138,000 jobs and $31 billion in annual economic output for the region and state.