Florida set to honour Arnold Palmer

The state of Florida is reported to have voted to rename state road 408 as the Arnold Palmer Expressway. The Orlando Sentinel reported that the Central Florida Expressway Authority has passed a resolution to this effect and it will be a reality very soon.

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Arnold Palmer

Oct 19, 2016: The Arnold Palmer Expressway in central Florida could become a reality in March.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Central Florida Expressway Authority board has voted to rename part of State Road 408 in memory of Palmer, the much-beloved golfer and part-time Orlando resident who died last month at the age of 87.

Florida governor Rick Scott and the state legislature still need to approve the move. The Florida legislature opens its next regular session on March 7, 2017.

“I understand the naming of roadways is rare and should only be done after those who have made large impact on our community,” board member Jay Madara, the chief financial officer of Golf Channel – of which Palmer was a co-founder – told the Sentinel. Madara added that Palmer “has represented Orlando and Central Florida wonderfully on the world stage.”

In the resolution to rename the expressway, Palmer was described not only as “one of the greatest golfers and sportsmen of all time” but also a “philanthropist who assisted the citizens of Central Florida in charitable endeavors, most notably through the creation and development of the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.”

Should the state approve the change, the Arnold Palmer Expressway would include the section between Kirkman Road and Clarke Road in Orlando near The Bay Hill Club & Lodge, the venue for the PGA TOUR’s Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard. The resolution states that it “would be an appropriate section to be renamed to honor Mr. Palmer’s memory.”

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs told the Sentinel that the renamed expressway is “going to be one of the many ways the community remembers his contribution.”

In Memoriam: Arnold Palmer
By Mike McAllister, PGA Tour

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