FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Pete Winton, Lee County Administration
               (239) 335-2777

DALTRY RECEIVES HIGHEST HONOR FROM NATIONAL PLANNING GROUP

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 26, 2004) - Lee County Smart Growth Director Wayne Daltry - in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. Saturday (April 24) - was awarded the highest national honor for a planner.

Daltry was elected a "Fellow" of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and was inducted into the College of Fellows at the American Planning Association's National Planning Conference.

Election to Fellow in AICP is one of the highest honors that the AICP bestows upon a member. This honor is a recognition of the achievements of the planner as an individual, elevating the Fellow before the public and the profession as a model planner who has made significant contributions to planning and society.

Fellowship is granted to planners who have been members of AICP and have achieved excellence in professional practice, teaching and mentoring, research, public/community service, and leadership. Those chosen become members of the College of Fellows.

Daltry was tapped in February 2002 to head the county's newly created Smart Growth Department and shepherd the citizen Smart Growth Advisory Committee through a process to make recommendations that help balance quality of life, the economy and our environment heading into the future. Well-known in Southwest Florida, he was formerly executive director of the Regional Planning Council for 20 years and worked for the agency for 27 years. He is a graduate of The Citadel and has a master's in planning from Florida State University.

Other honors Daltry has garnered in the last several years:

· Selected as one of Gulfshore Life Magazine's 12 "Men & Women of the Year" in Southwest Florida (2002).

· Honored by the Florida Shore & Beach Preservation Association with its 2002 "Local Government Award"    
  for his efforts to help create the Southwest Florida Beaches and Inlets Convocation, an innovative organization  
  that enables beach and inlet interests in the region to work together to better manage their projects.

· Recipient of the Florida Planning and Zoning Association's 2002 "George W. Simons, Jr. Memorial Award,"  
  recognizing Daltry for "his outstanding contribution to the profession of planning and zoning in the State of  
  Florida."