COLD AIR AND MARY THAT’S WHERE I PICK UP THE STORY ABOUT 10 MINUTES, WE’LL TALK ABOUT HOW
LOW WE GO IN JUST A FEW.
ALL RIGHT, THANK
YOU JOHN.
>>MARY BAER: A TRIBUTE WITH
STORIES MUSIC AND MEMORIES THIS
MORNING FOR FORMER JACKSONVILLE
MAYOR JAKE GODBOLD
THE CITY LEADER KNOWN AS THE
PEOPLE’S MAYOR PASSED AWAY 4
WEEKS AGO TODAY, HE
WAS 86.
>>TOM WILLS: I HAD THE HONOR OF
BEING THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES
FOR TODAY’S PUBLIC CELEBRATION
OF HIS LIFE HELD AT THE
CONVENTION
CENTER THAT HIS ADMINISTRATION
CONVERTED FROM AN ABANDONED
RAILROAD STATION. THE HUNDREDS
WHO GATHERED HEARD FROM PEOPLE
WHO WERE PART OF BOTH GODBOLD’S
PUBLIC AND PERSONAL LIFE OVER
THE YEARS. CHARK IS JOINING US
NOW WITH A LOOK AT SOME OF
THOSE TRIBUTES STARK WELL
MARION THOMAS, YOU KNOW I MEAN
THE CELEBRATION
OF LIFE.
>>TARIK MINOR: TODAY WAS UNLIKE
MOST AFTER ALL A NEW
ORLEANS-STYLE
BRASS BAND SCORE TO JAKE
COUPLE’S FAMILY IN AND OUT OF
THE CEREMONY IN BETWEEN WE
HEARD FROM FORMER MAYORS AND
FORMER CO-WORKERS ALL OF WHOM
BECAME FRIENDS OF THE MAN WHO
WANTED EVERYONE TO
♪
CALL HIM. JAKE.
JOHN PAYNE WAS MAYOR OF
JACKSONVILLE FROM 2003 TO
2011 BUT ITS FIRST EXPERIENCE
OF THE MAYOR’S OFFICE WAS YEARS
EARLIER.
>>TARIK MINOR: AS AN INTERNAL
IN THE GODBOLD ADMINISTRATION
WHEN I THINK BACK ON JAKE I AND
THERE’S THE 3 THEMES ARE REALLY
COME TO MIND. ONE WAS HIS
PASSION.
IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO BE IN A
ROOM WITH JAKE AND NOT
BE INFECTED. BY HIS ENTHUSIASM
ABOUT HIS EXCITEMENT ABOUT HIS
BELIEF IN OUR CITY. AND THAT
PASSION WAS
MAGNETIC IT WOULD BRING PEOPLE
TO HIM IT WOULD BRING PEOPLE TO
THE CAUSE IT WOULD DRAW PEOPLE
TO
THE MOVEMENT. ANOTHER MEMBER OF
GODBOLD’S STAFF AT THE TIME WAS
BETTY HOLES
AND ORTH SHE WENT ON TO HAVE
HER OWN CAREER IN POLITICS AS A
STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND THEN A
STATE SENATOR
THIS MORNING. SHE TALKED ABOUT
WHAT GODBOLD DID FOR THE CITY
AND ITS PEOPLE. SHE ALSO SHARED
HOW SHE GOT TO KNOW THE LEADER
AS A FRIEND.
>> ALSO NEW TO THE MAYOR.
IT’S WHEN HE GOT OFF THE ELEVATOR. AND WE WENT STRAIGHT AND TALL.
THEY EVEN HAVE A COAT.
AND THAT’S HOW I GOT TO KNOW HIM AND TO KNOW AND TO KNOW HIS DESIRE. AND TO
KNOW WHAT HE HE WON IT.
>>TARIK MINOR: JOHN DELANEY DEFEATED GODBOLD BUT HE WAS FIRST ELECTED MAYOR IN 1995.
THE 2 OPPONENTS LATER BECAME
FRIENDS. HE SAID THE FORMER
MAYOR WAS A
REGULAR GUY AND AN
EXTRAORDINARY GUY AT THE SAME
TIME AND SPOKE OF GODBOLD’S
LOVE FOR
THE CITY.
>> THERE WAS SOMETHING ABOUT
NOT JUST HIS LOVE FOR
JACKSONVILLE, BUT I’M REALLY HE
KIND OF HAD A FEELING GAVE OFF
AN AURA LIKE
ROOSEVELT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
DID DURING THE DEPRESSION WHAT
RONALD REAGAN DID IN THE
1980’S. HE
INSTILLED HOPE HE INSTILLED A
POSITIVE ASPECT OF THE
COMMUNITY AS IT IS RIGHT NOW IT
WAS A 5 THAT’S REALLY REALLY
HARD
TO DESCRIBE, AND IT JUST
ALLUDED TO EARLIER IT WAS VERY
PROTECTIVE OF JACKSONVILLE.
>>TARIK MINOR: TODAY’S CELEBRATION OF LIFE I MEAN TRULY A WELL ORCHESTRATED EVENT
SHOWCASING SO MANY WHO SHARED.
>> HOW
MAYOR GODBOLD.
>>MARY BAER: TOUCH THEIR LIVES
OVER THE YEARS AND HOW A HE
INFUSED THEIR PASSION FOR THE
CITY AS WELL IT WAS NO ACCIDENT
THAT ALL CAME TOGETHER SO
BEAUTIFULLY AND SO WELL
ORCHESTRATED AND LEAD BY HIS
LONGTIME FRIEND
AND AIDE.
>>TOM WILLS: I WANT TO SING THE
PRAISES OF THE UNSUNG HERO AND
THAT OF COURSE IS MIKE TOLBERT
WHO.
HE PUT TOGETHER COLD FEVER BACK
IN 19 79 IN HERE HE WAS TODAY
PUTTING TOGETHER THIS ACTUALLY
MARVELOUS EVENT IN
LIKE MANY OF US FORMER MAYOR
GODBOLD DID NOT LIKE TO TALK
ABOUT DEATH. BUT MIKE TOLBERT
WAS PERSISTENT AND I’M NOT SURE
HOW LONG AGO IT WAS YOU KNOW
MIKE TOLBERT WROTE THE
WONDERFUL BOOK THAT SO MANY
PEOPLE HERE IN JACKSONVILLE
READING CALLED JAKE. BUT AT
SOME POINT HE GOT. MAYOR
GODBOLD TO TALK A LITTLE BIT
ABOUT WHAT YOU MIGHT WANT.
IF YOUR TIME COMES WHEN YOUR
TIME COMES AND HE ONLY SPENT
ABOUT 15 MINUTES ON IT SO.
THIS CEREMONY TODAY WAS WHAT
TAKE A BOW
ON IT. THE THE MARCHING BAND OF
THE BAND’S WIRES ARE THE PEOPLE
WHO GOT TO SPEAK AND TO YOU
KNOW HOLD I AM THAT.
>>TOM WILLS: AND HE WAS MY
FRIEND FOR 45 YEARS THAT HAVE
ASKED ME TO BE THE BEST ARE
CERTAINLY SOME JUST JUST
INCREDIBLE WHAT. HE
RADIATED LOVE AND I WAS TELLING
MARY BACK IN THE NEWSROOM.
THE THING THAT WAS SO MARVELOUS
ABOUT HIM SOMETHING WE COULD
ALL EMULATE JAKE GODBOLD LOVED.
EVERY SINGLE PERSON THAT HE EVER MET EQUALLY THERE WAS NOBODY WHO WAS HIGHER OR LOWER
HE LOVED US