Named one of “The 50 Most Powerful People” by Orlando Magazine (July 2004), the 2003 “Central Floridian of the Year” (The Orlando Sentinel) and the 2002 “Businessman of the Year” (Orlando Business Journal, November 2002), Dick Batchelor is a longtime Orlando resident who received degrees from the University of Central Florida and Valencia Community College.
Batchelor served in the Florida House of Representatives (1974-1982) and is the recipient of more than 50 awards for legislative service. Batchelor’s passion for advocacy and knowledge of international affairs has garnered recognition by The White House as well as the public and private sector and has been appointed and served on numerous international delegations, including Presidential appointments.
An environmental advocate, Batchelor was appointed in 1991 by the late Governor Lawton Chiles to chair the Florida Environmental Regulation Commission (ERC), of which he served as Chairman from 1991-1997 (The ERC exercises the exclusive standard-setting authority of the state’s Department of Environmental Protection). He is also a board co-chairman of the Children’s Environmental Health Network, a national, multi-disciplinary organization, whose mission is to protect babies and children from environmental health hazards and promote a healthy environment.
Today, Dick Batchelor serves as weekly on-air political analyst for WESH TV (NBC Affiliate), WMFE (PBS) radio, and WDBO radio (Cox Broadcasting). He has served as on-air political analyst for WFTV-TV (ABC Affiliate) and on-air political analyst for WNDB Radio (Daytona Beach) and is frequently interviewed for political analysis and expertise by television, radio and print journalists.