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Top Publix Lobbyist Dies

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By WILLIAM MARCH

wmarch@tampatrib.com

Published: February 28, 2009

Randy Roberts, government relations director for Publix Super Markets Inc., died suddenly at his Lakeland home Friday morning.

Roberts was well-known and liked in government and political circles statewide, particularly in Tallahassee and Lakeland, where the Publix chain, one of Florida's most influential businesses, is headquartered.

Roberts, 36, had worked for Publix for six years as its top lobbyist and representative in dealing with state and local governments.

"There's a great loss to the Publix family this morning," company spokeswoman Maria Brous said Friday.

Details on the cause of Roberts' death were not available. He is survived by his wife, Sara, and two children, Charlotte and Samuel.

Roberts was a Florida native, and a graduate of Miramar High School and the University of Florida. He was active in the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Florida Retail Federation and a member of First United Methodist Church in Lakeland.

"He was really a great guy, one of the nice ones," said Vivian Myrtetus, a Tallahassee-based public relations agent who got to know Roberts while working on Gov. Charlie Crist's 2006 campaign.

"Publix obviously is a major player in Florida's economy and the state," she said. "If you were looking for business support, Publix was always one of the first places to go."

Roberts was a common figure in the hallways of government in Tallahassee and Washington.

"He always had a stack of Publix ice cream coupons in his jacket pocket and would hand them out to people for free ice cream," Myrtetus said.

U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam of Bartow, a good friend of Roberts and a dominant political figure in Polk County who's now running for agriculture commissioner, was at the family's home Friday morning, spokesman Keith Rupp said.

"Randy put life into every room," Putnam said in a statement. "He was funny, witty and passionate ... devoted to his wife and children, his church and the Gators."

"A lot of us are in an absolute state of shock - someone so young, so dynamic, so full of energy, so positive, gone," said Dennis Ross, a former state House member who's running for Putnam's congressional seat.

Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761.

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