Who was Bernard “Bernie” W. Simpkins?
If you know Brevard County or its history, you’re probably familiar with the bridges over our many bodies of water. It may be hard to imagine life without those bridges to connect us from the mainland to the beach. One of them exists on Florida SR-520, connecting Cocoa Village to Merritt Island.
From 1922 to 1941, a flat, wooden toll bridge crossed the Indian River south of that current bridge’s location. When SR-520 was completed in 1941, the wooden bridge was dismantled and a new, single-lane concrete one constructed on the site of today’s bridge. However, in the 1960s, traffic in the area increased due to more people being employed by NASA. With more traffic came the need for a wider bridge. Named after former U.S. Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey, the current two-lane bridge is a feat of structural engineering that, from the very top, features beautiful views of the surrounding landscape.
Perhaps a lesser-known fact about Brevard’s bridge-building history is the identity of the man who chaired the 520 Action Committee, which helped to get the new high-rise bridge constructed. The late Mr. Bernard (Bernie) W. Simpkins led the charge — just one of the many ways this local icon invested his time and talents in Brevard to help mold a brighter future for the county.
Bernie was an entrepreneur, a philanthropist, a community activist, and a family-oriented man. He established many businesses, donated very generously to Eastern Florida (the first person to donate $1 million to EFSC, which aided in the development of our Business Entrepreneurship A.S. degree), served on the EFSC Board of Trustees, and above all, believed in the power of education.
What is the Simpkins Speaker Series?
One of the ways his legacy lives on is through the Simpkins Speaker Series. This bi-annual, seminar-style event seeks to educate the community on matters related to entrepreneurship. This series brings some of the best entrepreneurs in the country to Eastern Florida. They share life lessons, their stories of success, and advice designed to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs. In conjunction with the popular speaker series, the Eastern Florida State College Foundation awards the $1,000 Bernie W. Simpkins Entrepreneurial Scholarship to EFSC students committed to becoming entrepreneurs.
The series started in 2001 with Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy. Twenty-one years later, thanks to the Business Seminar for Entrepreneurial Development endowment that Bernie funded, the sessions still take place twice a year.
I first heard about the speaker series when I was in middle school. My older sister attended to hear Stedman Graham, the Chairman and CEO of S. Graham & Associates, speak. More recent speakers have included Daymond John, Harris Rosen, Chris and Elaine Larsen, and others.
Whether you want to start your own business or not, you’ll learn great lessons from Simpkins Series speakers. I’ve attended several of the sessions myself, and I always walk away feeling more inspired and hopeful for the future.
Simpkins Speaker Series events are free and open to EFSC students, faculty, staff, and the public. We sincerely hope you’ll join us at the next one.
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