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Former senator Mack to hold book signing

By CJ HADDAD 5 min read
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Sen. Connie Mack III will be signing his new autobiography, “Citizen Mack: Politics, an Honorable Calling,” on Nov. 14 at the newly renamed Cape Coral Museum of History. The book signing takes place from 1-4 p.m. Attendees will be provided refreshments and also have the opportunity to tour the museum and historical exhibits. PROVIDED

cjhaddad@breezenewspapers.com

Cape residents will have the opportunity to meet a hometown hero and former U.S. Senator with a last name tied to the early the development of Southwest Florida.

Sen. Connie Mack III will be signing his new autobiography, “Citizen Mack: Politics, an Honorable Calling,” on Nov. 14 at the newly renamed Cape Coral Museum of History.

“I always enjoy being back in Cape Coral and still have family there,” Mack said. “I’m planning on doing a little reminiscing. Cape Coral is an important part of what I would call my early, formative years. It was just a great experience to be in Cape Coral when I was.”

Organizers are also looking forward to having a familiar face back in town, as well as an old friend.

“We’re very excited to have one of Cape Coral’s own coming back,” said museum Board of Directors President Gloria Tate. “We think it’s really going to be exciting for Cape Coral residents to meet him if they haven’t had the opportunity, or get reacquainted and say hello if they’ve known him for many years like myself.”

The book signing takes place from 1-4 p.m. Attendees will be provided refreshments and also have the opportunity to tour the museum and historical exhibits.

“It’s a great way to showcase our museum, our rebranding, and show residents we are trying to make a difference in our community,” Tate said.

Published in September, Mack’s autobiography recounts his journey of stepping into the political arena and how that platform gave him the opportunity to be a difference maker.

Mack is best known for his time as U.S. Senator to Florida from 1989 to 2001, being the first Republican Florida senator to serve two terms. He also served for three terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida from 1983 to 1989, representing the Fort Myers and Cape Coral area in what was then Florida’s 13th District.

“I think I was even the first local person to represent our district,” Mack said. “Prior to that it seemed that it was somebody from the east coast of Florida or further north.”

Mack’s family moved to Southwest Florida in 1950 from Pennsylvania when he was 10 years old. His father, Connie Mack Jr., was instrumental in the creation of Cape Coral and the “Waterfront Wonderland” it was advertised as. Mack’s father worked with the Rosen Brothers to promote, sell and develop the new town — providing some name recognition as well.

Mack’s grandfather, National Baseball Hall of Fame inductee Connie Mack, first brought his team, the Philadelphia Athletics (now Oakland), to Fort Myers for spring training beginning in 1925. From there, Southwest Florida would be an integral part of the family’s history, and they to Southwest Florida.

Mack’s first job was for a surveying crew in Cape Coral in 1958 putting in plot lines in for new homes being constructed and put in the seawall around the Yacht Basin.

Mack and his wife Priscilla built their first home in Cape Coral, south of Cape Coral Parkway in late 1961, just after their first daughter was born.

Mack worked in land and housing sales in the early ’60s before pursuing a science in business administration degree from the University of Florida. Upon graduating, he returned to Cape Coral and worked for Cape Coral Bank in 1966. After a few years there and a short stint at a bank in Fort Myers, Mack returned to the Cape in 1971 to work again at Cape Coral Bank and eventually joined National Bank of Cape Coral in 1975, working his way up to president until his decision to enter politics in 1982. Mack also served as the president of the early Cape Coral Chamber of Commerce.

“He was a strong person of influence in our area, both politically and economically,” Tate said. “He shaped the banking industry here. His father was a leader in marketing with the Rosen brothers. His family was involved with so many projects that spearheaded this community at that time.”

Mack also headed a board that was organized to get the first, and still only, hospital in Cape Coral built. For five years he played an essential role of developing land, obtaining financing, finding contactors and more.

Mack still has family in Cape Coral and has a home in Charlotte County. Today, he dedicates his time and efforts to the Moffitt Cancer Center, where he has bolstered their melanoma program in honor of his brother.

“I’m looking forward to hearing what the residents want to know either about life in politics or whatever is on their mind,” Mack said.

Admission to the book signing is free. Copies of Mack’s book will be available for purchase.

The Cape Coral Museum of History is at 544 Cultural Park Blvd.

For more information, visit capecoralhistoricalmuseum.org.

-Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj