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John V. Verner receives honorary 
degree from Florida Southern College 

LAKELAND, Fla. (April 26, 2004) - Dr. John V. Verner, CEO of City Properties Company and a member of Florida Southern College's Board of Trustees, will receive an honorary degree of Doctor of Public Service during the college's graduation ceremony Saturday. The commencement, at which 280 Lakeland day students will receive their degrees, takes place at 1:30 p.m. in the Jenkins Field House. 

As an FSC board member, Verner has served on the executive committee and as vice-chair of the financial planning committee. He also serves on the Fine Arts Council and actively supports the Festival of Fine Arts program. He and his wife, Sally, have established scholarship funds for needy students and an endowment for faculty members to assist them with professional development. 

Verner is a 1954 Mosby Scholar and graduate of Duke University Medical School, which honored him with a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1972. He practiced internal medicine, serving on staff at Lakeland Regional Medical Center and the Watson Clinic and is a member of several medical associations, including the Society of Internal Medicine, Polk County Medical Association, and the American Federation of Clinical Research. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and served for seven years as its governor. He is actively involved in the community, serving as a member of the Kiwanis Club of Plant City and as a board member of the Salvation Army. 


About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world.

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