GATOR BOWL SPORTS EXTENDS
JOHN DUCE AS CHAIRMAN, NAMES CHAIR-ELECT
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 5, 2021 – The Gator Bowl Sports Board of Trustees announced its’ volunteer leadership for the 2021-22 season. Wells Fargo Executive John Duce will serve a second term as Chairman with duties that include presiding over all Gator Bowl Sports initiatives such as the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl football game and game related events, Gator Bowl Charities youth initiatives, Gator Bowl Green Jacket Membership and the annual Florida vs Florida State neutral site baseball game.
In his first year as Chairman, Duce not only successfully navigated the landscape of hosting a post-season college football game amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, but also chaired the search committee that was responsible for hiring former Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity as the Gator Bowl Sports President & CEO. Chairman Duce is only the third individual in Bowl history to serve consecutive terms in the volunteer leadership role of Gator Bowl Sports Chairman.
John Duce is a native of Gainesville, Florida and graduate of UNC Greensboro. He joined the Wells Fargo team through their predecessor banks immediately following college. His career brought him to Jacksonville in 1993 and he recently celebrated his 33rd work anniversary with Wells Fargo. In his current role, John is the Senior Vice President of Middle Market Banking.
Throughout his career, Chairman Duce has prioritized giving back to the community as evidenced through his dedicated years of service with multiple organizations. He served many years on the Ronald McDonald House board, having just concluded his term in January 2021. Duce has served over sixteen years with Gator Bowl Sports in many notable roles, but notably his strong influence was instrumental in the formalization of Gator Bowl Charities as a separate 501(c)(3) within Gator Bowl Sports in 2016.
“Gator Bowl Sports has been a long time staple in our community and having the opportunity to serve a second year as Chairman is an honor and privilege,” said Chairman Duce. “Last year, despite challenges presented by COVID-19, we were still able to execute a successful TaxSlayer Gator Bowl game albeit a scaled down version. I look forward to a full year of events and activities which continue the long history of successes through our economic impact, charitable programming, and community engagement initiatives.”
John and his wife Merry-Carol reside in the San Marco community of Jacksonville and have two sons, Trotter (23) and Pierson (21).
Gator Bowl Sports Board of Trustees also named Nelson Bradshaw, NE Florida CEO of BBVA as volunteer Chairman-Elect. This year, Bradshaw will serve concurrently as the Chairman-Elect as well as Vice Chairman of hospitality and will transition to the Chairman role in April 2022.
Chairman-Elect Bradshaw is a graduate of LSU and began his banking career thirty-six years ago with J.P. Morgan Chase in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Bradshaw relocated to Jacksonville in September 2008 as the market executive with BBVA where he has become an active member of our community serving on the Association for Corporate Growth, Jacksonville Downtown Rotary, World Affairs Council, JAX Chamber and Hubbard House Foundation to name a few.
Chairman Duce and Chairman-Elect Bradshaw will work alongside the Gator Bowl Sports Board of Trustees, newly announced President/CEO Greg McGarity, green jacket volunteers and staff to plan and execute the 77th TaxSlayer Gator Bowl game and events. The game date and time for this year’s TaxSlayer Gator Bowl is expected to be announced later this month.