St. Augustine presents Order of La Florida to veteran and volunteer Bill Dudley

The City Commission of St. Augustine presented the Order of La Florida to William “Bill” Dudley at a commission event in September 2024, honoring his long record of military service and local veterans advocacy. Ashley Cook, identified in the meeting as staff from Senator Marco Rubio’s office, read a congratulatory letter from the senator.

"Dear Bill, congratulations on receiving the Order of La Florida award from the city of Saint Augustine," Cook read from the senator's letter, which praised Dudley’s service in the U.S. Air Force and his work on behalf of veterans. The letter said Rubio regretted he could not attend in person.

The commission’s presiding official (referred to in the transcript as "Chair") described the Order of La Florida as the city’s highest honor, established in 1975. The presentation description in the meeting noted that recipients must be at least 55 years old and that no more than 10 living recipients may hold the honor at one time; Dudley was introduced as the ninth living recipient.

The Chair read a summary of Dudley’s biography and community work. According to the commission’s remarks, Dudley served about 10 years on active duty in the Air Force, later held executive roles in aerospace firms, and has been active in the Navy League and multiple veterans advisory boards. The Chair said Dudley helped secure a $3,000,000 state grant to purchase the Old Town Inn Motel on Anastasia Island and convert it into Veterans Village, a residential facility described at the meeting as housing 20 formerly homeless veterans.

The Chair also credited Dudley with helping establish a veterans treatment court for St. John’s County that the Chair described as having a recidivism rate "of less than 2 percent." That recidivism figure was presented at the meeting as a program success metric and is reported here as a claim made in the proceedings.

Dudley accepted the award and thanked city leaders, volunteers and his wife. "I don't have anything prepared, but, anytime you stick a microphone in front of me, I've got something to say," he said, and he credited his church and his wife for their support throughout his years of service.

The Chair invited commissioners and guests to join Dudley for photographs; the Chair noted commissioners had voted unanimously to approve the nomination. The program concluded and the commission moved on to its other business.

The presentation and remarks were limited to the award recognition and personal reflections; no formal policy action or additional commission vote on related programs was recorded during the segments covering the presentation.