Daily Record Financial News &
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 239 • One Section
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
Ward commits to 3 more years
No succession plan in place for CSX chair
By Mark Basch Contributing Writer The surprise departure last month of CSX Corp.’s secondranking executive hasn’t changed the outlook for the Jacksonvillebased railroad company, but it has altered Michael Ward’s future. “What has changed is I’m going to be around longer, at least three more, if not more years,” Ward said in an interview Wednesday
Ward
after CSX reported its quarterly earnings. Ward, who turned 65 last month, said he was likely to retire next year as chairman and CEO of CSX, with former President Oscar Munoz designated to succeed him. However, Munoz left CSX last month to become CEO of United Continental Holdings Inc. after the sudden resignation of the airline’s previous CEO. So Ward agreed to stay around
as CSX’s board of directors comes up with a new succession plan. Ward said there is no definitive successor in place now, but he said any one of three top CSX executives could be in line for the CEO spot: President Clarence Gooden, Chief Operating Officer Cindy Sanborn and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer Fredrik Eliasson. As CSX makes long-term plans, it also is dealing with the shortterm issue of reduced freight
demand, which is affecting the entire railroad industry. CSX late Tuesday reported third-quarter earnings of 52 cents a share, just a penny higher than the third quarter of 2014. Revenue fell 9 percent to $2.94 billion, slightly lower than analysts’ forecasts but not a big surprise. “I’m pretty pleased with the results given the volume headwinds we were facing,” Ward said. CSX continued on Page A-4
Cofer retiring early as judge
Enjoyed mentoring younger attorneys By Marilyn Young Editor
Od’Juan Whitfield in Hemming Park
Kendra DeVaughn and her son, Nicholas
Life-changing transformations Od’Juan Whitfield and Kendra DeVaughn have a tie neither readily shared. They were homeless, needing help. They found it at Sulzbacher Center. Tonight they’ll share their stories of finding new lives at the ‘Transformations’ fundraiser. Od’Juan Whitfield: Sacrificed for son
Kendra DeVaughn: Mom at crossroads
By David Chapman Staff Writer
By David Chapman Staff Writer
Not many people would make a sacrifice like Od’Juan Whitfield. He’s a military veteran, spending much of 2003 in Kuwait. He was married with a young son and a steady sales job at Interline Brands. His dysfunctional marriage came to a boiling point Thanksgiving 2006. Another argument, this time with him leaving. But the Indianapolis native didn’t have friends or family in Jacksonville. He didn’t want to move away from his 5-year old son. All but about $30 of his paychecks each week went to his stay-at-home wife and Od’Juan Jr.
Ask Kendra DeVaughn how she is and she smiles. She’s good. Blessed. Excited as she sits on the couch of the West 38th Street apartment she’s called home since August. A year ago, she wasn’t as optimistic. Far from it. She worked and lived at Community Resource Center, but problems and rising rent forced her out. She found out she was pregnant, but the father walked away. She struggled with ongoing depression. DeVaughn was lost. “I just kept thinking, ‘How am I going to do this?’” she said. Her parents lived in the Argyle Forest area, but her mother
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Sometimes children follow their parents’ paths when choosing a career. Duval County Judge Charles Cofer followed Perry Mason and Atticus Finch. But the son of a Methodist minister and chemistry teacher sprinkled in characteristics of his parents’ jobs, as well. “I had great admiration for what they did in helping to educate people and helping people in distress,” said Cofer. His legal career has included more than 18 years as an assistant public defender before being appointed a county judge in July 1998. The 63-year-old Cofer announced his retirement from bench this morning in a letter to Gov. Rick Scott. The governor Cofer will appoint someone to fill Cofer’s term, which ends Jan. 7, 2019. There has long been talk that Cofer is planning to run for public defender. On Wednesday, he said it “really wouldn’t be appropriate at this point” to address the issue. However, Cofer said, “I imagine at some point after my retirement, I’ll be doing something. Even though I’m retiring as a judge, I’m not retiring from life.”
He enjoys the variety
Whatever he does next, it’s clear Cofer has enjoyed being a judge. Unlike circuit court, where judges are assigned to specific divisions, county judges regularly rotate through first appearance court, traffic court and criminal and civil duties. That variety has kept him energized, Cofer said.
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