Independent voices from the TWT Communities
When Juan Ponce de Leon searched for riches in Florida, he unknowingly helped turn the Sunshine State into the first travel destination in the United States.
J.C. Penney Co. says Michael Francis, the former Target Corp. executive brought in to redefine the brand, is leaving the company. The department store operator gave no reason for his immediate departure.
"It was always seen as an exotic place," historian J Michael Francis said of Florida. "That's something that Florida tourism continues to market on some level."
"It's unlikely we will ever know the precise landing spot," said Mr. Francis, Hough Family Chair of Florida Studies at the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg, Fla. "There is no archaeological footprint.
