Graham W. Fountain
Colonel Graham W. Fountain joined the Reyes Law Firm after retiring with three decades of public service in the fields of state and local law enforcement, public safety management and governmental regulation. Serving in the administrations of Governor Jeb Bush, State Comptroller Robert Milligan, State Treasurer Tom Gallagher, and two Florida Sheriffs, he is a seasoned legislative and regulatory advocate and public policy expert in a variety of fields.
As the Director of Governmental Affairs and Strategic Consulting, Fountain oversees the Capitol operations in Tallahassee and serves as key liaison with legislators, Governor and Cabinet, and state agency policy makers. His diverse background in state and local government has provided a unique platform to advocate for both public agencies and private entities in Washington, D.C., Tallahassee, and various county and city governments. In the private sector, he owned and operated G.W. Fountain and Associates, LLC and Westerfield Strategic, LLC where he provided governmental affairs and management consulting services in areas that include safety and security, PIP reform, environmental issues, campaign fundraising, real estate development and land use, building construction, asset management and maintenance. While managing the estate of his late father, Dr. Robert G. Fountain, he operated a thriving dental practice, employing contract dentists and serving as project manager on a new office facility and the sale of the family practice; and managed real estate holdings and commercial properties.
Colonel Fountain holds a Bachelor‘s Degree in Criminal Justice/Political Science from Troy State University and received his Master’s Degree in Management and Leadership Studies from Liberty University Graduate School of Business. He is a graduate of the American Association of Highway Safety and Transportation Officials’ Leadership Academy, Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute’s Chief Executive Program at Florida State University, The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center at Glynco, and over 2000 hours of advanced training in accreditation, quality assurance/Sterling Organizational Excellence Systems, leadership and management, homeland security, emergency management, and public safety technology.
Colonel Fountain served with distinction for eight years under Governor Jeb Bush as the Director of Law Enforcement Operations for the Florida Department of Transportation. In that capacity, he brought about major changes in the regulation and enforcement of commercial motor vehicles on Florida’s roadways, to include building and operating a network of state-of-the-art weigh-in-motion stations that allowed trucks to be weighed without stopping, reducing inspection times; implementing the Pre-Pass electronic credentialing system that reduced travel time for heavy trucks transporting products by millions of hours each year. As a member of the ESF-16 Executive Leadership Council, he worked beside Governor Bush and Cabinet Officials at the State Emergency Operation Center during all major disasters making policy and operational decisions affecting Florida’s citizens, visitors, and vendors, and out-of-state mutual aid deployment of public safety resources. He served on the USDOJ Homeland Security Advisory Council, the Florida Domestic Security Task Force and Oversight Committee’s Statewide Working Group, the USDOJ Safe Streets-Safe Neighborhoods Grant Board for Northern Florida, and was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush to the Florida Ports Security Council.
His unique style of bringing about cooperation between private industry and government has proven successful in nurturing the economy while still protecting the taxpayers. Well known for his “straight forward” approach and ability to effectively communicate issues and build teams, Colonel Fountain has gained a strong reputation for delivering initiatives that had a small chance of success; including when he worked tirelessly with the Florida Legislature, Florida Trucking Association, Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, and U.S. Congress to broker compromise legislation to reduce the operating hours for commercial truck drivers which reduced crashes, saved lives, and restored over 25 million dollars in Florida’s lost highway safety dollars.
Colonel Fountain has served in other leadership posts which include Undersheriff of Okaloosa County; Walton County Sheriff Director of Operations, Chief of Patrol/Special Operations/Investigations, Director of Legislative Affairs, legislative liaison and support lobbyist for the Florida Sheriff’s Association; and Law Enforcement Investigator II (Sergeant) with the State Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner’s Division of Insurance Fraud. While serving as Financial Investigations Administrator (Chief Investigator) for State Comptroller Bob Milligan, he directed the criminal, civil, and regulatory enforcement activities in the areas of banking, finance, and securities, administered the State’s Fiscal Integrity Program, and led several complex investigation of state agencies on behalf of the Florida Cabinet. He has served as a trainer and advisor to governments in Africa, Europe, and South America.
Colonel Fountain has played a major role in enhancing criminal justice and governmental professionalism and streamlining regulatory impact on the business community in areas such as seaports, general transportation, commercial vehicles operations, technology and communications, insurance, financial services, and tourism industry. He served two terms as President of the State Law Enforcement Chiefs Association, Six years as Commissioner and Chair of the Florida Agency for Law Enforcement Agency Accreditation, and is currently serving his second term as Commissioner on the Florida Historical Commission, representing Senate Presidents Jeff Atwater, Mike Haridopolos, and Don Gaetz. He served as co-chair for the build-out and operations of the Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System (SLERS) and Governor Bush’s State Police Resource Sharing and Consolidation Council for training, communications, and air support operations.
Throughout his career, he has received numerous awards and accolades for his leadership and investigative abilities. He was awarded the Florida Department of Transportation’s highest award by being selected “Leader of the Year”; two-time recipient of Davis Productivity Awards for the regulation of the financial services industry; and for his national work in highway safety and homeland security, was awarded the prestigious Kentucky Colonel designation by two separate Kentucky governors. He routinely provides counsel to sheriffs, police chiefs, prosecutors, legislators, non-profit organizations, and businesses on a wide array of management, security and safety, enforcement, regulatory, accreditation, and educational issues. Being active in the Republican party, Colonel Fountain served two-terms as President of the Republican Club of Okaloosa County, committeeman on the Okaloosa County Republican Executive Committee, and a regular campaign fundraiser, speaking surrogate, and policy advisor to presidential, gubernatorial, cabinet, legislative and sheriff’s races to include; three Governor Jeb Bush campaign teams, statewide chair of Bush-Cheney campaigns law enforcement/public safety coalition and national first responders steering committee; and county chairman and national public safety policy council for Romney-Ryan presidential campaign.
Colonel Fountain is well known for his community involvement and service to charities and non-profits; and has donated his time and financial resources to worthy groups such as the United States Marine Corps Toys for Tots, Emerald Coast Children’s Advocacy Centers, Cops for Kids, Habitat for Humanity, Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranches, Homestead Ministries, Inc., Rejuvenate Students Ministries, Inc., American Heart Association, area support organization for the arts, history, and education.
Upon his retirement from law enforcement leadership, Colonel Fountain received numerous recognitions and honors for his public service including recognition from President George W. Bush, Florida Governors Jeb Bush and Rick Scott, Alabama Governor Bob Bentley, Florida Sheriff’s Association, Florida Law Enforcement Chiefs Association, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, numerous state and local agencies; and the passage of resolutions in the Florida Senate, Florida Cabinet, Alabama Legislature, and U.S. Congress.
Contact email: GWFountain@reyesgsc.com