Josh Hull is a fourth generation Floridian, and he shows his love for his hometown by giving back to the community through his involvement in the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra. As the club’s new president, he has goals to create a 5k race and an auto show so the Rotary Club can have additional fundraising opportunities.
Tell us a little about yourself and your background.
I was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida. I can trace my family back on my mother’s side four generations all in Northeast Florida.
My great grandfather was a lighthouse keeper at the St. Augustine Lighthouse.
I grew up in church, sang in the choir, and currently attend Christ’s Church in Mandarin.
I am happily married to my wife of 15 years, Lena Hull, who is a branch manager at First Florida Credit Union.
I have a bachelor’s degree of applied science in business supervision and management from Florida State College and I work at VyStar Credit Union as a branch vice president for our Nocatee branch.
How long have you been involved with the Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra?
I’m a charter member of our club, which means I was part of the club since our club’s inception in April of 2018.
Before my current Rotary club, I was a member of the Rotary Club of Palm Valley for two years where I began my Rotary journey.
What has the experience been like?
Being a part of Rotary has been absolutely wonderful and I recommend Rotary to everyone!
I initially joined Rotary through a referral from a friend when I was looking for additional ways to network in the community.
Networking is an important part of Rotary and yet even more so the reason that I stay in Rotary is because I see all of the good work that we do in the community.
Rotary mainly exists for community service in which the club resides in. In addition, each club is part of a larger district and together we perform international projects as well to do more good in the world.
Rotary is very much an international organization with a strong worldwide presence. One of the things you learn quickly in Rotary is that wherever you travel in the world you have a group of friends waiting to welcome you.
What are your roles and goals as the club’s new president?
As the Rotary president I am looking for new and fresh ways to continue to give back to the community in which our club resides in Nocatee.
One of our recent projects right now involves purchasing and installing exercise equipment for the Nocatee trails in which folks who are on these trails can make stops to perform exercises to enhance their workouts.
We are also working on a project to install clean water filtration devices in water fountains around Nocatee so that residents can fill up water bottles to reduce waste while enjoying clean filtered water.
One primary goal I have in my term as Rotary president is to create a 5k race and an auto show for our Rotary Club so that we have new additional sources of fundraising available to enhance the club’s ability to do more good in our community.
What do you enjoy most about being a member of the club?
Rotary is like a family. These are friends that you build a strong connection with hence the networking that I initially was seeking.
In addition to the comradery, I also enjoy our guest speakers at each meeting to stay up to date on important topics that concern our community.
Most important, Rotarians love to have fun! We usually try to mix in at least one to two socials per month to enjoy each other’s company while making new memories.
What do you enjoy most about living in the Northeast Florida area?
The sunny weather and no snow! In addition, most of my family lives here in Florida so being close to family and friends is a true blessing.
What do you like to do in your free time?
In my free time, I’m a huge gamer. I’m into board games and rhythm games such as DDR, IIDX, Sound Voltex, Jubeat, and Pop’n Music.
My favorite game of all is Magic the Gathering, as it’s the game that I’ve been playing since high school.
I also enjoy playing pinball and watching competitive Starcraft 1 and Starcraft 2. I am proud to own every current gen gaming console and a gaming PC, which I built with my uncle.
I simply love gaming. Of course, gaming with my wife and friends is the best of all.