Florida Trend is proud to announce that South Florida Editor Mike Vogel has won the 2025 Paul C. Tash Journalist of the Year Award. The prestigious award recognizes “a single journalist at the Times Publishing Co. who best exemplifies the integrity, high journalistic standards and service to readers that were trademarks” of Tash, the company’s longest-serving chairman. Vogel is the third recipient of the award, which recognizes work he did in 2024.
That standout work included his March 2024 cover story, “Big Fish,” a profile of Bass Pro Shops Founder Johnny Morris and his quest to build a series of distinctive resorts in Florida. While Morris declined comment for the story, it didn’t deter Mike. He headed down to the Keys, knocked on doors, talked to locals and interviewed local government officials. Weaving details from that reporting with known biographical details of Morris’ life, Mike crafted a fascinating profile of a retail titan, his love affair with the Sunshine State and his plans to remake parts of it.
Mike’s other notable work in 2024 included “Big Weed,” a cover story chronicling Trulieve Cannabis’ efforts to expand Florida’s marijuana market by spending more than $50 million on a constitutional amendment, and “Florida’s New Immigration Wave,” which explored a growing number of Eastern European businesses planting roots in South Florida.
“Covering business in a state with a GDP equal to that of Spain is a mammoth task, but Mike — who joined Florida Trend in 1999 — makes it look easy,” Florida Trend Publisher David Denor wrote in Mike’s nomination letter. “He has a near encyclopedic knowledge of Florida’s business movers and influencers. He has a relentless drive and curiosity — and he knows how to spin a yarn in a way that keeps Florida Trend’s readers engaged and yearning for more. Beyond his reporting, he’s also a devoted colleague and mentor to Florida Trend’s entire team.”
Please join us in congratulating Mike on this achievement.