One Jacksonville Beach native has had the privilege of not only seeing her community grow over the past 20 years but has also had the privilege of shaping the growth of its future, all while she enjoys living every day in the present. However, while we at First Coast Life refer to Christine Hoffman as a First Coast native, Hoffman was quick to point out that being born in the Oakland (California) Naval Hospital, technically she is a native Californian.
Having a dad in the Navy means moving around a lot for any Navy family, but Christine landed in North Florida to begin school at Neptune Beach Elementary, and minus a couple of more moves before returning, Chris ultimately graduated from Duncan U Fletcher Senior High, and THAT qualifies her to be considered a beach native no matter where she was born. Her formative years were spent here, which explains her love for all things North Florida.
In Hoffman’s fifth-grade year, the family was transferred again and after stints in Boston and Virginia, they returned to Florida and Christine began her tenth-grade year at Fletcher and never looked back. While at Fletcher Chris joined the band as a clarinet player, which made her experience at Fletcher all the more fun. It was then that the First Coast was where she decided to call home and upon graduating from Fletcher, it was clear to Hoffman that she made a great choice.
Knowing college would be looming and wanting to save some money for personal spending, Christine took a job at Aqua East Surf Shop and was introduced to the surfing world! With Sandy Forsyth on hand to mentor her, Hoffman learned the ins and outs of the retail world in fine fashion.
Working summers and after school, Chris was finally leaving her high school years behind and the University of Florida was her college of choice. Hoffman said of Florida, “I continued in the band at Florida and those were during the Spurrier years so I was there during two National Championship runs under Coach Spurrier. It was a very exciting time!”
Having worked on the newspaper staff of the Nor’Easter at Fletcher, Hoffman had started out in Gainesville as a journalism major, but after taking some government-oriented courses, she knew that Political Science was where she wanted to be and to get her degree. With a double degree in Political Science and Criminology, law school entered her sights and as with any young up-and-comer, Hoffman started focusing on just what she might want to do for a career.
During college though, Christine’s mother had been diagnosed with cancer, and her focus shifted to being at home and helping her mom as much as possible. An opportunity to do a study abroad presented itself and after that, Chris returned home to finish college and ultimately took a volunteer position with the American Cancer Society in Gainesville. Through that work, her direction in life began to change again.
During college, she went to Capitol Hill on an internship and found herself working in the health legislative area. “I got to deal with Medicare/Medicaid issues, smoking, biomedical research, things like that, so it was really interesting,” Hoffman said. “Then I returned to Gainesville and got my degree and I was hired by the American Cancer Society and went to Tallahassee to do advocacy work.”
Photographer Glenn Shuck
It was at that point in her life that Christine realized that volunteerism, community service, a passion for working on a cause, and ultimately politics were taking shape and subconsciously focusing her future on a career dedicated to serving the public. Her position at the American Cancer Society led her back to Jacksonville Beach and after her mom had found new cancer in her body Christine needed a change of scenery and took a job at Sawgrass working in hospitality. Hoffman reflected on that time saying, “I just got to the point where I felt like I couldn’t be surrounded by the effects of the disease all day every day and I needed a change. After supporting my mom through her eleven-year battle and dealing with so much pain I had to move on.”
Christine Hoffman has an innate sense of organization and found it very useful in helping a dear friend plan her wedding at the clubhouse of the TPC. She told us, “I’m an organizer and at Sawgrass I started helping people plan their weddings and it really grew into something cool. I thought I might be there for a couple of years but it turned into six years and I met a lot of great people and formed some important friendships.”
One of those friends is Charlene Shirk, who told us, “I’ve had the privilege of knowing Chris Hoffman for 16 years, and in that time, one thing has always been clear—she’s never content with just meeting expectations; she’s always striving to do more and do it better.
Chris is the kind of person who not only sets ambitious goals for herself but is deeply committed to helping others reach theirs as well. Her passion for uplifting the people around her is contagious, and just being in her presence makes you want to push yourself to be better, not just for your own success, but for the good of the community. She has an incredible way of inspiring everyone around her to aim higher, work harder, and do more for others.”
While at Sawgrass Hoffman ran for a seat on the Jacksonville Beach City Council and her public service career began to take shape. A position on the board of BEAM followed and she started making a name for herself in the community. Then a position on the board of the Beaches Museum opened up and Chris was asked to fill it. Some travel opportunities arose and Christine had decided to leave Sawgrass and take advantage of some travel, but the day after she resigned from Sawgrass the director of the Beaches Museum retired and once again, Chris Hoffman was faced with a new opportunity.
She said, “I was on the board, but when that opportunity came around I thought, ‘if this isn’t a sign then nothing is!’ so I applied for the Executive Director at the museum and got the job.”
Reid McCormick, whose family was instrumental in creating the Beaches History Museum and is now the Interim Director of St. Pauls By The Sea told First Coast Life, “Chris just finished her tenth year with us and we are deeply grateful for her leadership and dedication as our Executive Director. Since Chris began with us, our budget has more than doubled and accordingly, our programs have increased as well as our membership. She is a terrific manager of people both staff and volunteers which is vital to preserving our rich beaches heritage for generations to come.”
While serving the Beaches Museum, Hoffman completed two terms on the City Council, then ran for Mayor and won. Chris Hand, President of Hand Law and an advocate for fair policy was asked about Mayor Hoffman and said, “Though we are both graduates of Fletcher High School, I met Chris not at the Beaches but in the nation’s capital. More than 25 years ago in the Washington office of U.S. Senator (and former Florida Governor) Bob Graham, Chris was a University of Florida student serving as an intern on Senator Graham’s health care policy team while I was his speechwriter.
Chris was one of our best interns because she demonstrated many of the same characteristics that continue to define her as a leader in the Beaches community.
People who know her now won’t be surprised to learn that she was a dedicated public servant focused on improving Floridians’ health. She worked on crucial issues like the Patients’ Bill of Rights and the national anti-smoking settlement. That work led to her later service with the American Cancer Society. As the daughter and sister of military personnel, Chris cared deeply about our nation’s armed services and veterans. Most memorably, she was a vocal advocate of the Beaches community.
Photographer Glenn Shuck
Chris was a proud Fletcher graduate and often talked about how important growing up at the beach had been to her life. It was no surprise to me when she ultimately returned to Jacksonville Beach and rose to leadership positions with the Beaches Museum and the City of Jacksonville Beach. Senator Graham passed away in April of this year, but I know he would be pleased and grateful that Chris has continued to be true to the values that first motivated her to become a leader and public servant.
As someone who grew up at the Beach and still has family there, I know what a special place it is. It is special because of its natural treasures, its quality of life, and its people – especially people like Chris Hoffman, who has spent her entire adult life working to preserve the history and secure the future of the Beaches community.”
Christine Hoffman is now running for a second Mayoral term, and win or lose, one thing the people of Jacksonville Beach and our surrounding communities can count on is that Christine Hoffman is ensconced in serving the people of this community. No one can say what her career path will follow, but if history truly does repeat itself residents on the First Coast can count on Hoffman to continue to value, preserve, and promote our past while living in the present and working diligently to create a better future.
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Mike is a native First Coaster and was a leading figure in surfing and skateboarding for most of his life. After promoting music for many years on the local music scene, Mike now brings a unique perspective to FirstCoast.Life as a contributing writer.
