Audubon of Florida Honors George Willson St. Joe Company's Vice President, Conservation Lands Program, Receives Lifetime Achievement Award for Vigorous Defense of Florida's Environment ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- George W. Willson, The St. Joe Company's vice president for conservation lands, received Audubon of Florida's lifetime achievement award, given to individuals whose efforts on behalf of conservation have achieved significant results. During a ceremony at Audubon of Florida's 2003 Assembly held in Orlando this week, the award was bestowed by policy director Eric Draper. "The award recognizes not just your remarkable accomplishments at The Nature Conservancy, where you helped create aggressive land protection programs, but also your second career with The St. Joe Company," he said. "In your current role you have continued to move thousands of acres of valuable bird and wildlife habitat into permanent protection, and have helped the public understand St. Joe's intelligent approach to conservation and development." "I am honored to be recognized in this way by Audubon," said George Willson. "They have been a consistent and successful advocate for Florida environmental issues for the past century, and it has been a privilege for me to work with Audubon staff and members to protect Florida's natural areas." "Today, as an employee of St. Joe, I work even more closely with Audubon. Audubon staff and members have closely collaborated on company and agency decisions as we transfer stewardship of some of Florida's most revered natural areas to public ownership. I am proud of The St. Joe Company's public affairs team and the work we do with local communities and stakeholders to design conservation and development plans for our landholdings in Northwest Florida." A twenty-five year veteran of natural resources conservation, George Willson works with state and federal agencies, conservation groups, corporations, and individuals overseeing St. Joe's conservation landholdings in Northwest Florida and Southwest Georgia. Having served as the Nature Conservancy's Florida Director of Land Acquisition prior to joining St. Joe, he brought a special skill sensitivity and skill to his new position. He has also worked for Florida's Department of Environmental Regulation (renamed the Department of Environmental Protection), and has served in key staff roles in state programs such as Environmentally Endangered Lands (EEL), Conservation and Recreational Land (CARL) and the Land Acquisition and Management Advisory Council. "George is one of our greatest assets," commented St. Joe chairman and CEO Peter S. Rummell. "Not only does his work assure the preservation of ecologically sensitive lands, it enhances the value of St. Joe communities and Northwest Florida for generations to come. In the long run, St. Joe will succeed only if we can say to our children and grandchildren that we have faithfully respected this beautiful and unspoiled environment that is their natural legacy." Indeed, as Florida's largest private land holder, The St. Joe Company is committed to the preservation of its greatest assets through conservation and responsible development. Working with the state of Florida and environmental organizations, St. Joe identifies major land parcels for preservation by government or private groups dedicated to environmental stewardship. St. Joe's commitment to preserving Northwest Florida's special places is also evident in its communities -- WaterColor, WaterSound Beach, WindMark Beach, RiverCamps on Crooked Creek and SouthWood -- where as much as two-thirds of the land is set aside and preserved as parks and conservation areas. "Respect for our natural treasures is a guiding principle in all of St. Joe's work," said Rummell. "We know that conserving the best of Northwest Florida and making sure it works for all the citizens of the region adds value to our other land holdings. Our long term business interests are served by ensuring the protection of Northwest Florida's special places and quality of life." In the last five years, The St. Joe Company's Land Conservation program has placed more than 150,000 acres within its unique inventory of natural area sites into conservation-an average of 2,500 acres preserved per month. The list includes such regional sites as Wakulla Springs, Torreya and Bald Point State Parks, Wacissa and Aucilla River corridors, Tates Hell State Forest, Apalachicola Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Chickasawhatchee Swamp, and many other projects. "We couldn't be more proud of George. His Audubon award is yet another feather in our 'conservation cap' this year," observed St. Joe executive vice president Robert Rhodes. "George has been instrumental in helping us place more than 10 acres into conservation for every acre we have developed. Over the next three years he will assist with the evaluation of an additional 118,000 acres slated for conservation." St. Joe, a publicly held company based in Jacksonville, Florida, is one of the state's largest real estate operating companies. It is engaged in community, commercial, industrial and resort development, along with commercial real estate services. The company also has significant interests in timber. For more information on St. Joe, visit http://www.joe.com/. The St. Joe Company, "WaterColor," "SouthWood" and the "Taking Flight" logo are registered service marks of The St. Joe Company. "WaterSound Beach," "WindMark Beach" and "RiverCamps on Crooked Creek" are service marks of The St. Joe Company. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such matters involve risk and uncertainty, and there can be no assurance that the results described in such forward-looking statements will be realized. Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to certain risks. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, the company's actual results may differ materially from that indicated or suggested by any forward-looking statement contained in this press release. Risk factors that may cause the actual results to differ are described in various documents filed by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002, and in the company's registration statement on Form S-3, as amended, filed September 16, 2003. DATASOURCE: The St. Joe Company CONTACT: Media - Jerry Ray, +1-904-301-4200, Shirar Mugler, +1-212-620-7100, or Nora Brossard, +1-212-620-7100, all of The St. Joe Company Web site: http://www.joe.com/

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