Fairfield graduate Dr. Cary Pigman seeks Florida House seat
Former Highland County resident Lt. Col. Dr. Cary Pigman is a 2012 candidate for the Florida state Legislature.
Dr. Pigman is the Republican candidate for the Florida House of Representatives, 55th District, representing Highlands, Glades, Okeechobee and the western portion of St. Lucie counties.
Dr. Pigman is a 1976 graduate of Fairfield High School in Leesburg, where he and Karen Adams represented the class as valedictorians.
He has lived in Highlands County, Florida since 1995.
According to his campaign site, www.carypigmanforhouse.com, Dr. Pigman is a residency trained and board certified emergency medicine physician currently practicing at Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center in Sebring.
He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Edgecliff College of Xavier University in Cincinnati in 1980. He then earned his MD at The Ohio State University in 1983. His residency training in Emergency Medicine was at Georgetown University and George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
He began his medical career as a doctor in the U.S. Navy attached to infantry units of the Second Marine Division. He left active duty in 1989 and remained in inactive reserve duty as a commander until 2000.
During the Iraqi surge of 2009, Dr. Pigman was asked to return to active reserve status in the U.S. Army. In 2010, he was commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.
He recently completed a six-month deployment in northern Iraq, serving as the Emergency Medicine physician at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Diamondback in Mosul, then at Contingency Operating Site (COS) Warrior in Kirkuk.
He was formerly the medical director of Hardee County (Fla.) Fire/Rescue, and currently serves as a volunteer physician at the Samaritan Touch Care Center. He is a past chairman and currently serves on the board of the Florida Ridge Big Brothers Big Sisters, and past president of the Highlands County Medical Society.
His wife, Darlene, is a retired flight nurse and owns a small business in Sebring, Fla. Together, they raise sheep and chickens and maintain a vineyard on their small farm.
Cary enjoys bicycling, clay shooting, and car racing.
Dr. Cary Pigman is also the Republican candidate for the 2012 election for the Florida House of Representatives, 55th District, representing Highlands, Glades, Okeechobee and the western portion of St. Lucie Counties. He has lived in Highlands County since 1995.
"The challenges Florida faces require a mix of bold leadership and common-sense principles. I've proudly served my country and now I would like to serve our community in Tallahassee," Dr. Pigman says. "Recently, I completed a tour of duty in Northern Iraq as a Lt. Colonel and physician. I have worked in all facets of the medical field, including health insurance and utilization. The responsibility and sense of duty learned during these rewarding experiences have prepared me for the opportunity to represent you."
If elected, Dr. Pigman promises "an uncompromising work ethic, fiscal responsibility and an honest, constituent-driven approach to governing."