Orange County Tax Collecter Earl K. Wood Dies
Monday, October 15, 2012
By: Matthew Peddie

October 15, 2012 | WMFE - Wood, who was 96, passed away early Monday morning.

Wood spent 48 years in the role and was campaigning for another 4 year term. He had planned to retire and support assistant tax collector Kelly Goodwin to run for the position, but decided at the last minute to run again himself.

Goodwin released a statement describing Wood as "a great leader and a friend to many".

Wood's "tenacity, willingness to help out and do the right thing and most importantly his commitment to his family, friends and the community that he served will be sorely missed," said Goodwin.

Jim Huckeba, who is running for Orange County tax collector, offered his condolences in a message posted on his website.

"We applaud him for his decades of service to this community and have suspended our campaign temporarily to give his family, his staff and our community time to grieve," said Huckeba.