Kathleen Parker

Winter Haven native Kathleen Parker never took a journalism class in college, but that hasn't stopped her from being the most widely syndicated female columnist in the country. The 1969 Winter Haven High School graduate has worked at a variety of large and small newspapers, covering anything from California cuisine to bass fishing contests in the rural South. Now, she serves on the USA Today's Board of Contributors and her twice weekly column is published in 350 different newspapers. Her journalism career got its start when she was in the process of getting a P.h.D in Spanish literature from Florida State University.