As a young boy growing up in Miami, Ron Sachs dreamed of becoming a journalist. That dream blossomed because the community he was raised in celebrated its young achievers.
He has worked for more than two decades to pay that support forward in Leon County.
After stints at the Miami Herald and Alligator, Sachs is now the retired founder and chairman of Sachs Media, a nationally recognized public relations firm based in Tallahassee.
In 2006, he founded the Best & Brightest Awards to highlight local high school seniors who are the highest achievers with a heart for service.
Students earn scholarships up to $1,500, trophies and a spotlight that will shine on them throughout their lives.
“What makes Best & Brightest unique is its special emphasis isn’t just academic achievement, but selfless service,” Sachs told the Tallahassee Democrat.
From the beginning, the Democrat has been a sponsor of the awards and ceremony, which are celebrating their two decade anniversary on Wednesday, May 14, when the 20th class will be recognized.
To encourage the upcoming class and celebrate the investments of the World Class Schools of Leon County, the Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce and Envision Credit Union, here are the stories of some of the Best & Brightest from the program’s inaugural year and where their success has taken them.
Ashley Williams: The Best & Brightest in the Oval Office
Ashley Williams always knew she’d go far in life but didn’t imagine just how far.
As the Leon High School senior class vice president, a member of the National Honor Society and an athlete on the girls’ basketball team, Williams set a standard of excellence for her life.
“I think when you’re in high school and you are an overachiever you have this vision of what you think your life will look like and sometimes your journey doesn’t look like what you planned, and you have to be OK with that because sometimes it ends up better than you could have ever imagined,” she told the Tallahassee Democrat.
When the administration at Leon High said they were nominating her for the inaugural class of Best & Brightest, she assumed she’d be up for the leadership category. Instead, she was named the winner of the public speaking category since she is “never at a loss for words.”
After graduating from Leon High, Williams studied international politics at Georgetown University in Washington D.C. and later attended law school at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.
She decided she wanted to move back to Washington D.C. and began to look for internships. She scored one in the White House, when former President Barack Obama was in office.
“From there I was offered a full-time job working in the office of Jill Biden, who was Second Lady at the time and the rest is history,” she said. “I stumbled into this really exciting adventure and environment.”
In January 2025, she left the White House after working there for nearly 15 years of “serving the country” in a number of roles, most recently as Deputy Director of Oval Office Operations for former President Joe Biden’s administration.
She is now a senior advisor to the former president, but she is also making her own footprint by launching her consulting firm, Blair Stone Strategies.
“It is a nod to Tallahassee and my foundation because it was one of the first roads I remember growing up on,” she said of the company’s name. “My consulting firm’s objective is to ensure that clients have their strong foundation. My foundation originated on Blair Stone Court in Tallahassee.”
Williams, her husband, Fred, and her 18-month-old daughter still live in the D.C. area. Her experience working full time while pregnant and becoming a new mother are a testament to her persevering spirit, she said, Now that she is out of the daily White House arena, she is happy to slow down.
For the Leon County students on their way to the finish line of their high school education, Williams says “believe in yourself. Be bold and do daring things. We’ll be watching.”
Read the full article and more stories of previous winners in Alaijah Brown’s article HERE
