(Crystal Proenza is associate editor of Real Estate Florida.)

JACKSONVILLE, FL-Locally based international forest products company Rayonier Inc. has added former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to its board of directors. He will join a board led by Rayonier chairman, president and CEO Lee M. Thomas and lead director Paul Kirk, chairman, president and director of Kirk and Associates.

Bush is currently president of Jeb Bush and Associates, a consulting firm based on Miami's Brickell Avenue. He served as Florida's governor from 1999 to 2007 and as Secretary of Commerce from 1987 to 1988. Before holding public office, Bush partnered with real estate veteran Armando Codina as COO of Miami-based commercial real estate development corporation Codina Group.

"Jeb's management experience as governor of one of the country's largest states and his expertise in real estate and public policy issues make him an ideal fit for our board," Thomas stated in a press release. Rayonier owns, leases or manages 2.6 million acres of timberland, of which 70% is in the Southeast.