User:Bryangstewart

Bryan Gregory Stewart was born in Winter Garden, Florida on August 10, 1974. The only child of Gregory William Stewart and Elizabeth Dorman Stewart of Apopka, he was raised in rural Orange and Lake Counties where his family owned and operated a small foliage plant business.

Stewart was active in competitive swimming while growing up and became interested in politics after a chance encounter with President Ronald Reagan in 1986. His interest in public affairs would grow to the point where during high school, Stewart volunteered on several campaigns, including the 1992 reelection efforts of President George H.W. Bush and Florida State Senator Richard H. Langley.

He enlisted in the U.S. Navy immediately after 1992 campaign season and served on active duty for two years as a propulsion engineer aboard an amphibious transport ship in the Far East.

Upon his honorable discharge from active duty, Stewart returned to Florida and began to work for the Republican Party of Florida as a fund raiser and field representative in the state capital of Tallahassee. He also served briefly as the executive assistant to the chairman of the education committee in the Florida House of Representatives during the 1998 legislative session. Later that year, Stewart joined the campaign of Beverly J. Kilmer for State Representative, and helped her become the first Republican lawmaker elected from the ‘Big Bend’ region of north Florida since the Civil War era.

In 1999 Stewart returned to central Florida to be with his future wife, Julia Marie Montgomery of Winter Springs, and complete his undergraduate degree at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. While a student, Stewart continued his involvement in politics and became the first person in history from that university to win election as state chairman of the College Republicans in Florida. In this capacity, Stewart helped support the election of GOP candidates throughout the state such as Governor Jeb Bush, U.S. Representative Tom Feeney and numerous other federal, state and municipal candidates. After being awarded a B.S.B.A degree in economics in 2002, Stewart went to work as a financial consultant for the investment firm of A.G. Edwards & Sons.

In 2004, Stewart was a candidate for the non-partisan office of Supervisor of the Orange County Soil & Water Conservation District. He was defeated by former Orlando mayoral candidate and community activist Tim Adams 57% to 43%, in a race that was overshadowed locally by the hotly contested election between President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry.

Bryan Stewart and Julia Montgomery were married on Nov. 20, 2004, at the Cathedral Church of St. Lukein Orlando, Florida. In 2005, Stewart joined the Bank of New York (now the Bank of New York Mellon) where he works as an accountant for the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) business group. The Stewarts reside in Winter Park, Florida.