Ever since I moved to this area, I thought Doctor Phillips was kind of an odd name for a community and I wondered who is this guy anyway?!? My guess is that some of you out there have had the same thoughts, so I figured I would look it up and share my findings. Well, he was a citrus magnate named Philip Phillips, not to be confused with Phillip Phillips, American Idol Winner…
Dr. Philip Phillips, was a native of Memphis, TN earning his medical degree from Columbia University in New York. He came to Satsuma, Florida in 1894 and bought his first orange grove only to lose it a year later to a devastating freeze. He moved back to TN, but returned to Central Florida a couple of years later in 1897. This time he purchased land in Osceola County and eventually ended up owning two packing houses and over 5,000 acres of citrus groves spanning across several counties.
One of his many innovations was “Flash” Pasteurization, which made him the first to successfully can orange juice without the metallic taste. He brought Bahamians in to help with the growing family business and in the 1950’s realizing there was no proper health care for black citizens, he and his son, Howard Phillips 
were instrumental in establishing Dr Phillips Memorial Hospital. In 1953, the Dr P Phillips Foundation was established to support charitable needs in the area. The family felt it was important to “help others help themselves” which is the foundation’s motto.
Dr Phillips passed away in 1959, but his legacy lives on as Dr Phillips Charities touch thousands of local lives every year. So there you have it folks, I have answered my own questions and now I see why this amazing philanthropist has so many things named after him. I’d say he deserves it, wouldn’t you?