Lakeland Economic Development Council

Last month, SIOR Florida Chapter hosted their Lunch & Learn at Catapult Lakeland, Inc.. Tampa & Orlando SIOR’s had the opportunity to tour Catapult and engage with a panel of local and county economic development professionals. We were very excited to be able to take part in and speak about the growth of the Lakeland sub-market. It takes a village to be able to create the community we have in our City and it is all thanks to our partners at the City of Lakeland and Polk County BoCC. Thank you, SIOR Florida Chapter and Jessica Mizrahi, SIOR for hosting your event in our City and at Catapult. We look forward to our continued partnership! Jason Willey Brian Rewis Dale Marquardt, CBO Benjamin J. Ziskal, AICP, CEcD Abbas Jaffer Ryan Wiggins Benjamin Dunn

What's better than new neighbors? ?????? Lakeland landed a top-20 spot on?UHaul's 'Growth Cities' list for 2023, analyzing their internal growth index data on one-way moves last year. ?? This places Lakeland one spot up from our previous year's ranking on the list. 7 of the 25 top cities were in the Sunshine State! ???? If this list tells us anything, it's that Lakeland's growth continues to be nonstop! #LakelandFL?#LKLDFL?#LakelandEDC?#LKLDHaven

Yesterday, Lakelanders got a glimpse at an exciting possibility for the Lakeland Linder International Airport! ?? If approved by Commissioners on Monday, the airport plans on beginning a $3.4 million improvement project to accommodate Avelo Airlines. This could allow for domestic flights out of LAL as soon as early summer. ??? The potential for a return of commercial air to our hometown hub is an exciting look at the future of our growing city! ?? Where are you hoping to take off to this summer from LAL? ???? Destinations will be announced as the project progresses. #LKLDHaven?#FlyLakeland?#LakelandFL?#LakelandEDC

Did you know our beloved Summer Leadership program has welcoming participants since 2008? ???? After a city benchmarking trip to Memphis, TN in 2007, our local leaders recognized a need for talent retention programming in our community. Since then, we've graduated 850+ young professionals. Swipe for a few sneak peeks from SLP classes from the past! ?? Shoutout your SLP class below! #LKLDHaven?#lakleandFL?#LKLDFL?#LakelandEDC

It was great to connect with Ali Marks and chat about all things Lakeland development at Catapult Lakeland, Inc.! Thanks, Abbas Jaffer and Maggie Leach for sharing your expertise and insights!

Hey, ladies! Have you heard that Lakeland was recently named the Best City for Women in the Workplace? The Checkr, Inc. report measured areas such as salaries, wage gaps, unemployment, and the number of women in positions of management. Lakeland placed in the top 15 cities for income and women's job growth among other key metrics. #LakelandFL #LKLDFL #LKLDHaven #LakelandEDC

Once again, Lakeland Leads members headed to Tampa for another tour of IDEA Public Schools Tampa Victory Campus and Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay! Our members got a first-hand look at the incredible educational organizations that will be coming to Lakeland. First up on the tour was IDEA Public Schools. During the tour, members learned about their data-driven approach and got even more excited for Lakeland's IDEA school to open in August 2024! Next was Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay, where students can learn real-world skills such as applying for a mortgage, budgeting, trying out a job role/position, and more. It was great seeing students enjoying all JA has to offer! Thank you to our members and partners who joined us for the tour: Katie Worthington Decker, Vice President of Lakeland Economic Development Council Jeremiah Kossen, CEO of Publix Employees Federal Credit Union, Ryan Dell, CEO of IDX images, Marcy Hamrick, Senior Manager at Publix Inc Dr. Kate Boney, Lisa Miller with the Polk County School Board, and Shauna Dikes, Junior Achievement of Tampa Bay of District Development!

Congratulations to our hometown favorite grocer and community champion, Publix Super Markets! ?? ?? Publix made Fortune's list for Best Workplaces for Women; one of only three retailers listed on the large companies list. The survey, conducted by Great Place To Work, evaluated employee's accounts of how their gender influenced their potential within the workplace. This recognition reflects Publix's extensive commitment to create a community of inclusion; both in Lakeland and across the region. Publix has been instrumental in strengthening our community for nearly 100 years and we are proud to partner with them as an LEDC member. Congratulations, Publix! #LakelandEDC #LakelandFL #LKLDHaven

Innovation keeps Lakeland a strong competitor within a rapidly changing tech market. That's why we're proud to be recognized by the Wall Street Journal as a top-20 small city for cutting-edge technology!?? ?? ?? The study evaluated the strength of Lakeland's tech industry labor market by looking at the concentration of high-demand skills among our workforce.? ?A few of these skills included AI architecture, serverless computing, and cybersecurity, among similar advanced talents. Additionally, the review accounted for general tech industry growth over the past 5 years.??? #LKLDHaven #LakelandFL ?#LakelandEDC?#LKLDFL?See less

Proud to welcome North American Rebar LLC to the LEDC! ??