News & Events

Leadership Polk Class XIX kicked off their community days by exploring Northeast Polk! 🎉

Throughout the day, class members learned about utility infrastructure, local industries, and unique arts, culture, and recreation opportunities available in this growing region of Polk County. One of the highlights of the day was visiting the Sunshine Foundation Dream Village, a nonprofit organization answering dreams for children with life-long chronic illnesses and conditions. 🔆Thank you to our Day Chairs, Karen Tiner (Class XV) with Ameriprise Financial Services and Lana Stripling with the Northeast Polk Chamber of Commerce, for guiding us through an insightful day! We'd also like to give a special thank you to our contributing partner AT&T and the following Class Day Sponsors: AdventHealth, Balmoral Event Center, HCA Florida Poinciana Hospital, Northeast Polk Chamber of Commerce, and Orlando Health! 🤩 We can't wait to see what next month has in store! ... See MoreSee Less

What an incredible first class day for Inside Polk County Public Schools Class IV! 🤩

We kicked things off last week by visiting Bella Citta Elementary, Loughman Oaks Elementary, and Davenport High School, diving deep into district funding and finance, site-based budgeting, facilities, Safe Schools, school rezoning, and family engagement. We even got a surprise visit from Russell the Police Dog! We'd like to say a huge thank you to AdventHealth for sponsoring lunch and to Davenport High School's Culinary Academy for catering. We can't wait to see what the next class day has in store! ... See MoreSee Less

Last week, we were honored to host the Polk County Board of County Commissioners Chair, Rick Wilson, and twelve mayors from across Polk County for the 15th Annual Mayors Roundtable! It was a great event full of insightful discussion about growth management, the impacts of state policy, water, constituent engagement, and so much more.

We'd like to thank our moderator, Katie Worthington Decker, with Orlando Health Lakeland Highlands Hospital, and our Leadership Exchange Series sponsors, AdventHealth, Citizens Bank & Trust, and Tampa Electric! Special thanks to Polk State College for hosting us at the Center for Public Safety. 💡 If you weren't able to attend in person, you can find a recording on PGTV's YouTube page: www.youtube.com/watch?v=itoXSvR9ZY0 Featured Municipalities: City of Auburndale, FL Government City of Bartow, a Florida Municipality City of DavenportCity of Fort MeadeCity of FrostproofCity of Haines City - Government City of Lake Alfred, FL City of Lakeland, FL - Government City of Mulberry, FL Government City of Polk CityCity of Winter Haven, FL Town of Lake Hamilton ... See MoreSee Less

Leadership Polk Class XIX had a blast at Camp Margaritaville Auburndale last week for their Opening Retreat! 🤩

We would like to give a huge thank you to the City of Auburndale, FL Government Mayor, Dorothea Taylor Bogert (Class XII), for the warm welcome, and to our facilitator, Dr. Nick Hall from Mobile Team Events, for sharing his insights and building a strong foundation for the year to come. We're looking forward to a great year with Class XIX! ... See MoreSee Less