What a nice event on Thursday February 9th at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research Center in Lake Alfred! There were 223 attendees including 154 City Members and guests. Eighteen of the twenty-four municipalities were represented. Several cities were in double digits. . In addition to the host city Lake Alfred with 23, the cities with the most attendance were Bowling Green (10), Davenport (12), Haines City (14), Lake Hamilton (14), Dundee (18) and Bartow which was awarded the Traveling Trophy with 20. Sixty-nine Associate Members and guest were in attendance with Chastain Skillman winning the Associate Member Traveling Trophy with 8 attendees.

The evening was made special by the first guest speaker of the 2023 RLC Speaker Series. Mr. Norton Bonaparte, City Manager of Sanford, Florida spoke on leadership under crisis. He had just been named city manager when a tragic shooting brought national attention and large protests to his city. Even though a severe thunderstorm put the facility on generator power in the middle of the business meeting, a great time was had by all.