Membership Dinner – Lake Wales – Ridge League of Cities

Lake Wales hosted the Ridge League of Cities February Membership Dinner at the Lake Ashton Clubhouse. The accommodations, entertainment and room were beautifully presented with a Mardi Gras theme and Louisiana dinner. A total of 241were in attendance including 175 City Members and 66 Associate Members and guest. It was one of our best attended Membership Dinners. Seventeen (17) of the twenty-four (24) RLC member cities were represented. We had 19 Associate Members represented and Kimley-Horn won the traveling trophy with 11 team members in attendance. You could tell the membership enjoys visiting the Crown Jewel of the Ridge with the numbers of attendees at the Lake Wales dinner. Those cities in double digits included Bartow (10), Lake Hamilton (16), Mulberry (17), Bowling Green and host city Lake Wales (18), Haines City (19) and Dundee won the traveling trophy with twenty-one (21).

Winter Haven Mayor Pro-Tem Brian Yates was sworn-in as the new Ridge League of Cities Treasurer. The RLC Board elected Brian in January to fill an unexpired term of Treasurer through September 2023. Congratulations Brain!

Our guest speaker for the evening was Scott Dudley, Director of Field Advocacy and Federal Affairs for the Florida League of Cities. Scott gave an update on pending legislation being considered by the Florida Legislature this session. He gave insights on several bills that challenge local control and Home Rule. He also invited the membership to get involved with Local Voices United to engage our citizenry in the important role of advocacy. It was announced that Scott would be retiring later this year. He has been a stalwart supporter of our cities and will certainly be missed. The Ridge League wishes you the best!

It was a fun and enjoyable evening. Thank you, Lake Wales!