Today, Lakeland’s economy is bustling, ranking nationally for growth + performance. Now imagine if the city’s top industries were nearly wiped out and unemployment spiked to 16% in Polk County. That was the climate when the Lakeland Economic Development Council (LEDC) began 40 years ago after phosphate mining, citrus farming, aviation, and tourism all took major hits. “When the leadership of private industry formed the LEDC in 1984, they knew that we needed to diversify our economy or our unemployment, already at record levels, would continue to rise,” said LEDC President Steve Scruggs, who joined the council in 1988. Since its beginning, the LEDC has worked to attract new businesses and help existing ones expand.
George…..