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Phosphate reigned in 1950 when Roy Chastain and Joe Skillman took over the leadership of a young engineering firm, creating Chastain-Skillman Inc. The new company served that industry but also realized it needed to provide surveying, land development and public works engineering to become a major s …

Chastain-Skillman started as Lakeland Engineering Associates, Inc. in 1950 to reach the goal of providing local civil engineering services to Polk County. Now some years later, the company continues to embody this goal by providing an assortment of services including civil engineering, land surve …

Bank of Central Florida and Gulf Coast Avionics have been setting themselves apart for years, and now they have been honored with the Central Florida Development Council’s annual success in business awards.  In addition, Lakeland City Commissioner Stephanie Madden received the 2023 Chair� …

Four small businesses that showcase the best of Polk County are finalists for the Central Florida Development Council’s Jim Brantley Economic Development Award – Success in Small Business.    The winner chosen from the finalists will be announced at the CFDC’s annual meeting …

Florida's fifth-largest hospital is aiming to close the gap in distance and services provided to residents in northwest Polk. Lakeland Regional is beginning construction on a new three-story, 76,000-square-foot medical facility. The 20-acre tract sits at the northwest corner of I-4 and Kathleen …

Our last CFDC quarterly Leadership Roundtable focused on the need to build a strong leadership pipeline as our economy continues to grow and businesses within our community scale. This quarter we are turning our attention to the topic of recruiting and retaining top talent. The pandemic has prom …

Small businesses are the backbone of America, largely run by involved owners who care for their employees, who in turn give their best every day. It’s those companies that survived, and some even thrived, during the coronavirus pandemic. Three such companies will be honored on September 30 as fina …

In September, after 20 years as the Southern Strategy Group, Florida’s largest lobbying firm changed its name to The Southern Group Inc. to better reflect its mission for the next decade. “The Southern Group signals our firm’s further evolution in the influence business,” said Seth McKeel, …