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Seth McKeel recently concluded a long and distinguished career in public service that began in 2000 with his election to the Lakeland City Commission at the age of 24. Seth was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2006 and re-elected subsequently until the conclusion of his eight year term limit in November of 2014. A Tampa Bay area native, Seth's among the fifth generation in his family to call Florida home.

Early in his legislative career, Seth tackled tough issues including higher education reform as well as energy, agriculture, and natural resources policy. A strong commitment to fiscal responsibility earned Seth the trust of House Speaker Will Weatherford. In 2012 the Speaker tapped Seth to be the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee where he led the Florida House's efforts to balance the $77 billion budget of the third largest state in the Union. Under his leadership Florida maintained AAA bond rating and set aside more than $3 billion in healthy reserves.

As a former City Commissioner, Seth understands regional issues and excels at achieving local consensus. Legislative colleagues trusted Seth to chair the Polk County Legislative Delegation, Hillsborough County Legislative Delegation for two years in a row, and larger 9-county Bay Area Legislative Delegation.

A graduate of the University of Florida (UF), Seth recently was awarded the Presidential Medallion, one of the university's highest awards, for his contributions and service to UF and higher education in our state. Seth is a Graduate of Leadership Florida, Leadership Lakeland, and a member of Florida Blue Key -- "Florida's oldest and most prestigious Leadership Honorary since 1923."

Seth credits the YMCA's Youth in Government program for sparking his interest in public service and his respect for civic engagement. Seth has a knack for solving problems and excels at building relationships.

Seth proudly serves on the Board of Directors of the Fish and Wildlife Foundation of Florida and is a member of Leadership Florida's West Central Florida Regional Council.

Seth and his wife Kim, who's also a Tampa Bay native, live in Lakeland with their two children Seth, III and Caroline.

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SYDNEY RIDLEY

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SYDNEY RIDLEY

(Florida, )

The Southern Group

ridley@sostrategy.com
(850) 671-4401
Po Box 10570, Tallahassee, FL, 32302-2570,

Subjects: All Subjects

Links:Website

Clients
Bio

1) Acree JV, LLC

2) Airbnb, Inc.

3) Altria Client Services LLC and its Affiliates

4) Aucilla Research Institute, Inc.

5) Bay County Board of County Commissioners

6) Beer Industry of Florida, Inc

7) Betr Holdings, Inc.

8) Cabot Citrus OpCo, LLC

9) Caesars Enterprise Services, LLC

10) Citizens for Hillsborough County, LLC

11) City of Crystal River

12) City of Plant City

13) Clay County District Schools

14) College Board, The

15) Crossroads Hope Academy

16) Daytona State College Foundation, Inc

17) Desoto County Board of Commissioners

18) Dex Imaging Inc.

19) Dixie Board of Public Education/Dixie District School Board

20) Dream Finders Homes, LLC

21) Edmentum, Inc.

22) Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

23) Emergent BioSolutions, Inc.

24) Ernst & Young LLP

25) Florida Polytechnic University Foundation, Inc

26) Florida Prepaid College Foundation, Inc

27) Florida SouthWestern State College Foundation

28) FortiFi Financial, Inc.

29) Gopher Resource

30) H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center

31) Harrell's, LLC

32) Hillsborough Community College Foundation, Inc.

33) I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless, Inc

34) iEnable, Inc.

35) IMG Academy LLC

36) Independence Landing

37) Independent Electrical Contractors, Inc

38) Indian River State College Foundation, Inc.

39) Jacksonville University

40) Junior Achievement of Florida Foundation, Inc.

41) Lakeland Regional Health Systems

42) Martin County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller

43) Miller Electric Company

44) Mote Marine Laboratory

45) Museum of Science & History

46) Peace River Center

47) Pier B Development

48) Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners

49) Polk County Clerk of Court

50) Polk County Sheriff's Office

51) Putnam County

52) R'Club Child Care, Inc.

53) Realty Trust Group, LLC

54) Rood Chartrand Partnership

55) Sarasota County Government

56) Second Harvest of the Big Bend

57) South Central Florida Express, Inc

58) Southeastern University

59) Southern Gardens Citrus Groves Corporation

60) Southern Gardens Citrus Holding Corporation

61) Southern Gardens Citrus Nursery Corporation

62) Tampa Electric Company

63) TECO Energy, Inc

64) The Gasparilla Inn & Club

65) The Skills Center, Inc.

66) The Southern Group

67) Town of Belleair

68) United States Sugar Corporation

69) University of Florida Foundation, Inc.

70) Volusia County

71) Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, U.S.

72) Windstream Communications

73) Workday, Inc.

Sydney Ridley brings years of legislative and political experience to Southern Strategy Group's Tampa Bay office. Sydney spent the past four years as the Chief Legislative Aide to House Majority Leader Dana Young, where she directed all priority policy and budget initiatives. Sydney's time as staff was at the highest level of the Florida House of Representatives, and she brings unmatched relationships with legislative staff, agency heads, and elected officials.

A political pro in Tampa Bay with extensive campaign management experience, Sydney guided Senator Dana Young to successive electoral victories in the Florida House and spearheaded her subsequent election to the Florida Senate. Sydney's political expertise, particularly in the Tampa Bay area, serves as a great strategic asset to our clients. In addition to her work with Senator Young, Sydney has served as both a political director and a field director on various Congressional and State Senate campaigns.

Born and raised in Tampa, Sydney is a third-generation Floridian, a graduate of the University of Virginia, a Florida Gator at heart, and a lover of history, golf, music, and football.