At the most recent Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (TBRPC) meeting, Citrus County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Chairman Ronald E. Kitchen, Jr., was presented with an award recognizing his dedicated, long-term service to the Council. Commissioner Kitchen was the first Citrus County representative to serve on the TBRPC.

Commissioner Ronald E. Kitchen, Jr., Recognized for Outstanding Service by TBRPC

“In my 24-year tenure with the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, I have had the privilege of working with many elected officials throughout our six-county region,” said Deputy Executive Director Wren G. Krahl. “Commissioner Kitchen is an example of a true public servant who always represented the citizens of Citrus County on our Board in an exemplary fashion.”

Kitchen served faithfully, beginning in 2014, and had a near-perfect record of attendance. He held several leadership positions while on the Council, including as Secretary/Treasurer (2017), Vice Chair (2018), and Chair (2019). One of the many notable initiatives that took place during his tenure as Chair was the TBRPC Suncoast Parkway 2 Extension Land Use Study, Citrus County, for which the TBRPC received an Innovation Award from the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO).

“Commissioner Ron Kitchen has served the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council for over eight years with integrity, and I consider him a visionary when it comes to regional collaboration,” said Sean T. Sullivan, TBRPC Executive Director.

Mr. Kitchen also served on the TBRPC Executive Budget Committee, Regional Cooperative Alliance, and as a policy member of the Florida Regional Council’s Association. He played a role in obtaining grant funding for the Resilience and Energy Assessment of Communities and Housing (REACH) project, and in forming the Tampa Bay Regional Resiliency Coalition.

“It has been an honor to represent Citrus County on the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council for the last 8 years. I was truly impressed with the professionalism of all the staff and elected officials that make up the TBRPC. I will miss the many wonderful people I met and was blessed to work with,” said Kitchen.

The TBRPC brings together governments to coordinate planning for the community’s future and provide an opportunity for sharing solutions among the local government jurisdictions in the six-county Tampa Bay region. For more information, visit www.tbrpc.org.