Exhibit 31.1
------------
Certifications
I, Michael L. Kubacki, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, certify
that:
1. I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of Lakeland
Financial Corporation;
2. Based on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain
any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact necessary to make the statements made, in
light of the circumstances under which such statements were
made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by
this annual report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
financial information included in the Annual Report, fairly
present in all material respects the financial condition,
results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as
of, and for, the periods presented in this annual report;
4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are
responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure
controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
13a-14 and 15d-14) for the registrant and we have:
(a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures to
ensure that material information relating to the
registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is
made known to us by others within those entities,
particularly during the period in which this quarterly
report is being prepared;
(b) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's
disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within
90 days prior to the filing date of this annual report
(the "Evaluation Date"); and
(c) presented in this quarterly report our conclusions
about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and
procedures based on our evaluation as of the Evaluation
Date;
5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have
disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation, to the
registrant's auditors and the audit committee of
registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the
equivalent function):
(a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation
of internal controls which could adversely affect the
registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and
report financial data and have identified for the
registrant's auditors any material weaknesses in
internal controls; and
(b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves
management or other employees who have a significant
role in the registrant's internal controls; and
6. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have
indicated in this annual report whether or not there were
significant changes in internal controls or in other factors
that could significantly affect internal controls subsequent
to date of their evaluation, including any corrective
actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material
weaknesses.
Date: February 25, 2004 /s/ Michael L. Kubacki
Michael L. Kubacki - Chief Executive Officer