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 annual report
          is being prepared;

      (b) [intentionally omitted]

      (c) evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls
          and procedures and presented in this annual report our conclusions
          about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as
          of the end of the period covered by this annual report based on such
          evaluation; and

      (d) disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal
          control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant's
          most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in
          the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is
          reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal
          control over financial reporting; and

   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


Date: February 23, 2005            /s/ Michael L. Kubacki
                                   Michael L. Kubacki - Chief Executive Officer