WINTER HAVEN – Shannon Shepp, the state's deputy commissioner of agriculture, will move to the Florida Department of Citrus in August to become its chief operating officer.
Shepp, 44, has worked in the Winter Haven office of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for 12 years, rising to director of the Fruit and Vegetables Division based there.
The Lakeland resident became one of three deputy commissioners in January 2011 when Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam of Bartow took office.
Before joining the state Agriculture Department, Shepp worked as an aide to then-state Rep. J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, for three years and as a public relations representative for three years at Lakeland-based Florida Citrus Mutual, the growers' trade group.
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