TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – On Thursday, Governor Rick Scott welcomed 50 Florida Highway Patrol State Troopers from around the state to the Florida Governor’s Mansion for dinner. Following dinner, 35 of the State Troopers will sleep over night prior to their deployment to the Gulf Coast tomorrow morning. The Mansion will be used as a law enforcement shelter for as long as necessary. Last night, just hours after Hurricane Michael’s landfall, the Florida Highway Patrol deployed to conduct search and rescue missions. There are 600 State Troopers assigned to the Panhandle and Big Bend area of Florida to assist with response and recovery. The dinner was donated by Publix.

Governor Scott said, “My wife, Ann, and I are happy to welcome these brave members of the Florida Highway Patrol to have dinner and get much needed rest at the Florida Governor’s Mansion before deploying into our Gulf Coast communities devastated by Hurricane Michael. These law enforcement officers are leaving the comfort of their homes and company of their families to deploy for critical hurricane response and recovery missions and we cannot thank all of our law enforcement enough for their service. We are grateful to have the opportunity to host these troopers and want to thank Publix for generously donating the food for tonight’s dinner.”