8-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

________________

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported):  December 23, 2008 (December 19, 2008

SEACOAST BANKING CORPORATION OF FLORIDA

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

Florida	001-13660	59-2260678
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer Identification No.)
815 Colorado Avenue, Stuart, Florida		34994
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:     (772) 287-4000

 ________________________________________________________

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

[_]

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

[_]

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

[_]

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[_]

Pre-commencement communication pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

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SEACOAST BANKING CORPORATION OF FLORIDA

Item 5.02

Departure of Directors or Principal Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Principal Officers.

On December 19, 2008, the Board of Directors of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (“Seacoast” or the “Company”), upon recommendation of the Company’s Nominating and Governance Committee, elected H. Gilbert Culbreth, Jr. to the Board of Directors to fill the vacancy created with the retirement of John R. Santarsiero, Jr.  Mr. Santarsiero’s retirement from the Board on August 26, 2008 was previously announced on the Current Report on Form 8-K dated August 28, 2008.

Mr. Culbreth will serve as a Class I director, with an initial term expiring at the Company’s 2009 annual meeting of shareholders, and will stand for re-election at that meeting. There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Culbreth and the Company or any other persons pursuant to which he was selected as a director.  There are no reportable transactions requiring disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K.  

Mr. Culbreth has served on the Board of Directors and the Directors Loan Committee for the Company’s principal bank subsidiary, Seacoast National Bank, since April 2006.  Mr. Culbreth receives compensation for his service as a director in accordance with the Company’s customary director compensation policies, under which Board members who are not executive officers of the Company or its subsidiaries are paid an annual retainer of $23,000 for their service as directors, $700 for each Board meeting attended, $700 for each committee meeting attended and $800 for each committee meeting chaired.  Mr. Culbreth is also eligible to participate in the Directors’ Deferred Compensation Plan.

A copy of the related press release dated December 22, 2008 announcing the appointment of Mr. Culbreth to the Company’s Board of Directors is attached to this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 99.1.  

Item 9.01. Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(c) Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Description
99.1	Press release announcing the appointment of H. Gilbert Culbreth, Jr. to the Board of Directors of Seacoast

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SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

SEACOAST BANKING CORPORATION OF FLORIDA

/s/ Dennis S. Hudson, III

Dennis S. Hudson, III

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Date:  December 23, 2008

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EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

to Form 8-K dated December 23, 2008 for

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

NEWS RELEASE

Dennis S. Hudson, III

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida

(772) 288-6086

SEACOAST BANKING CORPORATION OF FLORIDA

ELECTS NEW DIRECTOR

STUART, FL, December 22, 2008 – The board of directors of Seacoast Banking Corporation of Florida (NASDAQ-NM: SBCF), a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary is Seacoast National Bank, elected H. Gilbert Culbreth, Jr. as a director of the Company on December 19, 2008.  Culbreth, a native of Okeechobee, has been President and owner of Gilbert Chevrolet Company, Inc., a car dealership located in Okeechobee, Florida, for the past 36 years.  In addition, he is President of other family businesses, including Gilbert Oil, Gilbert Golf Cars, Gilbert Snapper and Gil Culbreth Real Estate.  He will serve as a Class I director, with an initial term expiring at the Company’s 2009 annual meeting of shareholders.

Culbreth was a member of the board of directors of Big Lake Financial Corporation (“Big Lake”) for 20 years prior to the acquisition of Big Lake by Seacoast in April 2006.  He has served on the board of directors of Seacoast National Bank since the acquisition.

Culbreth is a former director of the Florida Council on Economic Education, the Okeechobee County Board of Realtors, the Okeechobee Economic Council, and the United Way of Okeechobee and is a member of the Masonic Lodge.

Culbreth attended Indian River Community College and Florida Southern College.  He is a Navy veteran and a member of the First United Methodist Church of Okeechobee.  He and his wife Marie have two children and two grandchildren who all reside in Okeechobee.

“With an acute understanding of business trends and the Big Lake market, Gil Culbreth built one of Okeechobee’s most successful car businesses.  His extensive business experience and knowledge will be invaluable to us in the years ahead.” commented Dennis S. Hudson, III, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Seacoast.  

Seacoast, with approximately $2.3 billion in assets, is one of the largest independent commercial banking organizations in Florida.  Seacoast has 41 offices in South and Central Florida and is headquartered on Florida’s Treasure Coast, which is one of the wealthiest areas in the nation.