City Honors Longtime Public Servant Dave Lang

February 25, 2026

Former Clerk of Court Dave Lang will soon be honored for his 42 years of exemplary service to Tallahassee and Leon County with a street in his name. On Monday, March 2, within a bird’s-eye view of the Leon County Courthouse and Tallahassee City Hall, East Jefferson Street from S. Monroe to S. Calhoun streets will be named Dave Lang Street. To mark the occasion, a celebration will be held at 10 a.m., 215 S. Monroe St., adjacent to the courthouse.

At its meeting on Jan. 14, 2026, the Tallahassee City Commission unanimously approved the renaming. Lang is a lifelong Floridian and sixth-generation descendant of a family that first settled in Florida in 1784. With family members residing in Tallahassee since 1885, his personal history is deeply interwoven with the development, governance and civic life of Leon County.

After earning a degree in public administration at Florida State University, Lang immediately joined the U.S. Army, serving with the 2nd Armored Division in Occupied Germany. He continued his military service with the Army Reserve, retiring as a Lt. Colonel. Among his military accomplishments, Lang was awarded the Army Humanitarian Service Medal for meritorious participation in the 1980 Cuban Boat Lift Operation.

He began his career in Leon County government in 1959, serving as Chief Deputy Clerk of Court, before being elected in 1992 as Clerk of the Circuit and County Courts. Lang is credited with modernizing the Clerk’s office by computerizing all departments and becoming the first clerk of court in the U.S. to place court records online for public access, increasing minority employment, and instituting the child support enforcement program. He retired in 2001, after guiding the office through the historic 2000 Presidential Election.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Lang has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to community affairs and civic engagement, serving on numerous boards, including the John G. Riley Foundation Board of Directors for nearly 30 years, vice president of Habitat for Humanity, and president of the Tallahassee Lions Club, Tallahassee Historical Society and Springtime Tallahassee. He currently serves as a Lay Eucharistic Minister at St. Peter’s Anglican Cathedral.

As a young boy, Lang wanted to be an archaeologist but later decided to be a “historical archaeologist,” researching and collecting local and state history, especially since his retirement. A popular speaker and author, Lang’s work has helped preserve and interpret the rich history of Tallahassee and Leon County for future generations.