POSITIONS TAKEN

            Jane Goodwin, executive vice president, Home Builders Association of Sarasota County.

            Jeffrey Dovedot, district sales manager, Verizon Wireless.

            Jeffrey P. Leiser, associate, litigation practice group, law firm of Ruden McClosky.

            Mark A. Torlucci, vice president and branch manager, West Manatee banking center, Synovus Bank.

            Margaret Boyd, executive director, New College Library Association.

            Pamela W. Peters, promoted to executive vice president and senior credit officer, SunTrust.

            Mary Lindstrom and Matthew Plummer, associates, law firm of Blalock Walters, Held & Johnson.

            Steve Kirk, senior land planner, DMK Associates.

            Donald S. Stuart, promoted to senior vice president, M&I Wealth Management.

            Ronnie Jones, sales and marketing specialist, Right Accord Health Staffing.

            Bob Smith and Jerry Meeks, sales associates, Mercedes-Benz of Sarasota.

            Dawn Ogilvie, independent consultant, Tastefully Simple.

            Tim Raines, director of sales, marketing and client strategy, Robrady Design.

            Shane Smith, associate, law firm of Levin Tannenbaum.

Sandy Combs, promoted to general manager, and Patty Tadda, promoted to dining room manager, the Sarasota University Club.

Samantha Ardenfriend, director of tennis, Serendipity Racquet Club.

Jose Figueroa and Ralph Ramirez, new car sales consultants, Gettel Nissan.

Susan Lagg-May, promoted to chief operating officer, and Jennifer Stapleton Wilson, promoted to director of donor relations and marketing; Van Wezel Foundation.

Birgit Lsanti, Sarasota County regional director, TideWell Hospice.

Lisa Silva, assistant director, West Coast Florida Chapter of the American Jewish Committee.

ACCOLADES

            Sarasota Memorial Hospital is listed in U.S. News & World Report’s 2008 publication of America’s Best Hospitals for the fifth consecutive year.

            Florikan won first place in the overall business category of the Environmental Protection Agency 2008 Gulf Guardian Awards.

            Taylor Morrison Homes moved up 17 places to the 15th spot on Builder magazine’s 2007 Builder 100 list.

            Light Up Your Life donated $11,874 to the Ringling College of Art and Design’s capital expansion project.

            Molly C. Williams of WilsonMiller has been appointed to the School Board of Sarasota County citizen oversight committee for public school facility planning.

            Orion Bank has selected J.E. Charlotte Construction Corporation as the general contractor and Mullet’s Aluminum Products as the window installation contractor for its flagship branch in Marathon, Fla. Mullett’s Aluminum was selected by MacDill Air Force Base to provide an aluminum railing and gate system at the new Centcom Memorial.

            Nina Wilkinson and Bryan Driscoll were named salesperson of the month; Peter O’Keefe was named new car salesperson of the month; and Christopher Mettille was named pre-owned salesperson of the month at Gettel Nissan.

            First Step of Sarasota has selected Halfacre Construction Company for preconstruction services on its new residential center.

            Tami Foley Conetta, Barry Spivey and Robert Gill of the law firm of Ruden McClosky have been named Super Lawyers by Law & Politics magazine.

            Odis Sisk of Biological Tree Services won the masters challenge at the Florida Chapter of the International Society of Arboriculture 2008 Tree Climbing Championship.      

            Dorothy Korszen of the Farr Law Firm is the new chair, and Tiffany Taylor of Taylor Family Properties is the new vice chair of the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice. New board members are Jim Gallogly, Benjamin Hanan and Christina Pfahler.

            New College of Florida received the Community Partnership Award from the YMCA Achievers, and associate professor of sociology Sarah Hernandez has received a Fulbright fellowship to teach at the Universidad de Guadalajara in Mexico.

            Florida Underwater Sports has been named a PADI Five-Star Dive Center.

            Gerald A. Lagace of Machinery Capital Assets has been elected for a third term as president of the Tampa Bay chapter of the American Society of Appraisers.

            Steve Rowland has been re-elected president of the Florida Association of Crime Stoppers.

            J. Thomas O’Brien of O’Brien Architects is the new president of West Bradenton Rotary.

            Patrick A. Cambier, M.D., has joined the board of directors of First State Bank.

            Manatee Technical Institute east campus students earned seven medals at the Health Occupation Students of America national conference, and MTI students won 92 medals—more than any other school in the nation—at the 44th annual SkillsUSA Championships.

            Westwater Construction’s commercial division has been awarded the contract for renovations to the Out of Door Academy.

            Paula Heap of St. Stephens Episcopal School has been named to the board of directors of the Children’s Academy of Southwest Florida.

            Chandra Riccio of ABC7 has been named Sertoman of the Year by the Sertoma Club of Greater Sarasota.

            The American Advertising Federation-Suncoast has selected Senior Friendship Centers as the recipient of its pro-bono campaign to receive $60,000 worth of free creative and branding services.

            Publix Super Markets Charities awarded $23,500 to the Southwest Florida Boy Scout Council.

            Manatee Community College was named among the top 100 associate degree producers in all disciplines in Community College Week magazine.

            Michael Corley of Progressive Employer Services has been elected to the Manatee Glens board of directors.

            Timothy Knowles of the law firm of Porges, Hamlin, Knowles, Prouty, Thompson and Najmy received the Manatee County Bar Association’s 2008 William C. Grimes Lifetime Achievement Community Service Award.

            Judson Griggs of the Crawford Landscaping Group achieved the Certified Landscape Professional (CLP) designation from the Professional Landcare Network.

            The Longboat Key Club and Resort received a 2008 Pinnacle Award from Successful Meetings magazine.

            The YMCA Foundation of Sarasota’s new board officers are: Paul Bowman, chair; Neil Moody, first vice chair; Kim Githler, second vice chair; David Band, secretary; and Pam Daniel, treasurer.

            The Community Foundation of Sarasota County’s new board officers are: Jim Shedivy, chair; Charla Burchett, first vice chair and grants and program services chair; Diane McFarlin, second vice chair and secretary; Steve Dahlquist, co-chair, investment committee, and chair, charitable planning committee; Erv Sande, co-chair investment committee; Gina Mascio, treasurer and chair, finance committee; Patricia Courtois, chair, nonprofit capacity building committee; and Lee Wetherington, immediate past chair and chair, governance committee.

            Kellogg & Kimsey has been selected as general contractor for The Concession golf clubhouse.

            Maresa Mertyis, manager of the Parrish Fantastic Sam’s, was selected as a finalist in the National Artistic Styling Awards.

            Evan Guido of Baird has been named to the Young Professionals Group board of directors.

            Dr. Richard Patete of Keiser University has been appointed to the Florida New Motor Vehicle Arbitration Board.

            Sarasota County has become the first community in Florida to earn the Audubon Green Community Award from Audubon International.

            Aspire Marketing, Children’s World Uniform Supply, Carlson Design Studio and John Cannon Homes have joined Sarasota County’s Green Business Partnership.

            Horizon Realty recently celebrated its 10^th anniversary.

MOVING AND OPENING

            Rossi & Company Exclusive Rentals has opened at 200 S. Washington Blvd. in Sarasota.

            Kimark Audio, an audio and home theater store, has opened at 4625 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota.

            BounceU of Sarasota has opened at 1925 Northgate Blvd. in Sarasota.

            Rick Daughtrey has opened CraftProfiles LLC, HR consulting and sales candidate assessment, at 7401 Second Ave. N.W. in Bradenton.

            U.S. Tent Rental has opened its new 20,000-square-foot facility at 2006 72nd Drive E. in Sarasota.

            Duncan Real Estate and ESP Vacation Rentals have consolidated their roster of vacation and annual rentals as Duncan Property Management and Vacation Rentals.

            Elizabeth Callahan has founded workingmothersmedia.com.

            Digital Image Business Solutions has relocated to expanded quarters at 7216 21st St. E. in Sarasota.

            Sarasota Antiques Mall has opened at 710 N. Lemon Ave. in Sarasota.

            Pickles & Ponytails boutique has opened at 1821 Hillview St. in Sarasota.

            Breath in Action, a fitness company that takes programs to area companies, has opened in Bradenton.

            Perry Concrete of Venice and Perry Homes in partnership have opened a property preservation and maintenance division.