BUSINESS NEWS
SoundByteS
Capital
New Beginnings
» Nan Hillis, a
veteran banker and former BB&T region president, has been named chief strategy officer for Prime Meridian Bank, Tallahassee. Hillis previously oversaw Hills bank operations for BB&T’s Central Florida region.
» Lorne Sim-
mons has been promoted to health care manager in the Tallahassee office of Moore Stephens Lovelace, a regional certified public accounting and business advisory services firm.
& Sams — State and Federal Government and Administrative Practice.
» Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell
attorney Brian Hayden is one of 21 members selected as part of the inaugural class of Thunderdome Tallahassee, a hands-on legal group training program designed by the Legal Aid Foundation of the Tallahassee Bar Association to provide education, mentoring, networking and leadership to a new generation of lawyers serving Leon County.
Local Happenings
» Two of Florida’s largest
Simmons
» Lisa Garcia has
been promoted to senior vice president of public relations at Sachs Media Group.
» Florida
TaxWatch, an Garcia independent taxpayer research institute, has made two additions to its professional staff: Gabriela “Elle” Piloseno and Dave Aussicker Ph.D. Aussicker is the new vice president for development, and Piloseno is a research analyst for the TaxWatch Center for Smart Justice.
Legal Happenings
» Veteran
insurance attorney Nate Wesley “Wes” Strickland has joined Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky, Abate & Strickland Webb as a partner to head the firm’s Insurance Regulatory practice in Tallahassee.
» John Loar
has joined the Broad and Cassel Tallahassee office as an associate in the Commercial Litigation and Health Law practice groups.
Loar » Three Tallahassee lawyers are among 165 statewide who recently earned Florida Bar board certification. They are: Courtney Brewer of The Mills Firm in Tallahassee — Appellate Practice; James W. Gustafson Jr. of Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley — Civil Trial; and Susan Lynne Stephens of Hopping Green
organizations serving the association industry will soon become one. Tallahassee Society of Association Executives and the Florida Society of Association Executives (FSAE) will join forces in 2015 under the FSAE brand. They bring together hundreds of professionals working in the association sector and more than 400 organizations in the Tallahassee area alone.
» Eduardo Gonzalez Loumiet of
Uber Operations will be teaching this fall at Florida A&M University’s School of Allied Health Sciences as an assistant professor of Health Technology.
Local Honors
»
MCCi and The Bean Team of Tallahassee have been selected as two of 50 leading second-stage companies chosen from more than 500 nominations statewide as this year’s Florida Companies to Watch winners presented by GrowFL. The awards program celebrates privately held second-stage companies headquartered in the state. To be eligible, applicants must employ between 6 and 99 full-time equivalent employees and have between $750,000 and $50 million in annual revenue or working capital in place.
» Chef Terry
White, owner of Tallahassee’s Sage restaurant, was crowned King of American Seafood in a competition against 18 chefs from other states White in the 11th Annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off in August.
» Julian Dozier of
Thomas Howell Ferguson P.A. has been chosen as one of 38 young CPAs to participate in the American Institute of CPAs 6th Leadership Dozier Academy in Durham, North Carolina, this fall.
» Sachs Media Group won the
Silver Award in the national Bulldog Reporter recognition for the best PR agency for non-profits in the 2014 award competition.
» Alpha Foundation Special-
ists has earned the coveted 2014 Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics presented by the Better Business Bureau. Joshua Griffin, a system design specialist with the company, received the 2014 BBB Customer Service Excellence Award that recognizes individuals who go above and beyond in their customer service.
» Sonitrol/Redwire of Tallahassee,
a provider of verified electronic security to businesses, schools and homes, has been named one of the nation’s top 100 security providers in 2014, according to SDM Magazine. Now in its 41st year of publication, SDM Magazine has ranked the 100 largest security companies in the United States each year since 1991.
Appointed by Gov. Scott
» Linda DiGonzalez, 59, of
Tallahassee, the director of volunteers for senior citizens for Westminster Oaks, to the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind Board of Trustees.
» Courtney D. Heidelberg, 36,
of Tallahassee, to the Florida is for Veterans Inc. Board of Directors.
» Dhyana Ziegler, 65, of
Tallahassee, the Garth C. Reeves imminent scholar chair of journalism at the Florida A&M University, to the Florida Commission on the Status of Women.
Emerald Coast
Local Happenings
» In its signature fall “500/5000”
issue, Inc. magazine named Northwest Florida-based Sunshine Shuttle & Limousine as “One of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies.” Located in South Walton County, the company has grown its menu of services to include privately funded public transportation along Scenic Highway 30A, Panama City Beach during Spring Break, Seaside employee rideshare and shuttle service covering the 2,400-acre Sandestin Golf & Beach Resort.
» The Studer Institute and the
University of West Florida have created a partnership that will allow Rick Harper, the University of West Florida’s assistant vice president of economic development, to become director of the Institute.
» The Greater Pensacola Chamber officially celebrated its 125th anniversary in September.
850 Business Magazine
»
The Federal Aviation Administration has published its latest revision to FAA construction standards and it includes the new P-601 Fuel Resistant Hot Mix Asphalt Pavement specification developed by AVCON in Niceville as a new federal standard.
» The Pensacola International
Airport has launched its newly improved, mobile-friendly website FlyPensacola.com. The redesigned site showcases sleek graphics, vibrant photos and new navigational tools to enhance the user experience and offers in-depth information about airport operations and air travel to and from Pensacola International Airport.
New Beginnings
» Footbridge Media, a provider
of marketing services to the home improvement industry, has moved to a new location to accommodate a growing staff and expanded services for contractors throughout the U.S., Canada and U.K. The company has relocated to a larger facility downtown on Palafox Street.
» Indian Motorcycle of Pensacola
has opened at 6330 Pensacola Blvd.
» Anne Kachelhoffer, RN, has
joined White-Wilson Medical Center’s Senior Leadership Team as the administrator of the Emerald Coast Surgery Center, where she will oversee all aspects of the ambulatory surgery center’s operations.
» The Ropella Group has added
new headhunters to its Executive Search consultant team — Jess Kelly, Megan Williams, Adam Klempa, Michael Melendez and Scott Schmieder.
Local Honors
» Dr. Olivier
Broutin of Bluewater Bay Dental was recently awarded Mastership in the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) — an Broutin honor earned by fewer than 2 percent of all general dentists.
» Two local Realtors were honored at
this year’s Florida Realtors Conference and Trade Expo. Justin Lindsey, a former Army captain, was awarded Newcomer of the Year. Bob Hudgens was given the Realtor Achievement Award — for the second time.
» Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa has garnered four more awards from national industry trade publications: the Pinnacle Award from Successful Meetings magazine, the Award of Excellence from Corporate & Incentive Travel, Best of the South from Meetings Focus
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