Positions taken

Donna Carden, corporate relations director, The Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County (EDC).

Stephanie Kempton, technical assistant, GrowFL.

Alesha Hacker, customer relations coordinator, Koala Tee, Inc.

Dean Defebo, operating partner, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.

James M. Majirsky, president, DwellGreen.

Mary Smedley, manager, Prudential Realty Longboat Key and St. Armands Circle.

Nicole Noyes-Bell, marketing director, Bradenton Oaks.

Alina B. Cemitier, vice president and private banker, Fifth Third Private Bank.

Dr. Robert S. Friedman, partner, The Eye Associates.

Stephen Heinz, director of service agreement sales and community relations, Home-Tech.

Kim Kelly, area sales manager, 1st Choice Industries.

Jonathan Mitchell MCSE, senior network engineer, Akuwa Solutions Group, Inc.

Accolades

Florida State Women’s Council of REALTORS awarded the 2011 Florida Honor Society award to Paula Keegan-Bock, Marie Avery, and Sherry Richardson.

John R. Blue was honored with the Stetson University College of Law 2011 William Reece Smith, Jr. Public Service Award.

Manatee Memorial Hospital received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines®- Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award.

The Women’s Council of Realtors named Charlotte Hedge as its 2010 Humanitarian of the Year.

Barry Grooms was recently installed as the 2011 Florida Realtor District 13 vice president.

Michael Roscoe has earned the designation of Certified Horticulture Professional.

One Sarasota Tower has been awarded a Civic Beautification Award for outstanding landscaping from the Sarasota Garden Club.

Douglas A. Cherry and Juan C. Villaveces have been named partners in Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick’s Sarasota office.

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar has been awarded the Golden Spoon Award (2010) from Florida Trend Magazine.

Solar-X of Sarasota celebrates its 38th year in business this year.

Michael K. Walker & Associates Inc. was recently awarded Best in American Living “Silver” Award for a Green-Built Home, and the Best in American Living “Gold” Award for a one-of-a-kind custom home by the NAHB.

Michelle Grunberg, Chris Whaley, Surry McFaul, Ray Reher and Jeff Eslinger have been elected to the 2011 board of directors for Community Haven for Adults and Children with Disabilities, Inc.

Mary Bensel, executive director of the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, received a congressional proclamation in honor of her service.

Nellie’s has been voted The Knot Best of Weddings 2011 pick.

Tom Roberts, CFP, was named 2010 Partner of the Year at The Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce.

Linda Agresta received the 2010 John E. Lawrence Adult Education Administrator of the Year Award at the Annual Adult and Community Education (ACE) Conference in Orlando.

Scott Carpenter of cPR was named a national judge for the PRSA Silver Anvil Award.

 

Moving and Opening

Siesta Key Physical Therapy is located at 5147 Ocean Blvd. in the Coldwell Banker building in Siesta Key Village.

Flip Flop Shops just opened on St. Armands Circle, located at 9 N. Boulevard of Presidents.

Eslinger Realty Inc. opened its newest office at 1850 Porter Lake Drive, Suite #109, in Sarasota.

Anna Maria Island Concierge Services is now located next door to the Olive Oil Outpost on Pine Avenue.

RE/MAX Alliance Group opened its Longboat Key office at 201 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Unit 6.

Guitar Center has opened at 8223 Cooper Creek Blvd., University Park.

Nuviva Medical Weight Loss announces two new franchise locations, one at 8450 Cooper Creek Blvd. in University Park; the second clinic at 1926 Hillview St. will open later in the first quarter.

20 Minutes to Fitness announces the grand opening of its newest franchise studio at 1753 Ringling Blvd., Suite 200, located at the Rivo Center.

Brightway Insurance, with local offices at 5344 Clark Road in Sarasota, is growing into five states, starting with Georgia.

Sarasota Urgent Care is now located at the southeast corner of University Parkway and I-75 at 6272 Lake Osprey Drive, Sarasota.

ScoopDaddy’s Ice Cream opened a second ice cream shop on Tourist Center Drive in University Park.

James M. Majirsky

Veteran franchise executive James Majirsky, the new president of DwellGreen, is preparing the Sarasota-based home services company to franchise its home energy monitoring system across North America this June. Majirsky is developing a business program for sales and marketing with the goal of creating several hundred franchises within the next three to five years. The franchise opportunity will cost $30,000 (total startup is approximately $100,000), and Majirsky is confident of DwellGreen’s business model. “I look for an industry that’s desirable and has a distinctive niche,” he says. “We’re involved in green technology that can create savings for homeowners.” —Patricia Abduragimova

 

Michael K. Walker

Michael K. Walker and Associates won two big Best in America Living Awards—a “Gold” for its one-of-a-kind custom home on Casey Key and a “Silver” in the Green-Built Home Division cate-gory for The Edge, a prototype green and healthy home that’s on the market right now for $1.5 million. The National Association of Home Builders’ competition is fierce, Walker says, with participants from almost all 50 states. A builder in the upper-end custom market, especially on the barrier islands, Walker—born and raised in Sarasota—says business is picking up. “We saw a complete turnaround in late ’09 and early ’10, and this year is 80 percent better in terms of interest on the water. It’s not an ‘anything goes’ attitude. Clients will set a threshold, so it means we need to have an in-depth team approach.” —Patricia Abduragimova

 

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