POSITIONS TAKEN

Ben Bakker, vice president of operations, HJB Properties.

Jeff Benninghoff, vice president and general manager, WWSB-TV ABC7.

Jennifer McGuire, manager of PR and communications, NRT LLC Southeast.

Eric Resker, chief financial officer, Michael Saunders & Company.

Tiffany Briggs, promoted to director of communications, Manatee Sarasota Eye Clinic.

Glamarier Carter, general manager, Sarasota County Area Transit.

Robert W. Gergen, vice president of sales, Rapid Pathogen Screening.

John M. Moore and Edwin R. Soto, account executives, Anexio.

Ruth Lando, director of communications and marketing, USF Sarasota-Manatee.

Dr. Antonio Toscano de Brito, Orchid Research Center curator, Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.

John S. Nash, chief financial officer, Manatee County Rural Health Services.

Danielle B. Sherrill, development and donor relations officer, Community Foundation of Sarasota County.

Doris Berkey, chief development officer, Habitat for Humanity South Sarasota.

Cloe Drapkin, catering sales manager, Michael’s On East.

Jeff Hartigan, general manager and chief operating officer, The Oaks Club.

Michele Strauss, director of development for major gifts and campaigns, Van Wezel Foundation.

Anne Elhajoui, creative director, and Leslie Rentz, account executive, Knight Marketing.

Dawnyelle Singleton, community relations specialist, ITT Technical Institute.

ACCOLADES

Eddie Youssef, managing partner of Sarasota’s LongHorn Steakhouse, has earned Darden Restaurants’ top honor, the Joe R. Lee Diamond Club Award.

Publix Super Markets Charities donated $8,000 to Community Haven for Adults and Children with Disabilities for its Selby Preschool therapeutic outdoor area.

Kristi Bonsack, Longboat Key Club & Resort’s director of wellness, has been named to the International SPA Association board of directors; and the resort received the 2012 Pinnacle Award from Successful Meetings magazine for the fifth consecutive year.

Lee Wetherington Homes spent more than $30,000 to renovate the second floor of the Desoto Boys and Girls Club in Manatee County.

Susie Bowie of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County has been named a 2013 Hull Fellow by the Southeastern Council of Foundations.

Charlene Neal PureStyle received a 2012 Aurora Award for interior merchandising from the Southeast Building Conference.

Michael K. Walker & Associate received the 2012 Platinum Design Excellence Award from Residential Design + Build magazine.

Lindsay Letts, Monica Miller and Sally Hill, all members of the Central West Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association, won achievement awards at the FPRA state conference.

MOVING AND OPENING

Gettel Automotive Group Pre-Owned Super Center has opened at 2601 First St. E. in Bradenton.

10 Minutes to Fitness has opened at 4244 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota.

Wilde Maserati of Sarasota has opened at 4821 Clark Road in Sarasota.

Pilates Plus has opened at 7354 S. Tamiami Trail in Sarasota.

Courtyard by Marriott has opened at 8305 Tourist Center Drive in University Park, the former Comfort Suites.

ConveLabs LLC, a mobile phlebotomy company, has opened in Bradenton.

Carter Psychology Center has opened at 9015 Town Center Parkway, Suite 103, Lakewood Ranch.

A Heaven Sent Bail Bond has opened at 1207 44th Ave. E. in Bradenton.

Pop Craft has opened at 2245A Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota.

Kirkland’s specialty home décor retailer has opened at The Shoppes at University Center in Bradenton.

1 Health Place International’s Neurointegration Center has opened at 1440 Main St. in Sarasota.