Sarasota County Fire Department lifeguard Mariano Martinez was recognized with the National Medal of Valor by the United States Lifesaving Association (USLA) and named Lifeguard of the Year by the Florida Beach Patrol Chiefs Association for his heroic efforts that saved a family caught in a rip current in the Gulf on June 22, 2024, while he was off duty.

Longtime local government administrator Dave Bullock was appointed unanimously by the Sarasota city commission to serve as the city's interim city manager during a special meeting last week. Bullock, who will come out of retirement to take on the role, previously served as CEO of the Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County Chief Executive Officer, Longboat Key Town Manager, and Sarasota County Deputy Administrator.

All Faiths Food Bank was named the second-place winner in the organizational category at the 2025 Sapphire Awards, presented by the Florida Blue Foundation. The food bank also received a $50,000 cash award.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sun Coast  has been recognized as a Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Pinnacle Award Winner for program excellence in 2024. 

The City of Sarasota was recognized by Smart Cities Connect with a Smart 20 Award for its Smart City Initiative, which includes monitoring pedestrian and traffic safety data, implementing real-time beach and red tide monitoring technology, and a instituting a program providing free WiFi in four city parks.

The Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation has awarded five area teachers with the foundation's annual Ripple Effect Teacher Award, which includes a gift of $5,000 from the foundation. The five educators honored are Rochelle Hilston, Woodland Middle School English language arts teacher; Sascha Hyer, Venice High School social studies teacher and coach; Marie Rosander, Pine View School science teacher; Suzette Trapani, Phillippi Shores Elementary School IB coordinator; and Jennifer Weinberger, Heron Creek Middle School math interventionist

Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation has hired Kaitlyn Kramer Reeves as director of development and Megan Wenger as development officer. 

Beneva Weddings and Events has hired Petra Thomas as events coordinator.

The Junior League of Sarasota recently announced that Jessica Rogers, vice president of philanthropy at Children First and a longtime Junior League of Sarasota member, has been named to the inaugural 2025 class of the 40 Over 40 Award by the Association of Junior Leagues International.

Four State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota employees have been named 2025 Excellence Award winners by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD). They are Miguel Benitez, assistant professor of humanities; Patricia Lakey, coordinator, Disability Resource Center; Rene Massengale, manager, Tutoring and Academic Success Center; and Angelique Medvesky, professor of English composition. 

The Economic Development Corporation of Sarasota County and Visit Sarasota County were honored at the annual meeting of the Florida Economic Development Council with the  "Pivot and Persist" Award and the Melissa Medley Creativity Award.

Sarasota Memorial Hospital was recently recognized by Newsweek in its 2025 rankings of America’s Best Hospitals for Specialized Care.

The City of North Port earned national recognition for its North Port University program, winning first place in the "community engagement event" category at the Blue Pencil and Gold Screen awards ceremony hosted by the National Association of Government Communicators in Pittsburgh. 

NDC Construction Company recently announced the appointment of Les Snyder as its new president and chief executive officer.

PaceMate, a Sarasota-based cardiac remote monitoring platform, announced the appointment of JR Finkelmeier as chief executive officer.

Sarasota Opera has hired Matthew Glover as events and corporate officer.

Sarasota County Schools has announced that Lindsay Gallof  has been selected as the new principal of Brookside Middle School; Eric Idoyaga has been selected as the new principal of Englewood Elementary School; and Trenton Terry has been selected as the new principal of Woodland Middle School.