• The Florida Bar announced Thursday that three members have qualified to run for 2011 president-elect: John “Jake” Schickel of Jacksonville, Walter Campbell of Fort Lauderdale and Gwynne Alice Young of Tampa. It is the first contested race for the seat in 11 years. Last year’s race was set to take that honor, but Ervin Gonzalez of Coral Gables dropped out of the race before the election and Scott Hawkins was elected president-elect without opposition. The election is in March.
• Schickel is currently a member of The Florida Bar board of governors, but will step down from the seat to run for president-elect. Three Florida Bar members have qualified to run for the Fourth Judicial Circuit seat he vacates: Arthur Hernandez, Reginald Luster and Michael Tanner. All are from Jacksonville
• Gary Chartrand, executive chair of Acosta Sales and Marketing, joined the board of Pet Paradise Resorts, a Jacksonville-based chain of pet boarding facilities. Pet Paradise employs more than 200 employees in four states. Its nine board members are Chartrand; Fred Goldsmith, chair and CEO of Pet Paradise; Fernando Acosta-Rua, COO of Pet Paradise; Robert Hood, former president of McDonnell Douglas; John Foster, former president of AT&T Europe; Buck Griswold, managing partner of Centripetal Capital Partners; Dan Rice, president of Mayport Ventures LLC; Dean Beckwith, former executive vice president of Siemens; and David Messerlie, chair of Lucier Chemical Industries.
• Mayor John Peyton will serve as the keynote speaker at the City’s 24th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast scheduled for Jan. 14 at the Osborn Center. Tickets are $25 a person and corporate tables are $300. For information or reservations, call the City Office of Special Events at 630-3690 or visit www.JaxMLKBreakfast.com.
• Jacksonville-based Fortegra Financial Corp. said Thursday it has priced its initial public offering of 6 million shares of common stock at $11 per share. The shares are expected to begin trading today on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol FRF. The offering is expected to close on Dec. 22. Of the shares being sold, 4,265,637 shares are being offered by the company and 1,734,363 shares are being offered by selling stockholders, including affiliates of Summit Partners. Fortegra is an insurance services company. Its brands include Life of the South, Consecta and Bliss & Glennon.
• The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission sent its annual “E-card” for the holidays Thursday. This year it includes an image of the statue of Andrew Jackson at the corner of Laura Street and Independent Drive, with the general wearing a Santa Claus hat. It reads: “May this holiday season bring you joy and happiness. Slow down and enjoy the things Jacksonville has to offer,” a nod to the Belgian block pavers in the roundabout surrounding the statue. The pavers were designed to slow traffic and have generated complaints about the rough ride.
• Speaking of the JEDC, Executive Director Ron Barton evoked the name of former Mayor Jake Godbold Wednesday in a speech to a Jacksonville Community Council Inc. study group. Godbold was the City’s Mayor from 1979-87 and known for his candid leadership style. “If you go to lunch with Jake, you don’t need to talk. You listen,” said Barton. Godbold’s message about citizen persuasion: “You have to lead them.”
• The $2.25 billion Better Jacksonville Plan was approved by voters in 2000. The half-cent sales surtax took effect Jan. 1, 2001, and stays in effect no later than Dec. 31, 2030. To read the details, visit www.coj.net and search for Better Jacksonville Plan and click on BJP Ordinance.