• Past Jacksonville Bar Association President Caroline Emery was recently recognized by the Florida Bar’s Standing Committee on Professionalism. She was referred to as a “lawyer who has done well through acts of outstanding professionalism.” The committee added that Emery “has dedicated her life to helping others and to promoting civility within the legal profession.” Emery serves as court counsel for the Fourth Judicial Circuit.
• Florida Coastal School of Law provided the backdrop for the filming of a professionalism skit for the ABOTA judicial luncheon planned Oct. 13. Attorneys Tad Griffin and Mary Bland Love and Judge Waddell Wallace participated in the skit, attended by about 150 Coastal students.
• City departments preparing to make their case at next month’s City budget hearings might want to avoid PowerPoint presentations. City Council Finance Chair Daniel Davis joked during Tuesday’s agenda meeting that department officials who used the application would have 10 percent taken out of their budget.
• Gary R. Chartrand, executive chairman of Acosta Sales & Marketing, has been re-elected to a one-year term as a national vice president with the Muscular Dystrophy Association. National vice presidents provide volunteer assistance and counsel in their areas of expertise to support the association’s lifesaving research and services programs. This year, MDA and Acosta are celebrating 25 years of its signature in-store sales event, Aisles of Smiles, which has raised millions of dollars for Jerry’s kids.
• Nice tribute in Florida Trend magazine to Jacksonville photojournalist Kelly LaDuke, who died June 7 of ovarian cancer at the age of 48. Florida Trend featured some of her cover photos and noted that in 1994, she won a Green Eyeshade award even though her work wasn’t submitted for one. The judges, reviewing a written feature, liked the photos so much they decided to honor them.
• Florida Trend listed “Florida’s Best Companies to Work For” this year and several based in Jacksonville made the cut. PSS World Medical was No. 22 in the “large companies” category. The “mid-sized” category included Brightway Insurance at No. 14 and Harden insurance at No. 32. Among small companies, LandSouth Construction of Jacksonville Beach was No. 10 and Hire Methods was No. 17.
• The UNF Police Department won the Florida Law Enforcement Challenge for the best overall traffic safety program, beating out all other universities in the state. The University of North Florida police officers developed and implemented traffic plans and programs, including enforcement, public education, child seat installation, occupant protection and DUI safety education. UNF’s Police Department enforces state laws and city ordinances, as well as UNF regulations. It consists of 29 full-time sworn police officers, eight communications operators, two professional staff members, six part-time employees and four security positions at MOCA Jacksonville Downtown, a cultural resource of UNF.