• Scott St. Amand joined the Brennan, Manna & Diamond business and litigation law firm in the practice areas of education law and advocacy, general civil litigation, labor and employment law, land use and planning, local government law and intellectual property law. St. Amand has a J.D. from the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond and a bachelor’s in English and Latin from Wake Forest University.
• Global Imaging Systems, a Xerox Co., bought Jacksonville-based Bennett’s Business Systems Inc., an independent distributor of Canon and HP copiers, printers and multifunction systems. Bennett’s now offers Xerox office-printing products. Bennett’s will become part of Saxon Business Systems Inc., a Global Imaging Systems company.
• Jacksonville Community Council Inc. and its Forward group of young professionals plan a skills training session 5:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday at the JCCI conference room. Vice President Ben Warner will talk about “Going Beyond a Volunteer,” discussing what it takes to maximize volunteer efforts. The event is free. Register at www.jcci.org.
• Speaking of JCCI, its annual meeting is coming up Sept. 9 and the group says tickets are available. The keynote speaker is San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro. At 37, he’s the youngest mayor of a Top 50 American city, says JCCI. The group facilitated the initial phase of San Antonio’s visioning process, called “SA2020. Dream it. Map it. Do it.” The meeting is at the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership. Tickets are $35 general admission and $30 for JCCI members. Tables of eight are $350. Information is available at www.jcci.org or call 396-3052.
• Brian Crevasse, an associate with Bachara Construction Law Group, has achieved Florida Bar board certification in construction law. Board certification recognizes an attorney’s special knowledge, skills and proficiency in construction law, as well as professionalism and ethics in practice. Crevasse earned both his undergraduate degree and his J.D. from the University of Florida.
• Don Resio has joined the University of North Florida as director of the Taylor Engineering Research Institute and professor of ocean engineering in the College of Computing, Engineering and Construction. He is a former research scientist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Center and is a representative to the United Nations Joint Commission on Oceanography and Marine Meteorology.
• Shareholders of Jacksonville-based FPIC Insurance Group Inc. have approved the acquisition of FPIC by The Doctors Company of California after a May 23 merger agreement. At a special meeting of shareholders Friday, the merger agreement was approved by 99.1 percent of the shares voted. Shareholders holding 72.8 percent of the outstanding shares were present at the meeting in person or by proxy. President and CEO John Byers said in a statement that the deal “will place our organization with one of the largest and most respected medical professional liability insurance organizations in the nation.” FPIC provides medical professional liability insurance for physicians, dentists and other health care providers. FPIC is the largest provider of medical professional liability insurance in Florida, the fourth largest provider in Texas and a top five provider in Georgia and Arkansas. If the sale is approved, The Doctors Company would control about 30 percent of the Florida market, reported The News Service of Florida.