• The Jacksonville Women Lawyers Association welcomed Brian Couch and Kelly Peck of KBJ Architects to give an update on the progress of the new Duval County Courthouse at its May meeting Wednesday at The River Club Downtown. Couch said that the courthouse should be open in about a year from Wednesday. Work continued on the courthouse a few blocks away and it can be seen through the windows of the River Club.
• Downtown Vision Inc. reports attendance was at near-record levels for its most recent events. The May 4 First Wednesday Art Walk equaled last year’s single-night record of 8,000 visitors Downtown and the “Movies in the Park” family film series brought 3,000 children and parents to Treaty Oak Park and the riverfront lawn at the Wyndham Hotel on the Southbank.
• The University of North Florida recognized four community leaders Wednesday during its 14th Annual Distinguished Business Leaders Award. John Byers, FPIC Insurance Group Inc. president and CEO, and Linda Sherrer, Prudential Network Realty president and CEO, were awarded the Distinguished Leader Award. Paul Mason, UNF economics professor and Local Economic Indicator Project director, received the Distinguished Professor Award. And Frank Mackesy, retired Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office undersheriff, received the Distinguished Alumni Award. The awards are presented annually to individuals for career achievements and leadership throughout the community and were established in 1988 to honor Prime F. Osborn III for his career in the railway industry.
• Later today, Mayor John Peyton and City Council member Reggie Brown will join the City’s Department of Recreation and Community Services in Northwest Jacksonville to celebrate the grand opening of the Legends Center. The multipurpose center will have an indoor walking track, gym, fitness center, classrooms and computer laboratories among other amenities available to area residents.
• Robert Skrob, Florida Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus executive director, will be the keynote speaker for the 4th Annual National Tourism Week Awards on May 18 at EverBank Field. Skrob will future discuss legislation that affects the tourism and hospitality industries including issues of online travel bed exemptions, Visit Florida’s reorganization proposal and immigration. For more information, email Lyndsay Rossman at [email protected].
• Jacksonville Aviation Authority employees and other business teams are walking the concourses of Jacksonville International Airport all day today, not for business, but for a cause. Delta Air Lines and JAA are hosting a “Relay in the Sky” for the teams that will walk a special route through the airport concourses in honor of cancer survivors and remember those who died from the disease. All funds raised will go to the American Cancer Society for cancer research and patient and family support programs.