• Karen Specie, an of counsel lawyer with Akerman Senterfitt in the bankruptcy and reorganization practice group in the Jacksonville office, has been inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Bankruptcy. She was inducted into the 2012 Class XXIII at a ceremony at the U.S. Supreme Court. The American College of Bankruptcy has 650 Fellows nationally and internationally, and induction is by invitation only.
• Permits were approved Friday for EverBank’s big tower-top signs at 301 W. Bay St., which is being renamed EverBank Center. The City approved two signs at job costs totaling $586,000. The internally illuminated channel letters will be posted on the north and south sides of the tower. Brown Enterprises is the contractor.
• The Jackson Lewis firm moved down the street to EverBank Plaza at 501 Riverside Ave., Suite 902.
• Attorney Lindsay Tygart has joined the firm of Edwards & Ragatz as an associate litigation attorney.
• Patrick Kilbane, an attorney in the Jacksonville office of GrayRobinson, has been elected as president of the Notre Dame Club of North Florida. The Notre Dame Club offers programs, events and development efforts that contribute toward the core values of the university’s alumni association.
• Shannon Eller, who has been the government and public relations officer for the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, will join Infinity Global Solutions LLC as vice president. IGS is a Jacksonville-based economic development and government relations firm. She will be responsible for assisting private and public sector clients with their growth strategies. She also has been a deputy general counsel for the City, specializing in land development law and advising City Council on growth management issues. She is a former associate of the law firm Rogers Towers, and a former regional planner at the Northeast Florida Regional Council.
• The legacy of former The Florida Bar President Chesterfield Smith continues to grow at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, his alma mater. Smith’s wife, Jacqueline Allee Smith, plans to establish the Chesterfield Smith Eminent Scholar Chair Fund. Upon her passing, the $1 million bequest will transition the existing Chesterfield Smith Professorship to the Chesterfield Smith Eminent Scholar Chair. The fund will increase resources available to faculty who hold the position and will enhance the college’s research and scholarship opportunities. Known as “architect of the present day Holland & Knight law firm,” Chesterfield Smith mentored many local lawyers. He died in 2003.
• The St. Johns Riverkeeper, Silver Springs Alliance and Florida Springs Institute will host a “Silver Springs & Florida’s Imperiled Waters Forum” at 6 p.m. May 15 at the Wyndham Hotel. The forum, which is free and open to the public, will feature a discussion about current threats to Silver Springs and the declining health of springs, lakes and rivers in North Florida.
• JAX Chamber Chair Tom Van Berkel will be the keynote speaker at the chamber’s Health Council meeting scheduled 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday at Brighton Bay Resort Style Retirement Living. Van Berkel is chairman and CEO of The Main Street America Group. His topic is “Main Street America Group — A mini case study in Employment Health and Wellness.” For information, visit www.myjaxchamber.com.