• The JAX Chamber hired Krauthamer & Associates to help find the chamber's new president and CEO to succeed Wally Lee, who announced his retirement last year and is serving as an adviser through March. JAXUSA Partnership President Jerry Mallot is serving as interim president. Kraut-hamer & Associates is based in the Washington, D.C., area.
• Jacksonville-based MedMal Direct Insurance Co. announced it has received its certificate of authority from the Georgia Department of Insurance and has launched operations as a medical malpractice insurance carrier in Georgia. MedMal Direct provides medical malpractice insurance directly to physicians with a goal to enable physician practices to save money on medical professional liability insurance premiums. For information, visit mymedmal.com.
• The Kelley Kronenberg national full-service law firm, which opened an office in Jacksonville more than a decade ago, has relocated within the Stein Mart building on the Southbank Downtown. The firm has almost doubled the size of its space in the move from the ninth floor to the second floor. "We look forward to expanding the Jacksonville operations while continuing to provide quality service to our existing client base," said David Drill, Jacksonville managing partner. The office has three attorneys. Firm Partner Michael Fichtel said he expects to add four or five attorneys in Jacksonville. In addition to the Jacksonville office, the firm, based in Fort Lauderdale, has eight office locations throughout Florida, as well as a presence in Chicago and Houston. The firm has 75 attorneys and 11 offices nationwide. Its site is kelleykronenberg.com.
• Performance Bicycle announced it will open five stores in Florida, including one in Jacksonville, and one in Arizona. "Florida has a vibrant and growing cycling community, and we're looking forward to becoming a part of that on the local level," said CEO David Pruitt in a news release. "While Florida's always been a strong state for our e-commerce business, we're very excited to serve Florida cyclists even better with our five initial locations." Performance Bicycle is based in Chapel Hill, N.C., and has more than 100 stores nationwide. As the Daily Record reported Feb. 5, the Jacksonville store will open in June at 4421 Southside Blvd., the site of David Gates Golf Headquarters. The other Florida stores will open in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Winter Park.
• The City Building Inspection Division reports that housing starts for single-family dwellings rose to a monthly average of 113 last year from about 87 in 2011 but down from almost 123 in 2010. The 1,360 single-family starts permitted in 2012 were up by 317, or 30 percent, over the year. However, the 2012 permits were down 110 from 2010, a 7.5 percent difference.
While the number of permits dropped from the 2012 high of 151 in August to 110 in December, the trend remains higher than during the past two years. The average of the September-December monthly permits fell from 77 in 2010 to about 74 in 2011, but rose to 122 last year.
• The boards of the St Johns County Chamber of Commerce and Ponte Vedra Beach Chamber of Commerce voted unanimously to merge, pending a vote of their memberships scheduled Friday. The boards voted that the Ponte Vedra Beach chamber, incorporated in 1996 and with more than 300 members, will become the Ponte Vedra Beach Division of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce. Members are scheduled to vote Friday on separate resolutions approving the merger, which would increase the St. Johns County chamber to more than 1,000 members. "I am certain this will be very positive for the members of both chambers," said Kirk Wendland, president of the St. Johns County chamber. The Board of Trade in St. Augustine was formed in 1904 and became the Chamber of Commerce in 1930. The St. Augustine & St. Johns County Chamber incorporated Nov. 22, 1978, and changed its name to the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 21, 2005.
• Florida Coastal School of Law professor Nancy Hogshead-Makar, senior director of advocacy for the Women's Sports Foundation and an Olympic gold medalist, is the keynote speaker to the Jacksonville Women's Network for International Women's Day. The event is scheduled 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. March 8 at River City Brewing Co. For information, visit jaxwomensnetwork.com. Hogshead-Makar, a swimmer, won three gold medals and a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics.
• Nicole Novena has joined Burdette Ketchum as its new digital client services director. A senior marketing executive, Novena brings more than 10 years of digital and client management experience in executing leading edge, multivehicle marketing plans. Her digital expertise includes trigger-based emails, direct mail, SMS communications and outbound calling campaigns. She previously worked at Verizon Wireless, most recently as the associate director of marketing communications. She graduated from Springfield College in Massachusetts with a bachelor's degree in sports management.
• Wally Lee, past president of the JAX Chamber, will be the honoree March 7 at the Hyatt Downtown for the 4th Annual Sheriff's Roast to benefit the Police Athletic League of Jacksonville Inc. Scheduled roasters are Ron Autrey, Gregory Smith, Rick Cox, Bruce Barcelo, Sandy Bartow and Jim Rinaman. Cole Pepper is the master of ceremonies. The event starts with a reception and silent auction at 5:30 p.m. followed at 7 p.m. by the dinner and roast. General admission is $125. For information, visit jaxpal.com.
Women In Businesss Awards finalists named
Women Business Owners of North Florida announced the 12 finalists among four categories for the annual Women In Business Awards.
Winners will be announced March 19 at the awards event at EverBank Field. The trade show is scheduled 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and the awards will be presented 12-1:30 p.m.
The keynote speaker will be Vera Jones, women's assistant basketball coach at Florida Atlantic University.
For more information, visit jaxwbo.org.
Categories and finalists are:
Corporate Leader
LaDonna Morris, Counselor Coordinator, Rosanne R. Hartwell Women's Center, Florida State College at Jacksonville
Karen Perkner, Senior Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, EverBank
Robin Wahby, Managing Partner, New York Life
Pioneer
Elizabeth Paulson, JA Girl$ Program Director, Junior Achievement of North Florida
Jean Watson, Owner, President, Sweet Repeats Consignment Shop
Nancy Hogshead-Makar, Olympic Champion, Gender Equity Advocate for Women's Sports, Author and Professor of Law, Women's Sports Foundation
Up and Coming Entrepreneur
Jessica Thomas, President, Thomas Marketing Consulting LLC
Kate Mesic, President, Law Offices of Kate Mesic
Mary Elizabeth Hafeman, Owner, President, Fore in One Golf Services Inc., DBA Mary Hafeman Golf Experience
Established Entrepreneur
Eva Greenfield, Owner, President, Hometown Threads
Dana Stallings, Owner, President, Kilwins Chocolate Fudge and Ice Cream Shoppe
Genie James, CEO, Dr. Randolph's Ageless and Wellness Medical Center, Owner, The Natural Medicine Pharmacy
Generation W scheduled April 5
Generation W has scheduled its daylong conference for April 5 at the University of North Florida Lazzara Performance Hall.
The theme is "Making the Difference Now" and will bring together women from across the country to share experiences and expertise in careers, life, family and more.
Dr. Nancy Snyderman, chief medical director for NBC News, is the featured keynote speaker.
Donna Orender, president of Orender Unlimited, is the founder of Generation W. More than 700 people attended the inaugural event last year.
The event begins at 7 a.m. with registration and concludes at 5 p.m. with a reception. Snyderman provides the closing keynote speech at 4:30 p.m.
Speakers also include, among others, Michele Ganeless, president of Comedy Central, and Molly Solomon, executive producer and senior vice president of productions and operations at the Golf Channel.
The price is $150, plus a fee, until Feb. 28, when prices rise to $175.
Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. and Wells Fargo have agreed to contribute $25 toward the purchase of the first 150 tickets sold for the event, meaning the first 150 tickets are $25 off.
For information, visit Jacksonville.genwnow.com
Women, Words and Wisdom series set
The Women's Center of Jacksonville will present its third annual "2013 Speaker Series — Women, Words and Wisdom" starting in March.
Anne M. Butler will speak March 5; Jennifer Wesely will speak April 2; and Madeline Scales-Taylor will speak May 7. The lectures are scheduled at Theatre Jacksonville.
The events begin with a 5:30 p.m. reception followed by the lecture at 6:30 p.m. and a question-and-answer session to follow.
Butler is the author of "Daughters of Joy, Sisters of Misery: Prostitutes in the American West, 1865-1890" and other books.
Wesely is the author of two books, "Hard Lives, Mean Streets: Violence in the Lives of Homeless Women" and "Being Female: The Continuum of Sexualization."
Scales-Taylor's 37-year career included work in the nonprofit sector, human resources training, marketing and community relations. She will share insights into how retirement can impact women as they transform from the "me" generation to the "we" generation.
The events benefit the Women's Center's Expanded Horizons Adult Literacy Program for Women. The program provides one-on-one tutors and small classes and addresses literacy needs such as reading, writing, math, computer skills, GED preparation and financing and health literacy.
Ticket prices are $35 for a single lecture or $90 for the series. The media sponsor is WJCT Public Broadcasting.
For information, visit womens–centerofjax.org.
Cultural Council names 3 award winners
The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville will honor three community leaders with its 37th Annual Arts & Culture Awards for their contributions to art and culture in Northeast Florida. Winners are:
• Arts Educator Award: Claudia Kuendig-Williams, dance instructor at Brentwood Elementary School for the Arts, Riverside Presbyterian Day School and the Cathedral Arts Project.
• Business Arts Award: The Jacksonville Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
• Innovator Award: David Engdahl, sculptor and retired chief architect for Haskell.
The awards event is scheduled 5:30-8:30 p.m. April 12 at the Main Library Downtown. For information, visit CulturalCouncil.org.
OneJax plans Humanitarian Awards
OneJax Institute announced the recipients of its 2012 Humanitarian Awards, which will be presented May 14 at the Hyatt Downtown.
OneJax Institute said its Humanitarian Awards honor those who have demonstrated the highest level of personal and professional integrity, have given generously and extensively to the community and have been dedicated to the improvement of human relations among diverse groups in our community.
The 2013 Silver Medallions will be awarded to:
• Dottie Dorion, philanthropist and community volunteer
• Steven Halverson, president and CEO, Haskell
• Frieda Saraga, community activist and volunteer
• Madeline Scales-Taylor, executive director, City Kids Art Factory
"This year's class includes true leaders and stewards of the Jacksonville community and each is deserving of the recognition and honor," said Celeste Krueger, OneJax executive director.
OneJax Chair Susan Wilkinson said the awards dinner is the 43rd time "that we will honor individuals in our community who are making a real difference."
"We are proud to spotlight them as they all join with us to promote respect and understanding among people of different religious, racial, ethnic and cultural differences," she said.
The 2013 event co-chairs are University of North Florida President John Delaney and Edward Waters College President Nat Glover, both previous honorees.
With the OneJax board, the UNF board of trustees established the OneJax Institute a year ago at UNF.
"By bringing OneJax onto the UNF campus, the university has strengthened its community partnerships and is playing a more significant role in Northeast Florida's conversations on diversity and inclusion," said a OneJax news release.
"As an outreach organization, the OneJax Institute at UNF follows in the tradition of other campus units, such as the Florida Institute of Education, the Center for Global Health and Medical Diplomacy and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Center for Ethics, Public Policy and the Professions," it said.
The OneJax board continues to guide the organization, with UNF representatives filling seats on the board. The board retains the responsibility for raising funds to support operations for OneJax.
OneJax Institute's core programs include Metrotown, a weeklong teen diversity program; LOUD (Leaders of United Diversity), where Metrotown graduates bring the message of respect and appreciation for religious, racial and cultural differences into their schools; Interfaith and Community Forums, periodic forums for public dialogue on diversity and community building; and Advocacy, working to promote issues of importance to the OneJax mission.
OneJax also partners with the Aspen Institute, the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission and The Community Foundation in Jacksonville, on Project Breakthrough, an initiative to change the story of race in Jacksonville.
For more information, visit onejax.org.