• Gov. Rick Scott appointed Tom Majdanics, Jimmie Mayo and Dr. Patricia White to the Florida State College at Jacksonville district board of trustees. Majdanics, executive director of KIPP Jacksonville Schools, succeeds Bruce Barcelo. The term began Saturday and ends May 31, 2017. Mayo, of Fernandina Beach, is retired and was administrator and president of Baptist Medical Center Nassau. He fills a vacant seat. His term began Friday and ends May 31, 2015. White, of Yulee, is an emergency room physician. Her term began Saturday and ends May 31, 2017. The appointments are subject to Florida Senate confirmation.
• Kevin Harried has joined the PwC US risk assurance practice as a managing director based out of the Jacksonville office. He will concentrate on leading the development and delivery of governance risk and compliance opportunities, including enterprise risk management, business continuity management and ethics and compliance. He previously was a senior vice president and director of risk management at Fidelity National Information Services.
• The Brannam Group, led by Michael and Patrick Brannam, joined the Jacksonville branch of Raymond James & Associates Inc. at 245 Riverside Ave., Suite 500. The Raymond James office specializes in financial planning services for families and corporations.
• Jacksonville-based Stellar, a global design, engineering, construction and mechanical services company, has been ranked the 8th top industrial contractor in the nation by Engineering News-Record, the construction industry's leading trade publication.
• The University of North Florida announced it will build an Olympic-size, NCAA-regulation pool, with a diving well. It probably will be developed on campus just north of the new Student Wellness Complex. UNF said the Andy Sears Pool in the UNF Aquatic Center was built in 1987 and the estimated cost to repair it is $3 million, so UNF decided to build a new pool instead. The current UNF Aquatic Center will close at the end of the 2013-14 women's swimming and diving season March 1. The space will be converted into recreational basketball courts. In the meantime, the UNF swim team will train and compete at Episcopal High School.
• Clarification: Simon Property Group and Ben Carter Properties are the developers of St. Johns Town Center. A story in the print edition on Monday did not properly refer to Simon Property Group as the co-developer.
• Veronica Scott-Fulton has joined Wolfson Children's Hospital as vice president of operations and patient care services. She previously was administrative director of nursing operations and medical-surgical services at Miami Children's Hospital. She succeeds Carolyn Johnson, who retired Jan. 4 after 38 years of service.
• Stacy Ridenour was hired as director of development for the Sarasota Opera effective July 1. She will supervise a department working toward an annual fundraising goal of $2.75 million and create a funding strategy. Ridenour, a trained concert pianist, currently serves as the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra vice president of development and previously was executive director.
• Sandy Lopez, marketing representative for Paul Davis Restoration of North Florida, has been named "Insurance Professional of the Year" by the Insurance Professionals of Northeast Florida, an affiliate of the International Association of Insurance Professionals. The award is the highest honor given to a current member of the local chapter.
• Duval County Superintendent of Schools Nikolai Vitti is scheduled to speak to the League of Women Voters of Jacksonville First Coast at noon June 12 at The University Club. It will be the group's annual meeting and "hot topic luncheon." For information, call 613-9480 or email [email protected].
• Jacksonville Community Council Inc. President and CEO Ben Warner traveled to Germany at the request of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to speak today at the First International German Forum, focusing on "What Is Important to People: Quality of Life and Progress," at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin.
"This is a chance to spotlight JAX2025 and our indicators work with a global audience," said Warner, who left Monday for Germany and plans to return Thursday evening.
Warner, the only speaker from the United States and the only speaker representing a local population, will talk about "Community Matters," a perspective on how to involve residents of a community in determining a shared vision, metrics to create accountability for that vision, and civic engagement to implement the vision and improve the selected measures.
Among his examples will be the JAX2025 community vision initiative. Jacksonville Community Council Inc. also produces the annual Quality of Life Progress Report and other community indicators.
• Ford Motor Co. gave Flex-N-Gate Corp., owned by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan, two of its highest honors — a Recognition of Achievement Award for superiority in Aligned Business Framework Principles and a gold-level World Excellence Award saluting suppliers who bring diverse cultures, values and ideas to Ford and its 175,000 employees and 65 plants around the world. Flex-N-Gate is the 14th largest North American automotive supplier, employing more than 16,000 people at 52 manufacturing and nine product development and engineering facilities throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and Spain. Its products include interior and exterior plastics, lighting systems, mechanical assemblies, metal structural body components and exterior metal parts.
• Lindsey Films Inc. has moved from the San Pablo area to 643 Edison Ave. in the Brooklyn area of Downtown. The building, which is rumored to have been a bordello at one time, houses Daryl Bunn Studios and offers space for tenants.
Lindsey Films, owned and operated by Kent and Pepper Lindsey, has been producing commercials, national TV shows and segments, Web videos and corporate films since 1987.
Current productions include "The Jacksonville Legacy Series," which features conversations with community leaders and are broadcast on WJCT. They are an initiative of Leadership Jacksonville.