Smith, Gambrell & Russell adds 10 attorneys
The Smith, Gambrell & Russell law firm added 10 attorneys to its Jacksonville office. Previously with Fowler White Boggs, the group consists of six partners, one of counsel attorney, and three associates practicing in the areas of corporate law, litigation and real estate. Smith, Gambrell & Russell's Jacksonville office now comprises 31 attorneys.
The lawyers who joined are:
• E.K. Cottrell, partner, specializes in complex commercial litigation.
• Melissa Dearing, partner, practices in labor and employment and immigration law.
• John Marino, litigation partner, has experience in class actions and complex commercial litigation.
• James Porter, partner, practices in business law and commercial real estate law.
• Lindsey Trowell, a partner in the firm's litigation practice, has experience in class actions, complex commercial and securities litigation.
• Jeffrey Watson, labor and employment law partner, is a litigator with a practice emphasis on noncompete, nonsolicitation and trade secret litigation.
• Karl B. Hanson Jr., of counsel, is a commercial real estate attorney.
• Brandon Dodd, associate, practices in general business law and commercial real estate law.
• Mary Scheps Scott, associate, focuses on commercial litigation matters.
• Kristen Wenger, associate, has experience in special assets, commercial debt collections, commercial foreclosures, construction lien law and bankruptcy law.
Ben Warner, president and CEO of Jacksonville Community Council Inc., spoke June 5 at the International German Forum at the Federal Chancellery in Berlin at the invitation of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The event's focus was "What Is Important to People: Quality of Life and Progress." Warner, the only speaker representing local populations and the only speaker from the United States, presented information on "Community Matters." He included the JAX2025 initiative, now in its implementation phase. Warner wrote a blog entry about why JCCI, a tracker of community-level indicators, would be included in such a global forum. "Jacksonville's story is that it works," he wrote. "People can come together to decide what matters, and how to measure it. And when the community as a whole is part of deciding what's important, the community as a whole has a vested interest in working together to reach for the vision they create."
Mark Lamping, president of the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Jason Altmire, Florida Blue senior vice president for public policy, government and community affairs, have joined the Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute board of advisers.
Sandra "Sam" Tysver sent emails last week to friends and colleagues about her Friday retirement. "After almost 20 years as CEO of Girl Scouts of Gateway Council and 40 years in nonprofit management, it is time to transition to life's next great adventure," she wrote. "Thank you for your encouragement, your support, your friendship. It has and continues to mean the world to me." She said she will be traveling during the summer and will return in the fall "ready for the next big adventure." Mary Anne Jacobs succeeded Tysver as CEO of the Girl Scouts of Gateway Council.
Robert Arleigh White is leaving the Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville after 13 years as the arts advocacy organization's executive director. White said in an email he had informed the Cultural Council's board of directors he would "like to explore a transitioning sequence into a future" for himself. "I think it is time for something new and candidly transforming for the Cultural Council. And that means new and transformative leadership," he said.
Baptist Foundation adds 4 directors
Baptist Health Foundation announced four additions to its board of directors: Dan Edelman, CPA, managing partner of the Florida practice of Dixon Hughes PLLC; William Mason, president emeritus of Baptist Health and a former president of the foundation; Jane Rollinson, president and CEO of Criterion Consulting Solutions; and Terry West, president and CEO of VyStar Credit Union.