►Gunster received an award for outstanding law firm for pro bono contribution from the Hillsborough County Bar Association for its efforts in the Project HELP program.
►Hill Ward Henderson shareholder Timothy “Tim” C. Ford has been appointed to serve a three-year term on the governing committee of the American Bar Association’s Forum on Construction Law.
►Frontier Communications renewed its “Pewter Partnership” marketing deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for another five years.
►Raquel Ramirez Jefferson, a lawyer with Phelps Dunbar in Tampa, was elected to the Tampa Bay Businesses for Culture & the Arts board of directors.
►Jesse Coraggio was named vice president of community impact at the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay.
►Dana G. Andrews, a managing partner at Kelley Kronenberg’s Tampa office, was elected president-elect of the 2019-20 board of directors for the U.S. Tennis Association of Florida.
►Sinclair Broadcast Group bought 21 regional sports networks, including Fox Sports Florida, from Disney in a deal valued at $10.6 billion.
►The University of South Florida received a $5 million gift from Monica Wooden, co-founder and chief revenue officer of transportation management systems provider MercuryGate International, for the USF Foundation, to benefit students and faculty in the Muma College of Business.
►Hillsborough County hired Timothy Dudley Jr. as director of the office of emergency management.
►Carlton Fields named David A. Karp a member of the firm’s appellate practice and trial support practice group in the firm’s Miami and Tampa offices.
►Continental Wholesale Diamonds moved to 1401 N. Westshore Blvd., Suite 100, Tampa.
►Fintech, a Tampa-based company that specializes in business software solutions for the beverage alcohol industry, appointed Roy Kemper chief financial officer.
►Life Storage, a Buffalo-based self-storage facility company, acquired Seminole & Heights Self Storage’s 634-unit personal warehouse project at 1011 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Tampa for $6.93 million.
►Tampa-based HealthAxis Group acquired the stock and assets of Analytics Partners, a data and risk analysis company headquartered in Jacksonville.
►GrayRobinson entered an agreement to form a strategic alliance with Tampa-based labor and employment law firm Thompson Sizemore Gonzalez & Hearing, with attorneys who handle both private and public sector cases, to work at GrayRobinson’s office in downtown Tampa.
►Charles Gowland and Katherine L. Koener joined Kelley Kronenberg’s Tampa office as partners.
►Chef Chris Ponte, who is also behind Café Ponte in Clearwater and On Swann in Tampa, will open a yet-to-be-named restaurant in Midtown Tampa.
►Masonite International Corp. (NYSE: DOOR) named Howard C. Heckes president and chief executive officer, succeeding Fred Lynch, who previously announced plans to retire.
►United Landmark Associates in Tampa named David Downing branding president.
►Brian Miller was named senior vice president and general counsel of Tampa-based AquaVenture Holdings Ltd., and corporate secretary for Tampa-based AquaVenture’s Quench and Seven Seas Water subsidiaries.
►Roy Rogers, a Western-themed quick service restaurant chain, selected Tampa-based SiteZeus to support the company’s expansion throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
►Eric Pérez was named president of Spellex, a software company in Tampa.
►The Godfrey Hotel & Cabanas Tampa named Shaun Kwiatkowski general manager.
►McKibbon Hospitality, a Tampa hotel development, management and renovation services company, named Inger Oliver vice president of revenue management, Lauren Bowles vice president of communications, Ben Hom vice president of human resources and Scott McDowell regional vice president of operations.
►ChappellRoberts, an Ybor City-based advertising agency, promoted Hunter Taylor from account executive to senior digital strategist, Pat Floyd from art director to senior art director, and added Aroushad Tahsini as its newest public relations account executive.
►Tampa International Airport CEO Joe Lopano received the President’s Global Leadership Award from University of South Florida President Judy Genshaft at the USF College of Arts and Sciences afternoon commencement ceremony.
►Richard Gonzmart, of the Columbia Restaurant Group recieved the 2019 Distinguished Citizen Award from the Greater Tampa Bay Area Council, Boy Scouts of America.
