►For the sixth consecutive year, Neal Communities, a Lakewood Ranch-based homebuilder, earned the Builder of the Year award from the Florida Green Building Coalition.
►The Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance named Dominic DiMaio president and CEO.
►First Watch, based in University park, appointed three senior executives to its leadership team: Senior Vice President of Brand Strategy and Innovation Matthew Eisenacher, Senior Vice President of Information Technology Rob Conti and Senior Vice President and Treasurer Calum Middleton.
►The Palmetto Community Redevelopment Agency purchased a 1.93-acre property on the corner of Fourth Street West and Ninth Avenue West, for $925,000, to be the future site of a midlevel parking garage in Palmetto.
►PGT Innovations, a window and door manufacturer in Venice, appointed Rachel Evans as vice president of human resources.
►J.E. Charlotte Construction Corp., a Venice-based commercial construction company, broke ground on an 1,800-square-foot state-of-the-art educational seminar facility for John Russo, a private practice periodontist at Russo Periodontics and director of Russo Seminars.
►Peter Hemstead has been named chief operating officer at Doctors Hospital of Sarasota.
►United Way Suncoast named three new board members to the Manatee area board for the 2019 term including Cheri Coryea, acting county administrator of Manatee County government; Karen Droz, senior vice president and senior development consultant at Fifth Third Bank and Cynthia Saunders, superintendent for the Manatee schools district.
►Real estate broker Teresa Witte opened Dream Star Vacation Homes & Real Estate, a vacation rental management company serving the Sarasota-Bradenton area.
►The University of South Florida’s Sarasota-Manatee campus was named CareerSource Suncoast Education Partner of the Year during the 2019 State of Talent Conference Innovation in Workforce luncheon at Art Ovation Hotel.
►Sarasota Memorial Healthcare Foundation appointed Robert Pettit as vice president of finance and operations.
►Florida Senate President Bill Galvano appointed Angel Colonneso, the Manatee County clerk of the circuit court and comptroller, to serve on the executive council of the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corp.
►Sarasota-based Le Macaron French Pastries plans to open more than 10 locations, through franchise partnerships, in Texas and already has more than 50 locations across the United States.
►Search Wizards, a talent acquisition and recruitment firm based in Sarasota, announced that founder and CEO Leslie O’Connor will retire and ownership of the company will transfer to COO Miranda Hinshaw.
►Badger Bob’s Services, a company specializing in heating, ventilating and air conditioning, appliances and plumbing in Sarasota and Manatee counties, acquired Venice-based Allied Cooling & Heating, with all Allied employees retained.
►Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast named Lee Ann Rodriguez its new director of philanthropy.
