►Gates Construction, based in Bonita Springs, was awarded the contract to build Doc Ford’s Rum Bar & Grille at the new St. Pete Pier, set to open in the spring.
► Valley Bank is partnering with the Pinellas Education Foundation to help fund scholarships for students in the Foundation’s “Youth Connect” program by contributing a $10,000 gift, which will be matched one-to-one by the Frances Stavros Career Education Endowment Fund, bringing the total scholarship fund to $20,000.
► Kathleen Walters, a retired executive at Georgia-Pacific, was named to the board of directors of Jabil, a St. Petersburg-based manufacturing services provider.
►Melissa Rutland, owner and broker of commercial real estate brokerage Rutland Florida Gulf Group, was elected the 2020 St. Petersburg Development Review Commission chair by the commission.
► Marcus & Millichap (NYSE: MMI), a commercial real estate investment services firm, facilitated the sale of the Sunset Point Portfolio, a 24-unit, four-property apartment portfolio located in Clearwater, which includes Alpine Road Apartments, located at 2035 and 2045 Alpine Road and Spring Lane Apartments, located at 1426 and 1428 Spring Lane.
► Our World Class Violin shop has opened at 4155 Fifth Ave N., St. Petersburg.
►Children of the late, long-time Pinellas and Marion County developer Sidney Colen have established the Ina A. Colen Endowed Fund for Patient Care through the Suncoast Hospice Foundation in honor of their mother.
► TradeWinds Island Resorts, a St. Pete Beach group of properties, was sold to 1754 Properties Group, a Coral Gables-based hotel operator.
► Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg and Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida, in Fort Myers, entered into an agreement that will give providers at both locations access to medical privileges to admit and treat patients.
► John Harris, the executive chef and food and beverage director at the Sheraton Sand Key Resort in Clearwater Beach, is retiring after 30 years.
►Leisa Erickson, license partner and broker of Engel & Völkers St. Pete, has been inducted into the luxury real estate company’s private office network, successfully passing the company’s competitive vetting and nomination process.
► RCS Pinellas’ board of directors voted in new members, including Lonnie Brewer, director of talent management for global functions at Tech Data; Lisa Johnson, senior vice president and chief nursing officer of BayCare Health Systems; and Erik Smith, managing member of Inclusivity (formerly Carlton Consulting).
► Tampa Bay Watch, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection and restoration of the Tampa Bay estuary, appointed two new executive-level staff members, including Dwayne Virgint, executive director of the Tampa Bay Watch Discovery Center, and Leanna Jackson, director of development for the organization.
►In collaboration with St. Petersburg College’s Workforce Institute, PowerTown secured a $367,500 quick response training grant from CareerSource Florida, which will allow the company to hire and train 100 new electrical workers over the next year.
► Freedom Bank, in St. Petersburg, named Jason Hatcher as senior vice president and credit manager, Susan Doll as senior vice president and commercial lender, Cheryl Holly as vice president and branch manager, and Renee Jones as vice president of treasury management.
► The Clearwater Marine Aquarium named Richard “Dick” Regan as chief financial officer.
► General Services, based in Richmond, Virginia acquired a 330-unit apartment project at 4652 Miramar Drive in St. Petersburg for $85.14 million.
► The Eckerd College Board of Trustees voted unanimously on to elect Damian J. Fernandez as the fifth president of Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, effective July 1, 2020.
► Office Pride Commercial in Palm Harbor Cleaning Services named Jeff McMullen as chief financial officer.
►Pelican Bay Limited, a Dunedin-based mixing, recipe development and packaging company that serves the food industry, named Greg Kathan its production manager.
► Barbara Karasek, CEO of Paradise Advertising, a full-service agency headquartered in downtown St. Petersburg, was honored as one of 30 executives to receive 2019 Cynopsis Digital “IT List” Award recognition.
