► BSWANKY, a Sarasota luxury handbag brand, was named a finalist, for the second year in a row, in the Design Excellence Awards Competition by The Accessories Council. (Pictured above)
► Ringling College of Art and Design’s varsity esports team, the Ringling Rollers, has opened its dedicated esports arena, which includes 10 gaming stations, a lounge viewing area and an XBOX station.
► All Faiths Food Bank, in Sarasota, promoted DD Goerke to chief people officer.
► Neal Communities, a private homebuilder, in Lakewood Ranch, sponsored two programs to benefit local youth, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties’ 17th annual Polymer Group Leadership Breakfast and the Venice Vikings Football & Cheer program.
► The Original Rainbow Cone, a Chicago-based ice cream franchise, opened at 4414 53rd Ave. E., Bradenton.
► Children First, the provider of Head Start and Early Head Start services for Sarasota County, has received a grant of $71,542 from the William G. and Marie Selby Foundation.
► Coastal Orthopedics, a provider of orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, spine care, pain management, diagnostic imaging and physical therapy service, added Dr. Joshua Greenspoon to its staff.
► Ian Black Real Estate, a Sarasota commercial real estate brokerage firm, added Lauren Dixon as a sales associate.
► Tyler Brown joined Icard Merrill, as a new associate, in the Sarasota office.
► Slim Chickens, an Arkansas-based franchise, plans to open at 4096 Jenkins Place, Sarasota.
► Resilient Retreat received a $1,000 grant from the Michael Saunders and Company Foundation for training first responders.
► Sarasota County achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design “Gold” certification and national accreditation, from the United States Green Building Council, recognizing sustainability efforts across the county.
► Sarasota County government broke ground at the site of its new administration center, off Fruitville Road, just east of I-75.
► Sarasota County Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources received two awards from the Florida Recreation and Park Association, in recognition of innovative programming and volunteer contributions.
► Jebco Ventures and the Kauffman Family Partnership have purchased the former headquarters of Michael Saunders & Co., at 1801 Main St. and 32 and 40 N. Osprey Ave., in downtown Sarasota, paying $5.7 million for the nearly one-acre parcel.
► New College of Florida was accepted into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics as a full member of The Sun Conference.
► Sarasota-based Charles and Margery Barancik Foundation named Greg Luberecki as its new chief communications and learning officer.
► Brett Henson, a Shumaker partner, was appointed as vice chair of the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County board.
► Jay Mandra was named president of the Guardian Pharmacy of Southwest Florida.
