Local Buzz

The Ora, a new Sarasota event venue, has named Michael’s On East as the venue’s exclusive food and beverage caterer. Michael’s On East will offer a selection of food and beverage options for events at The Ora, with plans to work closely with corporate meeting specialists, wedding planners and other event professionals. At 30,000 square

New Hotel Collection has opened a new location of The Scott, its signature coffee bar, in the lobby of its hotel in Harbourside Resort, on Indian Rocks Beach. The coffee bar, which features craft coffee from St. Petersburg-based Hogg Batch Experimental Coffee Roasters, is the second location for The Scott, which opened its first location

Medical Technology Associates, a provider of medical gas testing, inspection, certification and calibration, has acquired MicronPA, a calibration services company, based in York, Pennsylvania. The addition of MicronPA to MTA’s family of companies expands the brand’s calibration services offerings and its capabilities into additional industries. MicronPA was founded in 1997, by Avyayam and Rashmi Dave. MicronPA

Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, in downtown Sarasota, opened the first completed part of its master-planned campus, which adds 188,030 square feet of new facilities and amenities to its botanical gardens complex and restaurant. The new facilities include the Morganroth Family Living Energy Access Facility, which houses a garden-to-plate restaurant, gift shop, vertical gardens, parking and

Devsu, a provider of software development and technical staff augmentation services, in Orlando, has signed on to sponsor Black Dog Venture Partners’ upcoming VC Fast Pitch, an online event, scheduled for January 11, and the live event on February 8. Black Dog Venture Partners is a business accelerator, based in St. Petersburg. The VC Fast

Quiet Professionals, in Tampa, has been awarded a contract for the Distributed Common Ground / Marine Surface System – Marine Corps (DCGS-MC) Test and Evaluation Support Services from the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic. The contract is valued at just over $64 million and will provide critical technical support to DCGS-MC systems. DCGS-MC is a

Nancy Walker, founder and president of Walker Brands, a Tampa-based real estate development branding firm, has stepped down, following the acquisition of the firm from two long-time employees. Tara Robinson and Matt McEachern, who have worked with Walker for decades, will be equal partners in the business. “Tara and Matt were logical choices to continue

The South Tampa Chamber announced its 2024 board of directors. This year’s board will lead the chamber through the second year of a five-year strategic plan. This year’s goals include growing membership through recruitment, and retention, increasing advocacy efforts with the introduction of a new legislative agenda, expanding the chamber’s educational and young professionals programming.

The South Tampa Chamber hosted its 2023 Annual Meeting and Awards, at the Centre Club. Chamber members were recognized during the event with an awards ceremony, including: Member of the Year: Tara Moody, Synergy Technology Solutions Impact Award: Cheryl Jones, Old Republic National Title Insurance Company Volunteer of the Year: Elizabeth Montante, ZIPS Cleaners &

Valerie and Jeremy Lavin, the founders of Luminary Global, a St. Petersburg-based, veteran-owned and operated company that provides emergency products to citizens, first responders, safety professionals and the military, have entered into a new venture with four former United States Army Green Berets to form a new company called ViTAC Solutions, which officially launches in

The International Franchise Association has named Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman, co-founders of College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk and Moving, the 2023 Entrepreneurs of the Year. One of the highest honors bestowed by IFA, Friedman and Soliman were recognized for their vision, which started with one beat-up van, to become the largest and fastest-growing junk removal

Angel Gonzalez has been promoted to West Florida division president at SouthState Bank. Gonzalez previously was the Hillsborough market president for SouthState Bank. He has been with CenterState, now SouthState, since 2007, when he began his career as a management trainee. He’s served as the Hillsborough market president since April 2017. “West Florida boasts one