22 Newsmakers (8/29/03)

Finance

× Wachovia Bank NA appointed Jim Gray as Sarasota market president. Gray has been with Wachovia for more than 14 years, most recently as relationship manager for the bank's Wealth Management Group in Orlando. Before joining Wachovia, Gray spent six years in Houston with MBANK's Commercial Real Estate Group, where he managed a portfolio of commercial and residential loans in Texas and Florida. Karyn Wild has been named Sarasota business banking relationship manager for Wachovia Bank. Previously, Wild was vice president and corporate banking relationship manager for Cleveland-based Keybank NA.

× Stephen Putnam joined United Bank of the Gulf Coast as senior vice president of the Commercial Lending Division. Previously, Putnam was regional credit manager of the Home Builder Finance Division for Washington Mutual Bank.

Design

× Maurice Estrada joined The ADP Group, a Sarasota-based architectural, design and planning firm. Estrada was formerly with Michael Landau Associates of Princeton, N.J., and R.E. Chisholm Architects and Arquitectonic International Corp., both of Miami.

Furnishings

× Jeanette Simpson, joined the team at Brighton Commercial Furnishings as a designer in Sarasota. Prior to joining Brighton Furnishings, Jeanette most recently worked as a commercial designer with Stegenga & Partners, an architectural studio in Atlanta.

Insurance

× Ed Valek II, of Valek Insurance and Bonds, Sarasota, was recognized by the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors for ten years as a Certified Insurance Counselor.

Manufacturing

× Robert Wegmann joined the Sarasota office of CALMAC Manufacturing Corp., an Englewood, N.J., based developer and manufacturer of cooling systems, as southeast regional sales manager. Wegmann, a Certified Energy Manager, was previously technical engineer for special projects at Custom Air Inc. of Sarasota.

Marketing

× Cindy Oatman joined Stephen A. Smith & Associates as account executive.

× Scott Carpenter was promoted to senior account supervisor for Sarasota's Clarke Advertising and Public Relations. Carpenter jointed the firm in 1990 as a senior account executive.

Medical

× Kimberley Reibel joined Sarasota's Full Spectrum Health Inc. as communications director.

Organizations

× Nancy Shoemaker was elected board president for the United Way of Sarasota County Inc. for the 2003-2004 fiscal year. Other new board members include: Philip Delaney, president and CEO of Northern Trust Bank; Ray Sandhagen, chairman of the board/president and CEO of SunTrust Bank; and Edwin Ford of Edwin L. Ford PA.

× John Ryan, executive director of the Venice Area Chamber of Commerce, graduated from the Institute for Organization Management, a four-year professional development program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Graduates of the institute receive a certificate in organization management.

× Jill Leah Farruggio was chosen as the incoming president of the Englewood-Cape Haze Area Chamber of Commerce. Farruggio operates the Lemon Tree Gallery. She will succeed John Mead in October. Farruggio was previously a business development specialist with the Charlotte County Economic Development Office.

× Jaynie Hall was named Member of the Year for the All Achievers Chapter of American Business Women's Association. The All Achievers Chapter has also elected new officers: Ramona Palermo, president; Gwen Ivey, president-elect; Nicole Branch, vice president; Becky Pardue, recording secretary; Leona Kough, corresponding secretary; and Colleen Forristall, treasurer.

Politics

× Florida Rep. Bob Henriquez will travel Sept. 12 to Sept. 26 with a group of eight as a delegate to the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan during a political study program sponsored by the American Council of Young Political Leaders. The ACYPL is a bipartisan non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C.

Real Estate

× Robert Corina was promoted to vice president and chief financial officer for Collier Enterprises, Naples. Corina joined Collier Enterprises in 1993 as a tax accountant. He served as vice president of tax and director of finance for the company's agribusiness division. Prior to joining Collier, Corina worked for Coopers & Lybrand. He is a member of the 2003-2004 class of Leadership Collier.

× Laurin Frondito-Weir joined Keller Williams St. Pete Realty Market Center.

× Dolores Seymour, director of corporate services at Colliers Arnold, was named one of the top women in commercial real estate by "Florida Real Estate," a trade publication. Seymour joined Colliers Arnold in 1989. She specializes in the sales and leasing of flex office and industrial properties and land and investment sales.

× Maryann Casey and Rick Hughes were named the residential sales team for The Plaza at Five Points, a mixed-use high-rise development in downtown Sarasota Prior to joining The Plaza at Five Points, Casey was a sales consultant at Arvida Realty Services in Ft. Lauderdale. Hughes is an ethics instructor for the Sarasota Association of Realtors and a real estate contracts trainer and former branch manager for Sarasota-based Michael Saunders & Co.

× Robert Brillon joined the Sarasota real estate firm of Michael Seery & Associates to head the firm's new Property Management Division. Brillon was previously general manger for the 200,000-square-foot Sarasota Main Plaza, 1991 Main St. His real estate brokerage firm in New York was acquired by Cushman & Wakefield.

× Keith Grove was named land development manager for Tampa-based LandMar Group LLC.

with pic

× Patricia Emmett joined Sarasota-based Prudential Palms Realty as manager of the University Walk office.

Other

with pic

× Timothy Del Vescovo joined the Sarasota office of Brighton Commercial Furnishings, LLC as an account executive. Prior to joining Brighton, Del Vescovo founded and operated one of Washington D.C.'s largest digital service bureaus, DPI. While running DPI and as an independent consultant, he provided CAD support and troubleshooting services for several hundred AEC and design firms nationwide.