Names and faces: Aug. 28, 2017
Realize Bradenton selected Ben Bakker to serve on its board of directors for a second three-year term. Bakker is the vice president of HJB Properties and a real estate agent in the commercial division of Michael Saunders & Company. In 2010, he was a founding board member of Realize Bradenton, a nonprofit organization that promotes redevelopment and economic growth in downtown Bradenton by transforming places, engaging people, and realizing possibilities.
The Central West Coast Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (CWC-FPRA) welcomed its 2017-2018 board of directors and recognized outstanding members during the Chapter Awards & Board Installation at Sophie’s at Saks in Sarasota. The chapter’s board of directors includes president Tara Poulton; immediate past president Mischa Kirby; president-elect Rhonda Leiberick; vice presidents Lynn Hobeck-Bates, Sharon Kunkel, Jill McGarry, Murray Devine and Kim Livengood; and directors Rachel Denton, Elise Ramer, Laitin Schwerin, Robyn LaPorta, Shelby Isaacson, Daniel Hodous, Sheryl Viera, and Alyssa Holcomb. The following members were honored during the program: Sharon Kunkel was named Member of the Year; Kim Livengood earned the Ginya Carnahan Promoting the Profession Award; Murray Devine earned the Thomas Nunan Rising Star Award; and Wendy Parker Barsell earned the Ginnie Duffy Troyer Award of Professionalism.
By a unanimous vote, Sarasota’s Jesse Biter was elected to chair the Florida Sports Foundation (FSF) Board of Directors for the 2017-18 fiscal year. The Tallahassee-based FSF is a division of Enterprise Florida, and the state’s lead sports promotion and development organization. Biter’s term for the 2017-18 fiscal runs through June 30, 2018.
Joel Freedman, one of Southwest Florida’s most experienced and highly regarded land-planning consultants, is joining Shumaker Advisors Florida, LLC, a subsidiary of the full-service business law firm Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick in Sarasota. Shumaker Advisors Florida provides public- and private-sector clients with a broad range of expertise and services at the federal, state and local levels. As part of this collaboration, Freedman joins the group as the director of land planning.
This story was originally published August 27, 2017 at 8:40 AM with the headline "Names and faces: Aug. 28, 2017."