Kudos

Dan E. Miller, a commercial agent with Re/Max Realty Group of Fort Myers, has placed in the top six among more than 6,000 Florida Re/Max associates, and in the top 10 commercial worldwide among more than 100,000 Re/Max associates in 54 countries for generated commissions earned in 2004. The Sande Ellis Team has placed in the top 85 residential arena teams in the United States.

The YMCA of Collier County has awarded its 2004 Volunteers of the Year. The highest honor, YMCA Pioneer Preeminent, went to David Lucas. Also awarded were Volunteers of the Year Sukie Honeycutt and Tony Ridgway; Greater Naples YMCA Volunteer of the Year Kerry Geroy; and Bonita Springs YMCA Volunteer of the Year Dennis Gilkey.

Sam Galloway Jr., of Sam Galloway Ford and Coconut Point Ford in Alva, and John Scanlon, of Scanlon Lincoln Mercury in Fort Myers, have been nominated for Ford Motor Company's 2005 "Salute to Dealers" award.

The Florida Institute of CPAs has honored Rex Koch of Koch & Company in Punta Gorda with the 2004 Outstanding CPA in Public Service Award.

The non-profit American Specialty Contractors of Florida in Naples has awarded its highest honor, the lifetime achievement award, to Ron Kurtz of Kurtz Homes, Naples.

Child Care of Southwest Florida has elected Steven Adelman, senior vice-president of WCI Communities in Bonita Springs, and Scott Robertson, realtor with VIP Commercial in Fort Myers, to its board of directors.

VIP Realty Group in Fort Myers has named the 2004 members of its Presidents Club, the highest sales achievement levels recognized annually. Those honored in the commercial division were Pamela Van Vleck, Gene Van Vleck, Gary Tasman, Scott Robertson, Jim Garinger, Shawn Stoneburner, Mike Doyle, Bob Pekol, Paul Sands, Bill Mankin, Cramer Partridge, Karen Johnson-Crowther and Jerry Petersen. Other awards given by

VIP included the Cramer Award to Gene Van Vleck, asset manager of Commercial Property Management Services; VIP Commercial Sales Employee of the Year to Jennifer Diorio, assistant marketing director in the commercial division; Rookie of the Year Award to Mike Doyle, commercial real estate advisor with the

Sands Commercial Group; Property Management Team of the Year to Debbie Plourde, Bill Birthright, Peggy Hasak, Denise Martin, Tonya Pitstick, Sally Iverson and Kyle Quinn of Commercial Property Management Services; Random Acts of Kindness Award to Sally Iverson, assistant liaison to commercial sales, property management and accounting assistant; and Commercial Sales Agent of the Year to Gary Tasman, who was the top producer with VIP Commercial-TCN Worldwide.

Bob Wade, president of Cypress Realty/GMAC Real Estate, has been honored with two national awards for Excellence in Residential Real Estate in 2004. Also honored with national awards were Patricia Knoll, Michael Barnes and Gina Goodrich for Outstanding Achievement for 2004.

Voices for Kids of Southwest Florida has elected the following Naples board members: Nancy G. Bergaa, Jeffrey Botsford, Karen R. Gudknecht, Pam E. Hudson, Wendy Silette and Willie West.

Naples dentist Thomas P. Hale has been accredited with a fellowship in the Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics.

The Economic Development Office of Lee County has named Sanibel's Bank of the Islands president Robbie B. Roepstorff chair of the Horizon Council for 2005.

The Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation has elected Joy Arpin of Naples to its board of directors.

Sandy Waite has been honored by the Neapolitan Chapter of the American Business Women's Association as 2005 Woman of the Year.

Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott has been added to the board of directors of the non-profit Lee County Coalition for a Drug-Free Southwest Florida.

Fred Pezeshkan, president and CEO of Kraft Construction Company, has been honored with the 2005 Holland T. Salley Leadership in Fostering Education (LIFE) award sponsored by the Edison College Foundation.

Patrick J. McMahon has been appointed president of MEL-RE, a Fort Myers commercial real estate development, brokerage and management company.

Naples' United Arts Council has elected the following officers for 2005: Maury Dailey, president; Matthew Kragh, vice-president of membership; Shirlee Barcic, vice-president of development; Merlin Lickhalter, treasurer; and Muffy Clark Gill, secretary.

Showalter Landscaping and Irrigation has celebrated its 20th anniversary as a landscape contractor in Collier County.

Bonita Springs' Source Interlink Companies has appointed the following members to its board of directors: former California Gov. Gray Davis, counsel to Loeb & Loeb, Los Angeles; Michael R. Duckworth, partner for the Yucaipa Companies; David R. Jessick, consultant to Rite Aid Corporation; Gregory Mays, consultant and private investor; and Tony Schnug, chief executive officer of Americold Realty Trust.

Stroemer Tuscan & Company's Jon J. Sorenson has obtained his recertification for Certified in Florida Sales and Use Tax, and Jon G. Lissack has received his Florida CPA license.

David Lawrence Center has added Dr. James N. Hampton to its board of directors and as a member of the Clinical and Administrative Practices Committee.

Jim Nulman, a stockholder with the law firm of Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, has been named president of the Horizon Foundation of Lee County for 2005 and has been named a board member of The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools for 2005.

Career Moves

Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., Fort Myers, has promoted Randy Sherwyn to program director of 106.3 WJPT-FM.

Dana N. Owens, M.D., has joined the Cleveland Clinic Florida Naples Department of Gynecology.

EH Building Group in Fort Myers has added Robert Lesswing as director of sales and Lauren Brahm as a sales associate at its Southwest Florida Division.

Rachelle Dover has joined Cornerstone Developers in Naples as director of sales.

Positano Place, a new condominium community on Livingston Road in Naples, has selected Don Andrews, Catherine Mitchell and Jan Molnar as community representatives for onsite sales and Doug Meschko as contract coordinator.

Cohen & Grigsby has added attorney Craig W. Sohn as a director in the firm's estates and trusts group in the Naples office.

California-based Ryland Homes has named Roy F. Hyman land manager and Jonathon Pentecost assistant land manager in Fort Myers for the Southwest Florida region.

CB Richard Ellis has appointed J. William "Bill" Ernst as director of asset services for the Fort Myers and Naples' offices.

David Lawrence Center has added program supervisor Richard J. Pytel to the center's Immokalee satellite office.

Susan L. Fersner has been appointed senior vice president and trust manager for Colonial Bank's Southwest Florida Region in Bonita Springs.

Southwest Florida Rehab & Pain Management Associates at the Sypert Institute have added physiatrist Robert D. Mehrberg, M.D., in the group's south Fort Myers office.

Colonial Homes, a division of Meritage Homes, has promoted Jack Shea to regional vice president in Fort Myers.

Shelli Mehri has been named senior store manager and Cynthia Kirst has been named floral manager at Courtyard Décor at Immokalee Road at Riverchase Commons in north Naples.

David Tyler has been named assistant director of sales at The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club.

Re/Max Realty Group's commercial division in Fort Myers has added Travis B. Keltner.

Jean Werner has joined DeVoe Volvo in Bonita Springs as a sales and leasing consultant.

Leslie J. Yurkovac has been named corporate administrator for United Companies, a Naples-based group of real estate development companies.

The Lykos Group has added Carmella Granata as accounting manager in Naples.

VIP Commercial-TCN Worldwide has added Jim Tamblyn in Fort Myers as a commercial real estate advisor and Juan Valhuerdi and Brad Bealmear as sales associates in Fort Myers.

Colonial Bank's Southwest Florida Region has added Peggy Picarelli as assistant branch sales manager of its Sanibel Beach Place office.

Terry King, M.D., has joined the department of vascular surgery at Cleveland Clinic Florida, Naples.

Florida Gulf Bank has announced the appointment of Doug Thrasher as vice president of the bank's mortgage division in Fort Myers.

Ann Aquino and Robert Folk have been named quality assurance representatives and Patricia "Ruby" LaBounty and Steve Shay have been named customer care representatives at Beazer Homes in Fort Myers.

LaBelle-based Alico Inc. has elected Gregory T. Mutz and Lee Caswell to the company's board of directors. The board of Alico also announced that it has appointed John R. Alexander as acting chief executive officer.

KeyBank in Naples has appointed Michael Dillon as president of its Florida district. He will continue to serve as McDonald Financial Group's banking manager for the state of Florida. KeyBank has also named Robert Wachholder as McDonald Financial Group's brokerage manager for the state of Florida.

D'Alessandro & Woodyard, Fort Myers, has added Andrea Burson, Lauri Albion, Ester Meza and Maureen Poirier.

The Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau has added Elizabeth Dane as Northeast sales director, based in the new Washington, D.C., office.

Fred Roskos has joined DeVoe Infiniti in Bonita Springs as Internet sales manager.

Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast has added Alexandra Fast at the company's in-store branch at Wal-Mart Supercenter in Naples and Axel Kallenborn at the company's McGregor Boulevard branch in south Fort Myers.

Bob Exton has been promoted to company land coordinator at American Dream Builders in Fort Myers.

John R. Wood Realtors has added Chris Johnson in the Bonita Springs office, Tiler Lassus in Naples, Darcy Mellen-Sullivan in the Orion Bank office in north Naples and June M. Mueller in the central office in Naples.

Elias Brothers Communities, a north Naples-based real estate developer and home builder, has appointed Karin Smith as senior business systems analyst.

Meals on Wheels of Lee County has appointed Sarah Patterson-Owen as executive director.

Teresa Rucker has rejoined the sales team of Bonita Bay Realty as a sales associate.

Craig Holston has joined the Sanibel Captiva Trust Company as a vice president.

Walter G. Fluegel has been named director of planning for Heidt & Associates in Fort Myers.

Kevin Fox has joined Executive Leadership Solutions as an account executive for the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

Mark Pichowski has joined Bouchard Insurance in Fort Myers as a surety specialist in the construction division.

Business Moves

Florida Gulf Bank has opened a full-service branch location on Daniels Road in Fort Myers, one mile west of I-75.

Jupiter, Fla.-based Presidion Solutions, a provider of human resources management services to small and mid-sized companies, has acquired privately held Professional Benefits Solutions (PBS) based in Naples. Laurie Andrea, the current president and CEO of PBS, will join Presidion, focusing on continued growth in the PEO and ASO business in the Southwest Florida market.

WCI Communities has acquired Renaissance Housing Corporation, a luxury homebuilder and high-rise tower developer based in Reston, Va.

Retina Consultants of Southwest Florida has opened its new facility at 6901 International Center Blvd., adjacent to the Lee County Sports Complex on Six Mile Cypress Parkway. The facility replaces Retina Consultants' medical offices now located at 2668 Winkler Ave. in Fort Myers and also houses the National Ophthalmic Research Institute.

Southwest Florida Eye Care has opened an office in Naples at the Riverchase Shopping Center, 11176 Tamiami Trail N. Drs. Brian Marhue, Leonard A. Avril and Penny J. Orr along with ophthalmologist Rick Palmon, M.D., will offer eye care for all ages.

Carlos Pio has formed Deco Homes of Southwest Florida, 4411 Pine Ridge Road in Naples, a single-family home-builder focusing on Golden Gate Estates and other areas in Collier County.

EVOO Market and Bistro has opened at 13240 Tamiami Trail N. in Naples.

John R. Wood Realtors' newest office, the John R. Wood Uptown Office, has opened on Immokalee Road in north Naples.

Ryan Chiodo has formed Chiodo & Associates, a full-service real estate company at 27180 Bay Landing Drive, Suite 5, Bonita Springs.

The new Robb & Stucky Casual Living Outdoor Showroom has opened at 26051 U.S. 41 in Bonita Springs.

Minneapolis-based real estate developer Hartford Group, Inc. has opened a south Florida branch office in Fort Myers.

Priscilla Murphy Realty in Fort Myers has changed its name to ResortQuest Real Estate.

Thomas Pink Florida will open in the Bal Harbor Shops in Fort Myers in June.