Winter Park and Maitland Business Briefs

Susan Vernon-Devlin, director of public relations services at Orlando-based advertising and public relations agency Massey Communications, was recently appointed to the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Garden board of trustees. The Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Garden’s mission is to enrich lives through the power of inspiration and the artist’s story.

Winn-Dixie, along with its customers and vendors helped local food banks fight hunger in their communities with Winn-Dixie’s Hunger Relief campaign. Winn-Dixie District Director Scott Wheeler proudly presented Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida’s Vice President of Development Greg Higgerson with a check representing 34,830 pounds of food to feed more than 29,000 Central Florida neighbors in need.

SchenkelShultz Architecture took top honors with three first place awards in the Architectural Showcase presented by the Florida Educational Facilities Planners’ Association (FEFPA) at its Winter 2013 Conference held Jan. 21-23 in Ponte Vedra Beach.

Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, P.A., the largest law firm in Central Florida according to the Orlando Business Journal, announced that Jason S. Rimes has been promoted to partner effective immediately. Jason previously served as senior associate at the firm.

NAI Realvest, the Maitland-based real estate and investment firm, has named Robin L. Webb, CCIM, CPM, as managing director of brokerage operations.

As part of its ongoing expansion, First Southern Bank has hired Rusty Mouton as senior vice president and commercial lender in the company’s Central Florida region.

Orlando-based Quest Inc. welcomes the experience that John R. Gill adds to the organization as its new chief operating officer. Gill has served in corporate finance roles for companies such as The Walt Disney Company and Darden Restaurants, bringing vast knowledge to his new capacity.

United Arts of Central Florida announced that it has raised half a million dollars toward this year’s $1.57 million campaign fundraising goal. The 2013 collaborative campaign runs through April 30. Dollars raised during the three‐month campaign — which is supported through individual gifts, corporate donations and workplace campaigns — provide funding for cultural organizations in Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Lake counties.

Gunster, one of Florida’s oldest and largest business law firms, announces an expansion into the Orlando area with the addition of four attorneys and government consultants to establish the firm’s 11th statewide office. The newest Gunster office is located downtown and opens with Tico Perez, Derek Bruce, Jeff Jonasen and Don Madden as the firm’s most recent hires.

M/I Homes has named Derek K. Henry land development manager. Henry has held executive positions with Centex Homes in the Tampa area, KAM Services in Groveland, Kearney Development in Tampa and other companies that focus on land development.

Orlando Health has named Horace “Wayne” Easterling director of diversity and minority business development. In this role, Wayne will provide corporate leadership in developing, implementing and evaluating Orlando Health’s diversity and inclusion strategy to support the organization across multiple departments including human resources, business development and materials management.