Community Bulletin and Business Briefs

Performers from “Disney On Ice presents Dare to Dream” recently made a magical visit to pediatric patients at the Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children. Cinderella, along with a fellow ice performer from Dare to Dream, spent the morning doing fun activities and playing with the children in the hospital. Pictured, Cinderella visited with 4-year-old Julie Hoyt and 5-year-old Alyssa Vega.

Sportys nominees

The following local athletes and coaches are nominated for an award at PNC Bank SPORTYS at Full Sail University on Saturday, Sept. 24:

High school athlete of the year:

•Dante Bichette Jr., Orangewood Christian in Maitland, baseball. Bichette Jr. led Orangewood Christian to the state championship in 2011 and contributed to the team setting a state record of 83 home runs in 2011. In this year’s Major League Baseball draft, he was selected 51st overall by the New York Yankees.

•Austin Rivers, Winter Park High School, basketball. Rivers was awarded McDonald’s and Naismith National Player-of-the-year in prep hoops in 2011 after leading Winter Park High School to back-to-back state titles. Rivers finished his senior season averaging 28.8 ppg, 6.1 rpg and 2.2 apg.

Coach of the year:

•Dr. Keith Buckley, Rollins College, soccer. Buckley first came to Rollins as a player in 1988 and in the past 23 years has built the Tars’ men’s soccer program into a national powerhouse. In 2010, he led Rollins to the Sunshine State Conference title and the NCAA Division II Championship match for the first time in school history.

Also, Glenn “Doc” Rivers will be inducted into the 2011 Class of the Central Florida Sports Hall of Fame. After a 13-year NBA playing career, Doc Rivers began his coaching career with the Orlando Magic in 1999. Current coach of the Boston Celtics, Rivers continues to make his home in Central Florida and supports local charities through his annual celebrity golf tournament.

Visit http://www.centralfloridasports.org/sportys/

Youth basketball

Maitland youth basketball preseason practice starts in early November with games beginning in December. Boys and girls of all levels are welcome. Coaches are needed. Limited scholarships are available. Call 407-539-2830.

Housing grants

Congressman John L. Mica (FL-07) announced that multiple federal grants for housing counseling programs across Florida’s Seventh Congressional District have been awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Center for Independent Living in Central Florida, Central Florida Community Development Corporation, Mid-Florida Housing Partnership and The Center for Affordable Housing all received grants totaling more than $75,000.

Playful Winter Park

One hundred fifty-one cities and towns, including Kissimmee, Orlando, Palm Bay, Rockledge and Winter Park, earned recognition from national non-profit KaBOOM! as 2011 Playful City USA communities for their efforts to increase children’s play opportunities. Winter Park has a goal of offering a play space within walking distance of every resident. The city will also establish a best practices manual for the maintenance of all play spaces. Visit www.kaboom.org/playfulcityusa

Photo contest

In celebration of “Evening in the Grove, an Orange and White Gala,” the Art & History Museums – Maitland present the Orange & White Photo contest. Send in an Orange and White photo taken by you to enter. The winning photo will receive a family membership to the Art and History Museums – Maitland. The deadline is Friday, Sept. 23. Send entries to Gretchen Miller Basso at [email protected]

Police accreditation

The Winter Park Fire-Rescue Department has received “accredited agency” status with the Commission on Fire Accreditation International again. In order to receive accreditation, WPFD had to meet all criteria established through CFAI’s voluntary self-assessment and accreditation program.

Polasek grant

The board of directors of the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation awarded a grant of up to $90,000 to the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens to hire its first full-time director of development. The two-year grant covers 100 percent of the director’s salary for the first year and 50 percent for the second. To receive the second year’s award, the trustees must raise the equivalent of $30,000.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Winter Park has a new neighborhood butcher shop. The Meat House, a gourmet butcher shop and grocer, is now open at 669 N. Orange Ave. and will be an active member of the Winter Park community under the leadership of store owner Kevin O’Donnell. The shop will carry gourmet grocery items from local vendors.

Cuhaci & Peterson Architects LLC, based in Orlando’s Baldwin Park, was recently awarded a contract to design the renovation of a Publix supermarket and adjacent retail shop space at U.S. 41 and Golden Gate Parkway in Naples.

Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, P.A. attorney Kristopher Kest was honored with the “New Attorney Award of Excellence” by the Legal Aid Society of the Orange County Bar Association.

Tolaris Homes reports its remodeling division has started construction of major projects at Lake Forest in north Seminole County and at Baldwin Park and College Park in Orlando.

Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate is proud to announce that Kevin McClanahan, sales associate at the company’s Winter Park office, has made an outstanding showing, ranking No. 74 among the nation’s top individual agents in closed sides by the Wall Street Journal/REAL Trends Top 1,000.

Mercantile Capital Corporation in Altamonte Springs reports it closed nine commercial loans in August to finance projects valued at more than $21.6 million.

Insperity Inc. appointed Jeffrey Sturges to district manager for its Orlando sales office.

The international law firm of Greenberg Traurig P.A. announced that 13 attorneys in their Orlando office are included in “The Best Lawyers in America 2012”: Evora and Mike Sullivan, William Spivey, Mike Hornreich, Julie Kendig, Greg Herbert, Laura Sundberg, Russell Hintze, Warren Bloom, Jéan Wilson, Pete Fides II, Marty Hartley and Joel Maser.

Send bulletin submissions to [email protected]