By Christine Davis
Astronomer and researcher Ata Sarajedini was named dean of the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science at Florida Atlantic University. He will assume his new role in January. Sarajedini is associate dean for natural science and mathematics and associate dean for research in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida and is a professor in UF’s astronomy department.
Sarajedini is a scientific editor of the Journals of the American Astronomical Society and has served as a member of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Time Allocation Committee and its Hubble Space Telescope Users Committee.
Florida Atlantic University received a $5 million gift from Phil and Susan Smith to establish the Phil Smith Center for Free Enterprise at the university’s College of Business. The main tower will be named Phil Smith Hall in honor of the FAU alumnus. A Broward County businessman, Smith is president and CEO of Phil Smith Management Inc., operating 11 automobile dealership locations.
Delray Beach resident Lorri Oziri was appointed vice president of development at the Palm Beach County Food Bank, based in Lantana. The nonprofit organization collects and distributes food to more than 100 agencies that serve more than 200,000 county residents. Oziri is responsible for fundraising activities and overseeing the agency’s communication operations.
The popularity of these sea turtle charms prompted 16-year-old Skylar Mandell
to rename her growing bracelet business.
Photo provided
Skylar Mandell, a 2016 graduate of the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy and a junior at St. Andrew’s School, has changed her bracelet business from “Moody Buddhi” to “Florida Sea Turtle Co.”
Originally, her company designed bracelets of all types, but her brightly colored, beaded bracelets with sea turtle charms were especially popular. Hence, her new focus and her new company, which, by the way, will donate 10 percent of all proceeds to sea turtle conservation centers in Florida.
The 16-year-old’s bracelets are available at the Board Room in Delray Beach, and in Boca Raton they are sold at Gumbo Limbo gift shop, Daggerwing Nature Center, and Gift Shack at Office Depot Foundation. For information, visit www.Floridaseaturtlecompany.com.
The Schoolhouse Children’s Museum & Learning Center in Boynton Beach has appointed Jerry Taylor and Tom Wilby to its board of directors. Taylor, a former Boynton Beach mayor, is a retired senior master sergeant with 26 years of service in the Air Force. Wilby, a Scirocco Group insurance agent, handles employee benefits for companies.
In August, IBM contributed a $1,000 community grant to the Golden Bell Education Foundation in support of the efforts of IBM volunteer Sherri Scheurich, who worked with the Golden Bell on an event committee. The grant will go to support programs like the Boca Chamber’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy as well as educational programs that support business skills.
With the help of the Salvation Army of Palm Beach County, Lake Worth Chapter, Dorothy Boylan, assistant director of human resources at Eau Palm Beach Resort & Spa, organized a backpack drive that provided school supplies for 50 students. Other Eau news: Michelle Phillips has been named the resort’s director of brand management.
The YMCA of South Palm Beach County is upgrading its Peter Blum Family YMCA of Boca Raton, at 6631 Palmetto Circle South, and DeVos-Blum Family YMCA of Boynton Beach, at 9600 S. Military Trail. By winter, performance training areas will feature classes and equipment designed to challenge members who are seeking to increase the intensity of their workouts. Also, cycling studios will have new Precor Spinner bikes and stadium seating, new flooring and improved ventilation.
Enhanced amenities include lobbies and community areas with Wi-Fi, charging stations, and touchscreen displays. At the Boca Raton branch, new features include a rock-climbing wall in the pool area, as well as locker room lighting and shower upgrades, with completion scheduled for Jan. 1.
The Boynton Beach branch will add a new preschool classroom, with completion scheduled for Dec. 1. The YMCA branches will both remain open during these upgrades. Also, the YMCA’s monthlong annual campaign kicks off on Oct. 5, with money raised benefiting its financial assistance program.
Corcoran Group agent Candace Friis listed the home at 1428 N. Ocean Blvd. in Gulf Stream
(aerial view below) for $17.75 million in June and followed it up with two more listings
for southern-facing point lots: a $9.495 million house on Palm Way and an $8.9 million home on Wright Way.
Photos provided
It was a hot summer for Corcoran Group agent Candace Friis. She acquired three new listings on southern-facing point lots in Gulf Stream. In June, she listed 1428 N. Ocean Blvd. for $17.75 million. Designed by architect Randall Stofft, the six-bedroom, 12,567-square-foot house rests on an acre lot with 470 feet of water frontage. According to public records, the property was purchased for $8.7 million in August 2008.
Listed for $9.495 million in August, a five-bedroom, 9,600-square-foot house at 554 Palm Way has 411 feet of water frontage. It was bought in February 2014 for $8.2 million.
Friis also listed the five-bedroom, 8,626-square-foot home at 570 Wright Way in August. Priced at $8.9 million, it has 348 feet on the water. The property was bought in October 2008 for $5.9 million.
In August, Judy Ramella, president of the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches, received the 2016 Florida Realtors Achievement Award at the Florida Realtors Convention & Trade Expo’s annual awards luncheon in Orlando. She is on the board of directors for Florida Realtors as well as the National Association of Realtors.
Ramella started her career 19 years ago as an agent with Dutch Real Estate in Boynton Beach. She is a broker associate for Continental Properties in West Palm Beach and a real estate instructor for the School of Advanced Realty in West Palm Beach.
According to July home sales numbers, the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches reported that Palm Beach County showed a double-digit drop of 15 percent in closed sale transactions. However, the median sale price rose 11 percent to $317,250, the average sale price rose 20 percent to $488,671, and the sum of all sale prices rose 3 percent to $748 million.
Throughout October, Lang Realty’s themes, events, branding and advertising will turn pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Lang Realty also will make a donation to the American Cancer Society’s “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” for each home closed throughout October. Last year, Lang Realty raised $10,000 for the cause.
In September, Phil Scavo, from Ottawa, Canada, signed a lease for a spot at Renaissance Commons, 1500 Gateway Blvd., Boynton Beach, where he will open a Burger Fi franchise. “We are taking over 3,000 square feet of the current Hurricane Grill & Wings space and plan to open the beginning of 2017,” he says. Scavo has sold his Canadian business, Greco Fitness, and is moving his family to Boca Raton.
Lucille’s Bad to the Bone BBQ has opened a new restaurant in the Delray Marketplace Plaza on Atlantic Avenue and Lyons Road in Delray Beach.
In August, the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County was invited by Visit Florida and the U.S. Travel Association to present closing-night entertainment promoting arts and culture in the county to 650 attendees of the 2016 U.S. Travel Association ESTO seminar, which was held at the Boca Raton Resort & Club.
The following month, the Cultural Council of Palm Beach County won three Flagler Awards at the 2016 Visit Florida Governor’s Conference in Orlando. It won the Best of Show Henry Award for tourism marketing in its budget category; a Silver Award in tourism advocacy for its Cultural Concierge program, and a Bronze Award in niche marketing for its 2014-2015 fall/winter marketing campaign created with the Palm Beach County agency Levatas.
The Flagler Awards, an annual statewide competition created by Visit Florida, recognizes outstanding Florida tourism marketing. To watch video from the event, visit www.thecoastalstar.com.
The Delray Beach Marketing Cooperative’s Get Your Grove On, a weeklong celebration of the arts in the Pineapple Grove Arts District, will run from Oct. 3 to 8. Its main event, On the Ave, along Northeast Second Avenue from El Camino to Brule, is from 5 to 9 p.m. Oct. 5. Along with the event’s variety of activities, merchants will offer special discounts, free services, entertainment and refreshments. For a complete schedule, visit www.OnTheAveDelrayBeach.com.
The Greater Boynton Beach Chamber of Commerce’s 46th annual Porges Cup Golf Tournament is coming up Oct. 14 at the Indian Spring Country Club. The tournament is open to the public; registration starts at 7 a.m. To register, visit www.boyntonbeach.org
Channel 12 news anchor Michele Wright will be the honorary chairwoman of the Community Caring Center of Greater Boynton Beach’s Magical Masquerade Ball on Oct. 27. Money raised will be used to support the center’s food pantry, senior meals, Senior Veggie Program, mass food distribution and Holiday Cornucopia.
The ball will be at Benvenuto Restaurant, 1730 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Tickets are $125 per person or a table of 10 for $1,000. For information, call Doreen Robinson at 374-8536 or 575-5857.
The 15th annual Rooney’s Golf Foundation Charity Golf Tournament will be held at Trump National Golf Club in Jupiter on Oct. 31. The day will begin with a 7 a.m. registration and breakfast and will continue with a shotgun start at 8:30. Lunch, raffles and awards will follow golf.
Proceeds will benefit Autism Project of Palm Beach County, The ARC Palm Beach County, Place of Hope and HomeSafe.
The major sponsors are the Rooney Family, Bettor Racing Inc. and AmTote International Inc.
U.S. Rep. Tom Rooney, R-Tequesta, will participate and is this year’s honorary chairman. Rooney’s Golf Foundation has donated $645,962 to Palm Beach County charities since 2001. $2,400 is the cost for a foursome. To participate, call 683-2222, Ext. 146, or Ext. 142.
Delray Beach and the Atlantic Crossing developers continue their stalemate.
This time they are arguing over whether the dismissed federal counts are appealable.
The developers say yes, arguing the federal claims for money damages can be appealed while the rest were returned to state court.
Delray Beach attorneys agreed with the appeals court — not now.
Both documents were filed Sept. 23.
The city also is asking the appeals court to determine the court where its counterclaim can be heard. The city wants the return of two alleys and easements needed for the downtown project.
The developers have 60 days from filing the appeal to state the legal reasons why the federal judge erred in dismissing the federal counts. They appealed Aug. 24. As of press time, no brief was filed.
The $200 million mixed-use project was proposed by a partnership between Edwards Companies and Ocean Ridge resident Carl DeSantis. Edwards bought DeSantis’ share in June for $38.5 million. Both would share in the proceeds if the federal case is decided in favor of the developers.
Jane Smith contributed to this report.
Send business news to Christine Davis at cdavis9797@gmail.com.
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