Richard (Rich) Heruska has been named the new President-elect of TiE Tampa Bay, and will start July 1. A past program director at Tampa Bay Wave, Heruska has been a board member of the entrepreneureal organization for the past two years, and one of the driving forces behind the successful TYE program.
The St. Petersburg Police Department next month will go through an on-site assessment as part of the re-accreditation process with the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation Inc., known as CFA. According to a news release, a team from CFA will arrive on July 27 and conduct an evaluation, over two days, of all aspects of the department’s policies and procedures, management, operations and support services. As part of the re-accreditation process, CFA assessors seek comments from members of the department and the general public. To submit a comment, call 727-893-4900 on July 27 between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Written comments can be sent to CFA at P.O. Box 1489, Tallahassee, Florida 32302, or emailed to flaccreditation@fdle.state.fl.us. Comments, the release stated, must address the department’s ability to comply with CFA Core Competency Standards.
Bayfront Health St. Petersburg has been named Official Medical Team for the Fort De Soto Trilogy, a series of events for triathletes taking place at Fort De Soto park June 26, Aug. 14 and Sept. 11, including a swim race, a bike race and a 5K run. Physicians and athletic trainers with Bayfront Health St. Petersburg will be providing on-site medical support to the athletes. For more on the Fort DeSoto Trilogy, click here.
Swoop, Canada’s leading ultra-low-cost carrier, unveiled plans on Wednesday to add three new U.S. destinations to its network, including non-stop flights to St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. The airline announced a new service for St. Pete, San Diego and Orlando/Sanford beginning this winter. St. Pete-Clearwater will have a connection to Hamilton, Ontario and Toronto. The Toronto flights start on Nov. 5 and will be available three times a week. Flights from Hamilton start Nov. 9 and will be available twice weekly. Swoop, which is a subsidiary of the WestJet Group, uses its fleet of nine Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft for its commercial services.
St. Petersburg-based Ascellus (formerly known as IMCS Group), a provider of mental and behavioral health services for injured workers, has hired Jim Harvey as senior vice president of national account management and strategy. According to a press release, Harvey brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in health technology to the role. He previously worked at Memphis, Tenn.-based Sedgwick, where he served as vice president of managed care client services. “Jim has that rare talent for developing relationships, deeply listening and then inspiring genius collaborations that create win-win outcomes," Ascellus CEO Lori Daugherty stated in the release. "We're excited to team with Jim on introducing our solution-oriented Ascellus Connect platform to our industry partners."
Neptune Flood, a St. Petersburg-based insurtech company focused on flood insurance, has surpassed $20 billion in total insured property value. The milestone was achieved in less than four years in operation, Trevor Burgess, CEO, said in a news release. The company has more than 70,000 clients and 6,000 active insurance agents. It offers residential, commercial and residential condominium building flood insurance products as an alternative to those from the federal National Flood Insurance Program.
GTE Financial Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Mandy Zurbrick has won a bronze “Stevie” award in the Marketing Executive of the Year category at the 19th annual American Business Awards. The Stevie Awards, which derive their name from the Greek word for “crowned,” will be presented virtually on June 30. The 2021 American Business Awards, according to a press release, received more than 3,800 nominations from for-profit and nonprofit organizations of all sizes. Zurbrick, the release stated, has led a rebranding initiative at GTE Financial in addition to handling the Tampa-based credit union’s email marketing program; publications, advertising and social media strategy; layouts and design; market research and analysis; brand positioning and awareness; product development; member communication; and new market planning.
The Florida Department of Health in Pinellas County has received an award for helping curb the spread of Covid-19 among the homeless. DOH-Pinellas was one of only eight large health departments to earn a 2021 Gold Innovative Practice Award from the National Association of County and City Health Officials. The designation as a Gold Innovative Practice is the highest level of program innovation and reflects collaboration, adaptability and program resilience. The DOH in Pinellas and its partners provided non-congregate sheltering to safely isolate and quarantine homeless individuals so that hospitals and other shelters were not burdened. A shelter liaison position was created to help reduce the spread of Covid transmission in shelters and other facilities. In all, the initiative assisted 188 individuals, with 58 of those being not previously connected to health care enrolled in Pinellas County's Health Care for the Homeless Program, according to the DOH.
Pinellas County has initiated a cleanup of dead marine life from the county’s beaches as red tide persists. The crews are expected to begin work late today or on Wednesday. Patches of the toxic algae bloom were captured via satellite imagery. Forecasting models show it moving north for the next seven to 10 days, according to the county's news release on Tuesday. Red tide produces a toxin that can harm all forms of marine life and can cause respiratory issues in humans. Although red tide is present off the Pinellas County coast, it is not necessarily present at all beaches, according to the county. People can check beach conditions at www.beachesupdate.com and via the Red Tide Respiratory Forecast Tool.
Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg has tied with the UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville for the No. 1 spot for best children’s hospital in Florida on U.S. News & World Report’s Best Children’s Hospital’s list. The hospital ranked in eight specialty areas. U.S. News & World Report also announced new regional rankings, where Johns Hopkins All Children’s tied for fifth place in the Southeast region. As in previous years, Johns Hopkins All Children’s is the only pediatric hospital on Florida’s West Coast to make the list, according to the Tuesday news release. The hospitals are ranked based on certain measures such as patient outcomes, including mortality and infection rates, as well as clinical resources and compliance with best practices. More than 110 pediatric hospitals across the country participated in the 2021-2022 survey
The E.W. Scripps Co. is launching the Florida 24 Network, a statewide news network that will air real-time, enterprise reporting from Scripps' TV stations in the Tampa, Miami, West Palm Beach, Tallahassee and Fort Myers markets. The network will be available to over-the-top viewers, a news release said. Over-the-top television is streamed using the internet rather than the traditional distribution methods of cable or satellite. The Florida 24 Network will be led News Director Nicole Wolfe, based at Scripps' WSFL in Miami, and Senior Director of Digital Matt Borek, based at Scripps' WFTS in Tampa.
Baldwin Krystyn Sherman Partners and Millennial Specialty Insurance have agreed to buy substantially all assets of RogersGray, Breakwater Brokerage, and Monomoy Insurance Group. The three firms, collectively known as RogersGray, are based in South Dennis, Massachusetts and have annual revenue of about $38.8 million, a news release said. They provide commercial lines, personal lines and employee benefits insurance services to large and mid-sized companies and individuals. It's the largest deal so far this year for BRP Group (Nasdaq: BRP), the Tampa-based parent company of Baldwin Krystyn Sherman and Millennial. The deal is expected to close July 1.
