WINNERS
GULF WINDS CREDIT UNION The credit union co-sponsored Cat Country’s 2024 Radiothon with Ascension Sacred Heart and donated $20,000 to the event, supporting the Studer Family Children’s Hospital—the only Children’s Miracle Network affiliate serving the Pensacola region. Since 2013, Gulf Winds has donated more than $184,000 to Sacred Heart’s Foundation and the children’s hospital. This year’s donation will support the purchase of AngelEye cameras for the hospital’s 62-bed Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. These cameras let families watch over their babies 24/7 via a secure account, giving them peace of mind, as they never have to miss a memory.
VIRGINIA BUCHANAN The Levin Papantonio shareholder has been inducted into the International Academy of Trial Lawyers (IATL). Active Academy membership is limited to 500 Fellows from the U.S. In addition, IATL includes Fellows from nearly 40 countries throughout the world. Trial lawyers are admitted to fellowship in the Academy only if they possess, in an exceptional degree, superior skill and recognized ability in trial and appellate practice and have excellent character, professionalism and absolute integrity. They also must have rendered services to promote the best interests of the legal profession and the highest standards and techniques of advocacy.
CALDWELL ARCHITECTS The architecture firm, whose most important core value is “People and Family First,” has received two awards for workplace culture from two nationally recognized organizations. PSMJ Resources, an architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) consulting firm, ranked Caldwell Architects no. 4 overall in its AEC Employer of Choice Award, which measures employee engagement and job satisfaction. The Zweig Group provides the largest employee survey in the AEC industry and ranks the top firms in the U.S. and Canada based on workplace practices, benefits and retention rates. Firms are ranked in categories according to the number of employees, with scores based on a combination of 80% anonymous employee surveys and 20% corporate surveys. Caldwell Architects was ranked no. 7.
LOSERS
JAMES CALKINS Santa Rosa County voters sent the commissioner packing despite him and his America First Alliance PAC flooding the county with mailers and text messages. Calkins tried to tie opponent Rhett Rowell to Black Lives Matter and Aaron Dimmock, the congressional candidate backed by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy while using photos of Donald Trump and Matt Gaetz and Bible verses on other mailers. The incumbent commissioner was third in the GOP primary behind Rowell and Jerry Couey.
GREAT OUTDOORS INITIATIVE Last week, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced the launch of its 2024-25 Great Outdoors Initiative. In addition to increasing the number of cabins and lodges on park property, the initiative would add more recreation opportunities, including pickleball, disc golf, golf and paddling. Groups such as 1000 Friends of Florida Inc., Friends of the Everglades, Florida Wildlife Federation and VoteWater implored their members to contact legislators, Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials to oppose the plan. 1000 Friends of Florida said, “State parks should not be competitors for golf courses or other private recreational complexes, which are available throughout the state.” FDEP wants to build a 350-room park lodge at nearby Topsail Hill Preserve State Park.
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH It took nearly two months for the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) to issue a public notice and begin direct outreach to individuals “potentially affected” by a cybersecurity incident. On June 26, FDOH discovered a security breach in its network that led to unauthorized access to some of our data. The breach affected several of its systems and resulted in data transfer from a specific location. FDOH immediately launched an investigation and collaborated with cybersecurity experts to determine the nature and scope of the breach. It also promptly informed law enforcement and referred the matter to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for investigation. However, FDOH didn’t offer credit monitoring to patients until Aug. 21.
Read more of Inweekly’s Aug. 29 issue, or check out the digital issue.