Business Observer 02.18.10

+ Tidewell Hospice welcomes philanthropic vice president
Denise M. Pope has joined Tidewell Hospice as its executive vice president of philanthropy. Pope will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and management, including securing and stewarding charitable gifts for the organization’s philanthropy program.

Pope joins the Tidewell team with more than 10 years of executive-level experience in philanthropy, development and public relations. Most recently, she served as the chief development officer of St. John’s Hospital and St. John’s Children’s Hospital, in Springfield, Ill.

While at St. John’s, Pope raised more than $33 million, which aided in a foundation Web site; initiating a marketing relationship with a major national retail chain; creating a foundation newsletter and annual donor report; establishing community partnerships that have generated more than $1 million in charitable revenue; and securing funding for major capital improvements, such as an outdoor healing garden and pediatric emergency room.

+ Warren Simonds joins Argus Foundation board
The vice president of Willis A. Smith Construction Inc., Warren Simonds, will serve on the local board of directors of the Argus Foundation. Simonds, who moved to Sarasota in 1972, has been a participating member of the foundation for 15 years. He has also been active in the business community in the fields of banking, architecture and construction.

+ New College celebrates Women’s History Month
Noted author bell hooks, who previously visited New College in 1992, will give a public presentation at 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 1, in the Mildred Sainer Pavilion, at New College of Florida.

The author of more than 30 books and numerous articles and essays, hooks’ works explore the intersections of race, class and gender in ways that have helped shape several fields of study and have also earned her widespread acclaim. A reception and book signing will follow hooks’ presentation, which is free and open to the public.