Business Observer 07.22.10

+ JDRF names new coordinator
Kathy Sharpe Herbst has joined the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Florida Suncoast Chapter, as the new development coordinator.

Prior to being a stay-at-home mom for the last seven years raising twins, Herbst was one of the founding members of this JDRF chapter. She is responsible for fundraising events such as the Walk to Cure Diabetes. Every year, this event raises more than $300,000.

Herbst joins Jeannie Kawcak, executive director and Kathleen Maloney, administrative assistant, in the Lakewood Ranch office, which serves 10 counties from Manatee south to Marco Island.

JDRF is located at 7341 Professional Parkway E. in Lakewood Ranch. For more information, visit www.jdrf.org or call 907-0811.

+ Mentzer opens law office in Ranch
John R. Mentzer III announces the opening of his law office at the University Commons Office Center in Lakewood Ranch.

Mentzer provides general legal counsel and transactional representation services for entrepreneurs, businesses and business owners as well as estate planning services for individuals.

Mentzer has nearly 20 years of professional experience and has practiced law in a large law firm and as an in-house counsel and solo practitioner. Prior to opening his law office, Mentzer served as the vice president and general counsel of Correctional Services Corporation, a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Sarasota.

Mentzer received his bachelor’s degree in business with a major in finance from Virginia Tech in 1987. He received his doctoral law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1991.

Mentzer’s practice is located at 6151 Lake Osprey Drive, Lakewood Ranch. For more, visit www.mentzer-law.com or call 373-1320.

+ Crabtree earns Honor Society pin
Michelle Crabtree, Realtor with Michael Saunders & Company at the Lakewood Ranch office, was presented with the Florida Realtors Honor Society third-year pin during the Sarasota Association of Realtors quarterly membership meeting July 16.

Crabtree is a third-generation Sarasotan and has been a licensed Florida Real Estate Broker since 1981. She is a director on the Sarasota Board of Realtors, received the SAR Meritorious Service Award in 2007.

+ Biologist speaks in Portugal
Tammy Kovar, biologist and owner of Lakewood Ranch-based Think Global LLC, also known as Biological Tree Services, was an invited speaker at the international COST870 conference July 3-7 in Evora, Portugal.

The meeting featured keynote lectures on the use and application of mycorrhizal fungi in agriculture and nurseries, and visits to olive oil and grapevine production companies. The meeting was hosted by Dr. Isabel Brito, University of Evora, Portugal, and coordinated by Dr. Birgit Arnoldt-Schmitt, University of Evora.
Kovar, the only U.S. representative, spoke on her experiences in introducing mycorrhizal fungi to the urban landscape environment in Florida.

To learn more about Biological Tree Services’ use of mycorrhizal fungi and other organic, biological and natural based products on your lawn or landscape, visit www.BiologicalTreeServices.com or call 706-1414.