Local real estate auctioneer Neal VanDeRee was awarded the Lewis C. Dell Hall of Fame Award at the recent annual Florida Auctioneers Association Convention in Tampa. This award is usually given out once a year to an outstanding auctioneer and was bestowed on VanDeRee on Jan. 9 at the Presidential Banquet.

VanDeRee owns the VanDeRee Auction Co. Inc., in Venice, founded by George VanDeRee in 1934 and serving Florida since 1970.

He is a past president and life member of the Florida Auctioneers Association and a CAI Certified auctioneer.

VanDeRee has a bachelor’s in speech communications from the University of Florida and attended the North Carolina Mendenhall School of Auctioneering.

Shumaker Partner and Technology Business Sector Chair Douglas A. Cherry has been appointed to the Pines of Sarasota Management Corp. board of directors. He will serve a three-year term on the volunteer board, which oversees management and fiduciary responsibility for the Pines of Sarasota.

The Pines is a nonprofit organization that offers individuals a fulfilling life in a rehabilitation and senior care community that satisfies residents’ health and lifestyle needs, all with the confidence of knowing they will always be secure, well-cared for and welcomed.

Board certified in intellectual property law, Cherry is known for taking complex principles and making them understandable for his clients.

His areas of concentration include IP (patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, publicity rights and unfair competition) consulting, acquisition, licensing and litigation, as well as technology, cybersecurity and data breach law.

He represents corporations, municipalities, nonprofits, start-ups, and entrepreneurs in a variety of industries, including technology, health care, law enforcement and manufacturing.

Cherry has extensive litigation and mediation experience involving high profile, corporate technology cases, as well as patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret litigation. He is a founding member of Shumaker’s Data Breach Team.

Dutchman Hospitality Group, based in Walnut Creek, Ohio, has hired Mike Miller as the successor to retiring president Mike Palmer.

Palmer has been president of DHG for over 16 years. The company owns and operates restaurants, inns, retail shops, a theater and a food and supply distribution company with locations in Ohio, Indiana and Florida.

During his time as president, Palmer has been instrumental in the growth and development of the company, including expansion in the Sarasota market, plus multiple major renovation and construction projects, including construction of the 100-room Carlisle Inn Sarasota, behind the Der Dutchman restaurant.

Miller started work at DHG in 2011 as the general manager of Carlisle Inn Sugarcreek. He has worked in all segments of the company, giving him a wide range of experience and expertise.

Jonathan D. Fleece has been named president and CEO of Empath Health and its Affiliate Programs, effective Jan. 12, 2023. Fleece was most recently Empath Health president as well as president and CEO of Tidewell Hospice, a member of Empath Health.

This transition follows the retirement of previous CEO Rafael J. Sciullo. Fleece became president of Empath Health in 2021 following the merger of Empath Health and Stratum Health System.

Prior to the merger, he was named president and CEO of Stratum and Tidewell Hospice in 2018 after a 24-year career as a health care attorney, consultant and adviser to major health systems across Florida and the country.

Prior to becoming Stratum’s CEO, Fleece was also a Stratum and Tidewell board member and was instrumental to Stratum’s strategic expansions and success.

He received his juris doctor and Certificate in Health Law Studies from Saint Louis University School of Law and a bachelor’s from Emory University.

Empath Health is based in Lakewood Ranch and Clearwater.

Gulfside Bank, of Sarasota, has hired Janet Sansevero to serve as a client relations specialist. She has nearly 10 years of experience in community banking.

Before banking, Sansevero spent several years working in real estate and health care, where she gained a wealth of administrative knowledge and built a strong foundation in customer service. Originally from New York, she began her career on Wall Street at Morgan Guaranty Trust Co., now JP Morgan Chase.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Venice auctioneer wins award, Dutchman picks new president