Ringling College of Art and Design President Larry Thompson on Tuesday announced senior Irene Garibay and junior Celia Garcia Nogales as the winners of the Mitzner Markle Women’s Sculpture Scholarship, awarding the pair a $15,000 scholarship and selecting their sculptural design to grace the main entrance of the incoming Ringling College Library. Garibay and Nogales will now have a $25,000 budget and until the coming fall to make their artistic proposal a reality.

Simple yet elegant in its design, the proposed sculpture will be roughly 11 feet tall and 8 feet across at its broadest dimensions, comprising a pair of massive and rustic-looking timber logs, oiled and sanded, standing upright and side-by-side. A sliver of light peaks between the beams, splitting the image and lending the whole affair an almost book-like appearance. Fitting for a library. “We were interested in books as the source of knowledge, and then to honor the source of books,” said Garibay, also a Ringling 2015-16 Trustee Scholar. Working with local artisan Dale Rieke of Wood Street Studio, the students hope to utilize Australian Pine, an invasive species now ubiquitous, to reflect the local, changing environment. “A lot of layers came together to form this simple piece,” said Nogales.

Created and funded by artist and technologist Nancy Markle, in partnership with the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, the scholarship competition invited Ringling students to create their own proposals for a piece of sculptural art to adorn the new building, complete with not only renderings and designs, but concept statements, proposed materials, a proposed budget and portfolio of previous work – everything a professional artist would need to enter a bid. “We wanted it to be a real-world experience,” said Thompson. Opening in the fall, the new $18-million, 46,000 square-foot library will open onto a collaborative first-floor area affectionately dubbed “The Creative Cauldron,” by Thompson, saying to Nogales and Garibay, “the two of you working together to make this happen, I think, is a great example.”

Complete with an endowment begun by Markle and devoted to the maintenance and upkeep requisite with any massive piece of outdoor public art, “this gift really does last forever,” said Veronica Brady, senior vice president for philanthropy at Gulf Coast. 

Geraldson Community Farm is woven into the fabric of the Sarasota food community as intricately as the pattern of a handmade quilt. Since I began writing about restaurants and chefs in Sarasota over five years ago, I have heard the name ‘Geraldson’ in almost every interview and from the mouths of every fantastic local chef from Steve Phelps of Indigenous to Evan Gastman of The Cottage. On Sunday, Geraldson hosted a gathering called the Dinner Bell Supper Club. The barn was transformed into a country kitchen party with tables decorated with mason jars full of fresh flowers and charmingly mismatched cutlery. This monthly event aims to highlight local produce, dairy, fruits and meats with suppers cooked by the effervescent farm manager, Christa Leonard, and various guest chefs. This particular Sunday, we were treated to a vegetarian meal where Leonard and guest chef Patrick Loughery (executive sous chef of Tommy Bahama's) presented us with bountiful platters of charred eggplant and tahini studded with cucumbers and pomegranates and Sungold tomato and Little Pond Farm sweet potato tatins. We filled bowls and teacups with spiced winter squash soup and indulged in heavenly biscuits called bouikos made of spring onions and feta cheese. Baked duck eggs nestled on a bed of collard greens and kale elicited murmurs of admiration. Tickets for this dinner are inexpensive but those on a budget can trade volunteer work such as clean up or cooking in exchange for a seat at the table. 

Geraldson’s Community Farm, 1401 99th Street NW, 941-792-0985

Venice Regional Bayfront Health announced Walter A. Pannone as its chief nursing officer. Pannone has more than 20 years of clinical and health care operations experience. He has worked in a wide range of hospitals from small community hospitals to academic regional medical centers, healthcare systems and stand-alone facilities across Florida, Colorado, Alabama and Rhode Island. Most recently, he served as chief nursing officer and vice president of Patient Care Services for North Cypress Medical Center in Cypress, Texas. 

Venice Regional Bayfront Health

Jamie Smith is State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota’s new director of communications and marketing. With more than 15 years of experience working in many areas of business, including marketing, public relations, web development, graphic design and communications, Smith has spent the majority of her career branding and polishing the public image of corporate and nonprofit entities. Smith holds master’s degree in Business Administration and a bachelor’s in Business, both with concentrations in marketing. She most recently worked as the director of marketing for the Jewish Family and Children's Service of the Suncoast. Smith is past board president of Sarasota County’s National Alliance on Mental Illness. 

State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota

Mainsail Lodging and Development promoted Tom Haines to regional director of operations. Haines is a manager of Mainsail’s successful Epicurean Hotel in Tampa. As regional director of operations, Haines will expand on his role as general manager of the Epicurean Hotel. His new responsibilities will include support for the October 2016 opening of the Waterline Marina Resort and Beach Club in Anna Maria Island and promoting overall growth of Mainsail. 

Mainsail Lodging and Development

The word Mennonite was misspelled multiple times in the Tuesday edition of SRQ Daily.