Nationally and internationally-recognized health industry professional, Dr. Yank Coble, spoke at the JAX Chamber Health Council’s monthly luncheon about opportunities within the health, medical care and bioscience industries.

“There is a critical mass growing here in terms of the health, medical care and bioscience industries,” Dr. Coble said. “We have made significant progress in the past five years as a result of the collaboration in Jacksonville. I have never seen a place with more collaboration.”

Dr. Coble is a distinguished professor and director of the Center for Global Health and Medical Diplomacy at the University of North Florida and clinical professor of medicine at the University of Florida. He shared the importance of addressing the challenges within the medical industry, Jacksonville’s medical assets and optimizing the region’s growing and diverse health care and bioscience industries.

An endocrinologist in Jacksonville for more than 35 years, Dr. Coble is also former chair of the Department of Community Health at the University of Florida, past president of The World Medical Association (WMA) and chair and editor of the WMA Caring Physicians of the World Initiative.

Five of the top 10 companies in the JAX region provide or are affiliated with health care, and one in every six employees in the area works in the health care and bioscience sectors. In addition to employing nearly 94,000 people and an annual economic impact of $23.6 billion, the region enjoys convenient, first-class health care and specialized services.

The 2nd Annual Sawgrass Wine Festival will kick off with Uncorked, An Evening with the Sawgrass Wine Festival Judges on Saturday, Feb. 18, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa. Earlier that day two teams of three judges each will take on the task of sampling over 200 different wines in over 35 classifications to determine the award winners you will taste that evening.

In addition to Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards, Best Buys Awards will be given to all Gold Award Winners priced under $20, all Silver Award Winners under $15 and all Bronze Award Winners under $10. In addition to judging the more popular varietals, chardonnay, pinot gris, cabernet and merlot, some lesser known ones such as gruner veltliner, torrontes, meritage and rhone will also be judged.

Returning as Head Judge for Team One is Dr. Barry Gump, who is the first holder of theHarvey R. Chaplin Eminent Scholar’s Chair in Beverage Management at Florida International University’s School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Joining him is Vinny D’Agostino, Food and Beverage Director at the Prince and King Resort in St. Simons Island and also a Certified Sommelier. Iija Manevki, a Certified Sommelier and the General Manger of the Marriott Sawgrass’ Augustine Grille is also on Team One.

Ryanne Carrier, also returning from last year as the head judge for Team Two, is a member of the Sea Island Resort’s Sommelier team and located at their award winning restaurant The Cloisters. Joining her on Team Two is Steven Jones, Certified Sommelier and Regional Director of Food and Beverage Operations for TPC Resort Destinations. Jeremy Vass is the last member of this team and is a Certified Sommelier and Assistant General Manager of III Forks Steakhouse in Jacksonville.

Uncorked is the forerunner of the 2012 Sawgrass Wine Festival which will be held April 19-22. This four day wine and spirits extravaganza will feature a wine dinner on Thursday, wine and spirits seminars and tastings on Friday and then gourmet food and wine and spirits tasting Friday and Saturday under tents on the ground of the Sawgrass Marriott plus you can purchase your favorites there as well. The Festival is made possible by the generous support of the Marriott Sawgrass Golf Resort & Spa and the Tourist Development Council of St. Johns County.

Tickets are just $20 and can be purchased by calling the Ponte Vedra Chamber at 285-2004 or by going online to www.sawgrasswinefestival.com. If you wait to purchase them at the door, the price will be $25. For more information on any other Ponte Vedra Chamber event, visit our website www.pontevedracahmber.org.

Jacksonville-based Dalton Agency, an advertising and public relations agency, and Kilgannon, an Atlanta-based, advertising agency, announced that the two firms have merged. The joined companies will operate under the Dalton Agency name with Kilgannon serving as the newly expanded group’s Atlanta office. The Dalton Agency currently has offices in Jacksonville, Orlando, Savannah, Ga., and Columbia, S.C.

While terms of the deal were not disclosed, the now combined agency has approximately $35 million in invoiced billings and employs approximately 100 individuals between the five offices, with Jacksonville continuing to serve as the company’s headquarters. The combined-agency client list includes: American Heart Association, BAE Systems Products Group Safariland, NFL Jacksonville Jaguars, McDonald’s, Bealls Department Stores, Manheim, Shands Healthcare, and SouthernLINC Wireless, among others.

For more information, visit www.daltonagency.com.

Kraft Tennis, Maharaj Tennis and the Yulee Tennis Foundation sponsored an afternoon of round robin tennis Jan. 29, in support of the Barnabas Center Food Pantry in Fernandina Beach, Fla.

Fifty-six players in three divisions at two different tennis sites took to the courts and donated groceries and funding for the food pantry, resulting in 722 lbs. of groceries.

“The entry fee to the event was one bag of nonperishable food items, and it seems that entrants were extremely generous in their donations this year,” said event organizer Michele Maharaj. “The food pantry tennis event has been an annual occurrence since Maharaj Tennis came to town in 2006.”

In 2011, Kraft Tennis joined forces with Maharaj Tennis and the Yulee Tennis Foundation to sponsor the event as part of their community outreach programming. For 2012, Kraft Tennis was once again a host site for the event, joined by the Ritz Carlton.

The Yulee Tennis Foundation is an official USTA Florida Community Tennis Association (CTA).

For more information on the event e-mail Michele Maharaj at michelemaha@msn.com.

The dermatology practice of Dr. Michael E. Lutz has formally changed its practice name to Jacksonville Skin Cancer Center.

“We chose to change the name of the practice to distinguish the services that we offer to the community, and to more successfully indicate to patients and referral doctors what our practice is about,” says Dr. Lutz.

The Jacksonville Skin Cancer Center is one of the only dermatology practices in the area that completely focuses on the treatment of skin cancer, and more specifically, Mohs Micrographic Skin Cancer Surgery. Concentrating on this specific area of care allows the staff to better diagnose and treat patients who have skin cancer. This enables the staff to give their attention to the serious issues that their patients present with, and to keep abreast of the latest treatments and therapies available.

The Jacksonville Skin Cancer Center offers services such as:

• Diagnosis and treatment of skin cancers, including Mohs Micrographic Surgery

• Dermatology surgery referrals from physicians and other health practitioners

• Skin cancer management for organ transplant patients

For more information, visit www.jaxskincancer.com.

The sixth annual Remodelers Council Sporting Clay Tournament presented by Ferguson Enterprises, attracted 75 participants and raised more than $3,750 for the Remodelers Council of the Northeast Florida Builders Association (NEFBA).

The tournament began with a shotgun start at W.W. Sporting Clays. Teams of four competed with the Wells Fargo Advisors team, comprised of Matt Turner and Chris Sivley, both of Wells Fargo, Wayne Holmes of Panel Tek and Lonnie Pomar of Osteen’s Restaurant, taking home top team honors with a combined score of 309. Pomar was the overall highest individual scorer with 87 and Mandy Bouton of Ferguson Enterprises earned top female shooter with a score of 35.

In addition to Ferguson Enterprises, event sponsors included Enterprise Fleet Management, Tile Market of San Marco, Florida Custom Marble, B&G Plumbing, Heating & Air, Identity Theft Training, Touchton Plumbing and Vigneaux Corporation.

Founded in 1982, the Remodelers Council of the Northeast Florida Builders Association represents and serves the interests of remodeling industry members. More information is available at www.nefba.com.

For more information about NEFBA, visit www.nefba.com or call (904) 725-4355.

theGrio.com announced today the third-annual theGrio’s 100 list, honoring Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown. This exclusive list honors Black History Month by highlighting the next generation of African-American history makers and industry leaders who have the potential to make a difference in the lives of all Americans.

Brown joins 99 other individuals from across 10 professional fields, including business, education, sports, science and the environment, media, service and activism, politics, health, pop culture and the arts.

“TheGrio’s 100” was officially unveiled by theGrio Executive Editor David A. Wilson earlier today. Individuals from “theGrio’s 100” will continue to be profiled on all platforms of NBC News including “NBC Nightly News,” “Today,” MSNBC, CNBC, and msnbc.com through the end of February.

To learn more, visit www.thegrio.com/black-history

More than 100 women and men recently turned out for “Women Rock,” an informative networking event benefitting the Joanne Arnett Tutschek Breast Cancer Fund at the Flagler Health Care Foundation. Held at Marsh Creek Country Club and hosted by the real estate professionals at Prudential Network Realty’s St. Augustine office, “Women Rock” featured exhibitors and speakers covering numerous topics including financial planning, career development, St. Augustine real estate, women’s health, nutrition and fitness.

Each speaker highlighted issues meaningful to all women, including work, family, finances, coping with stress, diet, exercise and how to live a healthier life, with a focus on how to maintain balance while juggling multiple responsibilities.

For more information, call 904-471-6906 or visit www.PrudentialNetworkRealty.com.

Foundation Financial Group, with local offices at 225 Water Street, Suite 2100, acquired B&R Insurance. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. B&R Insurance customers can expect to receive Foundation Financial Group’s efficient service, quick turnaround times and competitive pricing for which the company is renowned.

More information is available at www.ffg.com.

Brennan, Manna & Diamond LLC will open its first international office in Shanghai, China, this spring. Since opening in 2000, the firm has experienced tremendous growth and this new office will allow it to expand its international law practice and reach in the global market.

It will also continue to serve clients in business law, commercial litigation and health care. Although Brennan, Manna & Diamond began its operations with just seven attorneys in the Akron office, there are now more than 50 attorneys in the firm practicing in three offices, including two in Florida, one in Jacksonville and one in Bonita Springs.

The Shanghai office is set to open in April in the downtown financial district.