text: JM Family Enterprises announced the promotion of Ron Coombs to senior vice president and chief financial officer, overseeing the company's financial operations. Coombs received his master's degree in business administration from Case Western Reserve University and his bachelor's degree in economics from Albion College.
  Lisa King has joined Verdex Construction in West Palm Beach as vice president of business development. She will be responsible for developing and managing client relationships, identifying new business opportunities, revenue generation, and strategic partnership development. She will also oversee corporate branding and marketing, manage the company reputation and culture, and ensure that Verdex has a solid presence within the industry and community. King earned her bachelor's of science from University of Florida.
  Hedrick Brothers Construction in West Palm Beach recently announced two new hires to their team. Patrick Painter has joined the company as general counsel. He has a bachelor's of landscape architecture degree from University of Florida and a juris doctor from University of Florida Frederic G. Levin College of Law. Richard Adam has joined the company as a project manager. Adam has more than 35 years of experience in the construction industry with education, municipal and commercial projects.
  The Pine School announced that Matthew Sofarelli will be the school's new athletic director. Sofarelli has a bachelor's of arts degree from Syracuse University and his master's in educational leadership from American College of Education.
  Glenn Fiedler of Fifth Avenue Grill in Delray Beach was recently promoted to general manager. He has more than 35 years of experience in the restaurant business and is a certified wine sommelier.
  (This didn't make sense to me; I googled it and couldn't figure it out and I had to move on to meet the deadline. WL).
  MetLife Premier Client Group of Florida, a West Palm Beach office of MetLife, announced that Rosanne Patsy, has joined the firm as a financial services representative. Patsy is a perennial member of the Million Dollar Round Table and has 19 years of experience in the financial services sector.
  Palm Beach Gardens-based Centerra Group, global government and critical infrastructure services company, announced the appointment of Deborah Ricci as chief financial officer. Ricci was a fellow at University of Pittsburgh where she earned a master's of business administration degree with a concentration in strategic planning. She holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Bentley University.
  David C. Brodner, board-certified sinus surgeon in Boynton Beach, recently joined the Professional Disability Associates, provider of independent medical peer reviews in the disability insurance industry as a consultant. The organization provides disability-trained physicians to support their clients' claims management process on a dedicated basis. With a growing network of over 120 disability-trained physicians, covering over 30 specialties, they have the resources to address any claim situation from the relatively routine to the highly complex.
  npm | pr announced that founder Natalie P. Mikolich, was named the 2016 chair of the Public Relations Society of America Entertainment and Sports Section. The society serves a community of more than 22,000 public relations and communications professionals across the United States. Mikolich will lead connect industry peers, delivering valuable programming and offering exclusive access to high level industry professionals in order to provide professional development opportunities to section members and help keep practitioners informed on the latest public relations trends and best practices.
  Waterfront Properties & Club Communities in Jupiter announced that it has added three members to its team of agents: Joshua Grove, Jan Timon and Stuart Wexelman.
  Margaret Crawford, director of trauma services at Delray Medical Center, earned national recognition for 35 years of continuous CCRN certification awarded by the Certification Corporation for the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. Crawford provides direct bedside care to acutely/critically ill adult, pediatric and neonatal patients and their families.
  Fox Rothschild in West Palm Beach announced that Carol E. Thorstad-Forsyth has been awarded the 2015 Project Award by the American Intellectual Property Law Association for her commitment in globally expanding the Women in IP Law Committee's yearly Networking Event. The AIPLA Women in IP Law Committee places a strong emphasis on empowering women and developing programming that focuses on and promotes women who practice intellectual property law. Thorstad-Forsyth received her juris doctor from New England School of Law and her bachelor's of science in electrical engineering from Boston University.
  Congregation B'nai Israel, reform congregation in Boca Raton, has named Steve Allen as its new executive director/CEO.
  To submit an announcement for Local Business People to Watch, please email a short description of the new hire, promotion or award, along with the location of the business and a high-resolution photo of the person to pbbusiness@pbpost.com