To submit items for "Names in the News," please send materials to Scott Judy, editor, Southeast Construction, 4901 Vineland Road, Suite 310, Orlando, FL 32811; FAX (407) 226-2207; or email scott_judy@mcgraw-hill.com.

Ray Miller was promoted to vice president of pre-construction with Atlanta-based Skanska USA Building. Miller joined the Atlanta office of Skanska in 1999 as senior estimator, and most recently served as pre-construction manager. During his tenure with the company he led Skanska's team on numerous pre-construction projects such as the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo.; the Open Heart Surgical Center in Danville, Va.; and the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.

Michael Condran joined HDR in the firm's Tampa office as the water group manager. He has more than 18 years of experience in the design of municipal and industrial water and wastewater projects in the U.S., Asia, Latin America, Mexico and Europe.

HNTB announced that two of its vice presidents were recently recognized for their engineering accomplishments. Bruce Moulds, based in Atlanta, was honored with the "Engineer of the Year in Private Practice" award from the Georgia Engineering Alliance for his commitment to the engineering industry and local community. Jose de Almagro, in the Miami office, received the Florida Engineering Society's "Engineer of the Year" award recognizing his contributions to the advancement of the industry.

The firm also announced the appointments of four associate vice presidents: Girish Kumar, David Vogel, Rhet Schmidt, and Steve Boylan. Kumar serves as the transportation planning director for HNTB's Miami office. Vogel is the construction services leader for HNTB's west Florida operations. Schmidt and Boylan serve as department managers for HNTB's highway design group.

Also, Jessica Hendrix joined the firm's Tampa office as a structural designer in the bridge department. The company also welcomed Craig Toth as a bridge section leader.

Albert Hernandez joined PBS&J's South Florida Transportation Design Program in Miami as a senior project manager. Jonathan Buff also joined the firm as a senior project manager in the Civil Engineering Services Division.

Ed Murton has returned to the firm he co-founded, Murton Roofing Corp. of Miami, as vice president of its West Palm Beach operations. Acquired by Tecta America in 2000, Murton is one of the largest commercial roofing contractors in the Southeast.

Bob Spickard was named division manager for the West Palm Beach office of Terry's Electric, based in Kissimmee, Fla.

Jerry Starkey was named chief executive officer of WCI Communities, Bonita Springs, Fla. He will retain his position as president and continue to serve on the board of directors. WCI was named America's Best Builder in 2004 by the National Association of Home Builders.

Hardin Construction Co. of Atlanta announced the following promotions: Melvin Griffin and Jack Barfield were named to the position of senior superintendent, Ed Smith was named senior project manager, and Kelly Herring, Kent Johnson and Dan Loduca were appointed project manager.

Damarys Laya and Jon Paul Bacariza joined MGE Architects of Coral Gables, Fla., as project architects. Laya has more the 10 years of experience in the design of commercial and residential projects. She was previously a project architect with Orland Alonso Architects in Miami.

Bacariza joined MGE from Perkins + Will in Miami, where he was a project architect and design associate for several university projects. Before this, he was with Skidmore Owings and Merrill, where he was a member of an architectural team working on the AIG Tower in Hong Kong.

Ken Blumbek has joined Clancy & Theys Construction Co. of Orlando as a senior project manager. Also, Brice Miller was hired as an assistant project manager and Heather Bender was named as project manager assistant.

Jim Kutzman and John Hankinson were named senior consultants with MACTEC Engineering & Consulting of Kennesaw, Ga. Kutzman's experience includes more than 30 years with the Environmental Protection Agency in Atlanta. Hankinson previously served as the director of planning and acquisition for the St. Johns River Water Management District in Palatka, Fla.

Almur Whiting joined Ellis & Associates of Jacksonville, Fla., as a staff engineer. The firm also welcomed Ronald Hollister and David Bray as senior technicians and Jessica Goins and Kaelin Hill, who will work in administration.

Sammie Lamont joined Batson-Cook of Jacksonville as business development manager. Lamont has more than 20 years of experience in the construction industry, and has directed new business efforts for a number of nationally recognized architects, including Ricardo Legorreta and Frank Gehry. She recently earned an Award of Merit from the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.

Michael Berke and Karen Kendell joined Akerman Senterfitt's Miami office as shareholders in the Miami Real Estate Practice Group. Lorenzo Parron was named an associate with the firm.

Jack Meredith joined The ADP Group of Sarasota, Fla., as an associate architect

Maggie Cortez-Kirkpatrick was named director of marketing for Garcia Brenner Stromberg Architecture of Boca Raton, Fla. The firm also named Thomas Coco as project manager III, Donald Morris as controller, Roger Grave de Peralta as associate, Jacinto Pichardo as associate II, and Shirley Alvarez as associate I.

Darrell Jacobs joined the Orlando office of Professional Service Industries as a staff engineer. Steve Dier joined the firm as a new project scientist.

Craig Montgomery was named executive vice president of the southeast region of Limbach Facilities. The mechanical contractor and service firm has 11 offices including locations in Orlando, Tampa and Atlanta.

Weaver Raulerson was appointed vice president of operations for Wayne Automatic Fire Sprinklers, headquartered in Orlando. The firm also has offices in Jacksonville, Fort Myers, Pompano Beach, Tampa, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C.

Donald White, associate professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, was recently honored by the North American Steel Construction Conference for his role in formulating new and improved design criteria for bridge beams and girders, as well as his work with finite element analysis of joint, connection and slab analysis of steel structures. White has published numerous articles on strength, stability and reliability issues..

Ken Colwell recently joined the construction management firm of Christiano Construction Co. in Clearwater, Fla., as a superintendent. He has more than 15 years of construction experience.