Cool alum wins recognition

Prominent area CEO Theo Etzel recently added another trophy for his memento shelf, with the Stetson University Doyle E. Carlton Award.

The award, given to Etzel and his wife, Kim, is presented annually to an alum or friend of the university in recognition of devotion to Christian higher education, according to a statement. The award, the release adds, also recognizes an “extraordinary contribution” to the life and development of the university and Florida. One of the DeLand-based school's highest honors, the award is named for former Florida Gov. Doyle Carlton Sr., a Stetson alum and trustee.

Etzel, president and CEO of Naples-based Conditioned Air, graduated from Stetson University in 1980. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics and finance from the university's business school.

A native Floridian, Etzel has run Conditioned Air since 1995. The company, with some 340 employees, has customers from Collier through Manatee counties and did $47 million in sales in 2016. It's one the largest air-conditioning businesses in the region. Etzel was inducted into the Collier County Business Hall of Fame in 2011.