Block Companies has moved to 2380 Towne Center Blvd., Ste. 1210. The new office is nearly twice the size of the general building and construction management firm’s former location on Jamestown Avenue. Block Companies was established in 2005 and focuses on commercial and multi-family developments.
IberiaBank is a 2009 sponsor of the Cinderella Project, a volunteer organization that provides free prom dresses to high school students who cannot afford them. The project will supply prom dresses to qualifying high school girls though a series of special events and corporate support; the first dropoff date is Feb. 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 3700 Essen Ln. The Cinderella Project is also seeking cash donations, which can be made at IberiaBank locations.
Lofton Staffing Services and Lofton Security Service is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The companies, founded in 1979 by Tommy Lofton, are business units within Lofton Corporation, a service provider of staffing solutions delivered through its staffing, industrial, professional and security divisions. Lofton has 10 offices in Louisiana and Texas; its Baton Rouge office is located on Interline Avenue.
Louisiana’s credit unions joined the expanded Invest in America program, a loan partnership giving 90 million credit union members across the country access to General Motors’ Credit Union Member Discount Program and Chrysler Corporation’s Credit Union Member Cash discounts, as well as access to affordable financing on the purchase of new vehicles. The program runs through June 30, 2009.
SunShine Pages has released its 2009 area telephone directory. The distribution of more than 300,000 directories began Jan. 15 and should be completed by the month’s end. In a move toward environmental conscientiousness, SunShine Pages has removed the Residential White Listings permanently, but they are still online at sunshinepages.com.
The LSU Rural Life Museum broke ground on a 20,000-square-foot visitor/exhibit center on Jan. 14. The addition will include a lobby, bathrooms, expanded gift shop, multi-use movie room, exhibit space, classroom/lecture space and administrative/volunteer offices. The Whispers of Change fundraising campaign began almost eight years ago, and the expansion project is part of the Forever LSU campaign.
The Prop Depot, which sells props for movie and theater productions, opened Jan. 24 on North Marchand Street in Gonzales. The business carries everything from period furniture to phone booths, owner Roger Johnson says. The Prop Depot will also act as a middleman between movie crews and people who have unusual props or property where shooting can take place. The business will have four employees.
AWARDS/HONORS
Alton E. Bayard III, a shareholder of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, has been named to Louisiana Super Lawyers. Bayard practices in the areas of tax, estate planning and business law. This is the third year he has been selected for the publication.
Barry A. Meyer has been named as a member of the Louisiana Advisory Board for Best Buddies Louisiana. Meyer is the executive director of The Arc Baton Rouge and will serve a two-year term on the board. Best Buddies works to enhance the lives of people with intellectual disabilities by providing opportunities for friendships and integrated employment.
Bryon Hume and William May of Tipton Associates earned their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Professional Accreditation, bringing the firm’s total number of LEED-accredited professionals to four. Hume is a partner of Tipton and has been with the firm since 1995. He works on civic, educational and healthcare projects. May joined Tipton in 2007 as a designer for commercial projects.
Capital Area CASA Association has elected new members and officers to its Board of Directors. Officers are Todd Caruso, chairman; Chandel McDonald, vice chair; Shannon C. Gregoire, treasurer; and Roy Hebert, secretary. Newly elected board members include Thomas A. Fisher, Tammy Littleton, Suzanne W. Miller, Mary H. Thomson and Brandi L. Williams. Court Appointed Special Advocates work to ensure timely placement of children in permanent, safe and stable homes.
Charles D’Agostino, executive director of the LSU Louisiana Business & Technology Center, was elected to serve on the Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association board for 2009. LIDEA is a nonprofit aiming to create new job opportunities by encouraging companies to locate, expand or start up in Louisiana. D’Agostino has been active in the organization since LBTC’s inception in 1988.
Community Coffee Co. has been named client of the year by Profiles International, a talent management and job placement company. Community has used Profiles’ assessments since 1995 for hiring in its chain operations and inside its corporate headquarters.
Entergy Louisiana and Entergy Gulf States Louisiana were awarded Piccadilly Restaurant’s first Vendor of the Year award in recognition for the companies’ work to restore power across the state following hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The award honors a company that exemplifies outstanding commitment and service to its customers and the community.
LSU researchers Kam-Biu Liu [research on hurricane recurrence frequencies and climate change in Andean and Tibetan high mountain environments], Claude Bouchard [research on heritability and the biology of obesity, and for his leadership as an executive director of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center] and E.W. Plummer [development of instrumentation and its use to research surface physics of metals, and for the mentoring of promising young scientists] have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The distinction of fellowship follows an extensive nomination, review and voting process by peers and the AAAS council.
Margaret Womack has been named chair of Baton Rouge General Foundation’s board of directors. Womack has been a member of the board for seven years and has chaired multiple committees. The Foundation also elected Amy Howe, community volunteer; Perry Franklin of Franklin Industries; and Scott Singletary of BancorpSouth to the board for three-year terms.
Murphy Bell Jr. and Walter Dumas, both of Baton Rouge, were appointed to the Southern University Board of Supervisors by Gov. Bobby Jindal. Bell is an attorney and partner with Jackson-Bell Attorneys at Law and serves on the regional board of directors for Teach for America. Bell will serve as a representative of the 6th Congressional District. Dumas is the president of Dumas & Associates Law Firm and is a member of the Southern University System Foundation. Dumas will serve as an at-large member.
Nick Mills and Bradley Tassin of MAPP Construction recently earned their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Professional Accreditation, bringing the firm’s total of LEED-accredited professionals to four. The accreditation provides verification of individual expertise in the principles of green building design, construction and operation.
Thirty-eight Jones Walker attorneys were listed in the 2009 issue of Louisiana Super Lawyers. Jones Walker partner R. Patrick Vance was listed among the top 10 attorneys in the state, and partner Harry Simms Hardin III was listed among the top 50 statewide. Partners Elizabeth J. Futrell and Pauline F. Hardin were listed among the top 25 female attorneys in the state for the third consecutive year.
