ERF Wireless, which has built a broadband wireless network across the state, is scheduled to open an office next month in the Louisiana Business and Technology Center. The Texas-based company plans to start with two employees.
EDSA Group’s financial literacy program, Goodmoneyhabits.com, is being used by three colleges, and a deal is pending to introduce the software at all 46 schools in the Louisiana Community and Technical College System.
The LSU FACES lab [Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services] is partnering with Baton Rouge Crime Stoppers to work on solving some of the state’s unidentified and missing persons cases. The partnership will publicize cases via local news broadcasts, newspaper ads, Web site databases and a billboard campaign, all of which will feature visual reconstructions created by FACES. In instances of foul play, Crime Stoppers will also offer up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest or indictment of perpetrators.
The Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport will receive a $4.42 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to strengthen runway safety.
Alpine Access, which provides customer care for everyone from the IRS to Office Depot, is expanding into Louisiana and plans to hire about 100 people. An Alpine spokeswoman says the company is looking to hire people in metro Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Shreveport, but has no set number of jobs assigned to each area. Instead of working at a call center, the employees work from their homes. Denver-based Alpine has more than 7,500 employees across the U.S.
LSU’s E.J. Ourso College of Business ranked 88th in a BusinessWeek analysis of the nation’s top undergraduate business schools. The rankings were based on a number of factors, including student satisfaction, the median starting salaries for graduating classes and average SAT scores.
AWARDS/HONORS
The Baton Rouge Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development, an organization for workplace learning and performance professionals, announced its 2009 board of directors: Kimberly Seeger, president; Melissa Terrell, president-elect; and Beth Adams, secretary. Board members include Kent Blumberg, Leah Tate, Patsy Wilkerson, Marina Brown, Maurice Velasquez and Justin Oberthier.
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center announced its 2009 board of directors and medical executive committee. Officers are Eugene Owen, chair; Charles Freeburgh, vice chair; and John McClelland, secretary. Directors are Timothy Andrus; Walter L. Bringaze III; Daniel Butler, chief of staff; Donald Daigle; Renee S. Furr; Sister Betty Lyons; Van Mayhall Jr.; Daniel Montelaro; Sister Penny Prophit; Joel Silverberg; K. Scott Wester, chief executive officer; and Karen Williams. Medical executive committee members are Daniel Butler, chief of staff; Mitchell Hebert, vice chief of staff; V. Keith Rhynes, secretary treasurer and chair of credentials committee; Elizabeth Seiter, executive member at large and chair of bylaws committee; K. Scott Wester, chief executive officer; Terrie P. Sterling, executive vice president; Richard Vath, vice president of medical affairs; David Pope, member at large; David Hanson, member at large; Mark Hausmann, surgical division; Venkat Surakanti, medical division; Jamar Melton, pediatric division; Michael Casadaban, dental division; Walter Bringaze, immediate past chief of staff; Tomas Jacome, in-house physician member.
Bass Pro Shops received the Award of Merit for Large Format Retail Stores by the Retail Design Institute in their International Store Design Awards for 2008. The award was for the design and imagery of Bass Pro Shops’ Denham Springs store. The Retail Design Institute was founded in 1961 and is dedicated to the international profession of retail store planning and design. Bass Pro Shops was also presented the Special Award for Regional Personalization for the Denham Springs store by Chain Store Age magazine in their Retail Stores of the Year edition.
LSU’s Women’s Center and Community University Partnership was awarded a 2008-09 Campus Action Project grant from the American Association of University Women for Women Experiencing Success Through Academics, Resources and Training. CAP grants funding that aims at women and girls from minority and low-income backgrounds facing educational barriers.
Ty Gose has been named chairman of the board of directors for Manners of the Heart. Gose will help lead, grow and restructure the nonprofit organization, which serves adults and children through professional instruction and application-level learning. He is an associate broker of Latter & Blum and serves on the Baton Rouge Young Life board.
The Baton Rouge Press Club announced its 2009 officers and board members. Officers are Jim Engster, Louisiana Radio Network, president; Kimberly Vetter, The Advocate, vice president; John Hightower, LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center, secretary; and Bill Michelet, Diocese of Baton Rouge and LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communications, treasurer. Board members are Mark Ballard, The Advocate; Delia Taylor, Taylor Media Services; Caroline Moses, WAFB-TV; Rebecca Breeden, 225; Linda Benedict, LSU AgCenter; Shelly Dupre, Object 9; Shelia McCant, Louisiana House of Representatives; and Victor Kirk, Victor C. Kirk Inc.
Phelps Dunbar attorney Randy P. Roussel has been named Lawyer of the Year by the The Best Lawyers in America. Roussel, who was selected in the Real Estate Law-Baton Rouge category is a business group partner. He has represented Wampold Companies, Waffle House, Whitney National Bank, Gross Builders and other multi-family and commercial developers.
John A. Berthelot has been elected to the American Gateway Bank board of directors. Berthelot is the immediate past chairman of the Capital Region Planning Commission’s executive board, representing Ascension and Livingston parishes. He is the former mayor of Gonzales.
Larry Johnson has been named Photographer of the Year by the Greater Baton Rouge Professional Photographer’s Guild. Johnson has received international acclaim for his accomplishments in animal portraits. He has worked in many locations throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Tereena Gary, a senior sales representative for Cox Business, has been named the top sales representative in the country after finishing 2008 at 233% above quota. Gary, who joined Cox’s Winner’s Circle national sales incentive program, finished ahead of sales representatives from the company’s 17 national markets, including Las Vegas, northern Virginia, Phoenix and San Diego.
