Capital Area CASA Association broke ground on its office building on May 14. The building, at Louisiana Avenue and Maximillian Street, will offer more space for the nonprofit organization, including larger training classes for volunteers. CASA trains and supervises volunteers to advocate for the timely placement of abused children in safe, permanent homes.
Cox Communications has added high-definition channels to its lineup, making it the largest HD lineup in Louisiana. Cox has added BET HD, Major League Baseball HD, Fox Business HD and Biography HD in the Baton Rouge and Acadiana markets, and WGN HD in the Baton Rouge and St. Mary Parish service areas.
Georgia-Pacific’s Port Hudson Operations played a part in the nationwide rollout of the new Brawny paper towel. The new Brawny hit store shelves last month with a softer towel and a new consumer-preferred emboss design. While no new converting lines or manufacturing assets were installed for this launch, converting lines producing the new Brawny at Port Hudson have been modified to support the innovation.
The Hilton Baton Rouge Capitol Center has been recommended for a four-diamond rating in AAA’s 2010 travel directory. Inspections have been completed, and the recommendation must still be approved at the national level. The hotel has received the go-ahead to promote the designation. AAA’s Web site lists 16 four-diamond hotels in Louisiana, all in New Orleans. There are no five-diamond properties in the state.
Hospice Care of Louisiana, a leading provider of hospice services throughout the state, has changed its name to Hospice Compassus to better reflect the all-encompassing hospice work performed throughout the community. The name change does not affect the location of its Baton Rouge office on YMCA Plaza Drive.
Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation’s “A” [excellent] rating by A.M. Best Company has been reaffirmed for 2009. A.M. Best is the leading provider of ratings, news and financial data for the insurance industry. The “A” [excellent] rating is assigned to companies that have excellent financial strength and operating performance as well as favorable market position when compared to established industry standards.
LSU will be home to one of 46 multimillion-dollar Energy Frontier Research Centers as announced by the White House. EFRCs, which will pursue advanced scientific research on energy, are being established by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science at universities, national laboratories and nonprofit organizations across the country. The DOE plans to fund LSU’s EFRC with $12.5 million, payable over five years. The Board of Regents also is supporting LSU’s EFRC with $940,000 in additional funds. LSU’s EFRC is titled “Computational Catalysis and Atomic-Level Synthesis of Materials: Building Effective Catalysts from First Principles.” It will be housed in the Cain Department of Chemical Engineering.
Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. has relocated its service center from Port Allen to a three-acre, 21-door facility on Mengel Road in Baton Rouge. Old Dominion Freight Line Inc. is a leading less-than-truckload super regional carrier offering a variety of products and services along with national and international coverage.
Pamela Matassa and Brad Watts have partnered to form Watassa Consulting, which specializes in public relations, government relations, lobbying, special events and political and nonprofit fundraising. Matassa and Watts have a combined 30 years’ experience in the industry. Matassa is a professional fundraiser and events coordinator and also a television personality. Watts is an independent lobbyist who previously worked with Lamar Advertising and Impact Management Group.
Trey Trahan is one of 22 American architects featured in the book, Arquitectos Americanos. Trahan’s design of Holy Rosary Church in St. Amant is featured on the front and back covers of the book. Other architects profiled include Pritzker Prize Laureates Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne and Richard Meier and internationally recognized designers Daniel Libeskind and Stephen Holl. Holy Rosary Church is one of the most honored ecclesiastical designs in the world, having received nine national and international awards.
Wholesale Pool Supplies of Zachary has become affiliated with The Backyard Place, a retail partnership between POOLCORP of Covington, the world’s largest distributor of pool supplies, equipment and related leisure products, and some of the country’s leading pool, spa and backyard retailers. The program provides independent dealers with the tools to create a one-stop shop for all of the products that homeowners need for their pools and backyards.
AWARDS/HONORS
Chris M. White of Wynn L. White Consulting Engineers, Inc. has achieved accreditation as a LEED Accredited Professional. The certification is a voluntary, consensus-based, nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of energy-efficient, green buildings. LEED was developed by the United States Green Building Council.
C. Michael Dowden, the vice president of financial operations for Harger and Company, has become a licensed certified planner. Harger has been with the company, a registered broker/dealer, since 2000. He also is a licensed general securities representative, general securities principal and financial and operations principal.
Dr. Kenneth Brown has been appointed to the board of directors of LAMMICO. Brown is the medical director and chief medical officer for the Woman’s Health Foundation. He will continue to serve on LAMMICO’s underwriting committee.
Hancock Holding Company, the parent of Gulfport, Miss.-based Hancock Bank, has been named one of the 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America by Forbes magazine. The honor is based on an annual study by Audit Integrity, an independent provider of accounting and governance reliability and risk analysis of public companies.
Jennifer Boggs, a commercial relationship manager for Gulf Coast Bank and Trust in Baton Rouge, has been selected as secretary/treasurer for the 2009-10 Louisiana Bankers Education Council. Drew Maciasz, the vice president of Cottonport Bank’s Brusly location, as been selected as a council member at large.
Joel Fontenot, an architect with Grace and Hebert Architects, received his license after completing the Louisiana Architectural Registration exam. Fontenot joined Grace and Hebert in 1998 after having worked for LSU’s Office of Facility Development. His projects include commercial, health care, justice and retain work.
Lafayette-based Fenstermaker, which has an office in Baton Rouge, has ranked No. 272 on the Engineering News-Record Top 500 Design Firms. Fenstermaker jumped 115 spots from last year’s list, which ranks companies according to revenue generated for engineering design services performed in 2008.
The LSU Bogalusa Medical Center Respiratory Therapy Department has earned Quality Respiratory Care Recognition from the American Association for Respiratory Care. The designation ensures quality respiratory care in a hospital and helps patients and families make informed decisions about the quality of the respiratory care services available at the institution of their choice.
The LSU College of Basic Sciences inducted Dr. Charles Black Sr., George H. Lowery Jr., John S. McIlhenny, Robert V. Nauman and Dr. Charles M. Smith into its Hall of Distinction. The college established the Hall of Distinction in 2004 to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the advancement of science, education and health professions. With this year’s induction, 26 individuals are included in the hall.
Naci Mocan, Ourso Distinguished Chair of Economics and professor in the LSU Department of Economics, has won Economic Inquiry’s 2008 Best Article Award for his paper, What Determines Corruption? International Evidence from Microdata. The article was published in the October 2008 issue of the journal. The paper uses individual-level data from 49 countries to create a direct measure of corruption, which is a country-level corruption index based on the proportion of individuals in a country who were asked for a bribe in a year.
Object 9 recently received four Summit Creative Awards from Summit International Awards. The agency received silver recognitions for the Baton Rouge Area Chamber’s 2007 annual report and the Baton Rouge Area Digital Industries Consortium’s Viewfinder project. The agency also received bronze recognitions for BRAC’s Catalyst magazine cover and the Wild Goose Brewery logo.
The Public Affairs Research Council elected a new board. Included from Baton Rouge are Chairman Donna M. Saurage and Vice Chairman Gordon Pugh of Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson. PAR also elected board members for three-year terms ending in 2012, including Charlotte Brent, service quality leader, Dow Chemical, Plaquemine; Layne McDaniel, president, Noesis Data; and Ben R. Miller Jr., of counsel, Kean Miller. PAR members also re-elected directors to serve another three-year term ending in 2012, including Rob Stuart, president, Capital One, and Greg Cotter.
Taylor Carroll, an attorney in Phelps Dunbar’s commercial litigation practice group, has been selected by the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section to participate in its 2009-10 Leadership Academy. The program provides its participants with the tools, knowledge and skills necessary to lead the legal profession and to improve leadership service in the community.
Vince Gonzalez received the Myron Falk Award from the Louisiana Capital Area Chapter of the American Red Cross at its annual volunteer recognition banquet. The award honors the person who exemplifies what it means to be a volunteer. Gonzalez, who works for ExxonMobil, serves as the material support services activity lead volunteer. Also honored were Kay Fetterman [Disaster Services], Gene Gonzales [Volunteer Instructor Response], Howard Bushey [Volunteer Instructor Preparedness], Khwanza LeBlanc [Preparedness Services]; Georgiana Johnson [Most Outstanding New Volunteer], Floyd Smith [Support Services Volunteer], Jessica Miceli [Youth Volunteer] and Karen Howells [Genevieve Sheridan Award].
Zehnder Communications recently won two Tellys at the national Telly Awards, which honor the best local and regional television commercials and programs as well as the industry’s best video and film productions. Zehnder received a Bronze Telly for its Boudreaux’s Fine Jewelers “Nightmare” spot and a Bronze Telly for its St. Tammany Hospital “How far?” spot.
PHILANTHROPY
The Baton Rouge Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure has awarded a $25,000 grant to Lane Regional Medical Center to offer educational materials and mammograms.
