AWC, a Baton Rouge-based distributor of equipment and supplies, has opened an electrical division. The new division, which sells electrical products to industrial and commercial contractors, has about 12 employees. The company, which sells industrial machinery and equipment across the South, has about 250 employees.
Circle Bowl celebrated its 50th anniversary on July 2 with cocktails, food and bowling. Guests included Mayor Kip Holden, who proclaimed the day as Circle Bowl Day. The center, at Airline Highway and Florida Boulevard across from Cortana Mall, is owned by Memphis, Tenn.-based Malco Theatres.
Credit Union Acceptance Company has joined with the AppOne platform, making it easier for members to provide auto and marine loans to independent dealers. CUAC is a Houston-based service organization that helps 130 credit unions with member auto loan retention and loan acquisitions. Baton Rouge-based AppOne provides software that bridges independent dealers with lenders, reducing risk.
Dempsey’s opened a second location on July 6 in the former Vic’s Chophouse site on Jefferson Highway. Dempsey’s sells po-boys, plate lunches and fried seafood. Its first location, on Coursey Boulevard, has been open for 12 years.
Hamco, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gonzales-based Crown Crafts, has purchased Neat Solutions for a preliminary price of $4.4 million. Neat Solutions makes a variety of disposable products for babies, including place mats, toilet seat covers, diaper changing pads and bibs, which are sold by national retailers such as Target and Toys“R”Us.
IEM has signed a contract with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency to conduct a series of statewide preparedness workshops dealing with emergencies such as hurricanes, winter storms and weapons of mass destruction. The Baton Rouge-based company has worked on a variety of projects in Alabama for more than a decade and has an office in Anniston, Ala.
K-fx2 has been selected to design the Web site for Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones, a former LSU track standout. Jones’ site, runlolorun.com, includes information about her background, accomplishments, goals, dreams and sponsorship.
PJ’s Coffee is scheduled to open its fifth Baton Rouge location—in the former Starbucks building on Essen Lane—by the end of this month. The new location is around the corner from the PJ’s site that opened last summer in the Perkins Palms development on Perkins Road between Essen Lane and Kenilworth Parkway.
School Aids, a Baton Rouge-based company that sells material for teachers and parents, opened a Shreveport location on July 13. The Youree Drive location is the seventh for School Aids, joining two stores in Jacksonville, Fla., and one each in Baton Rouge, Alexandria, Lake Charles and Ridgeland, Miss.
The Shaw Group’s energy and chemicals division has signed contracts to provide feasibility studies and design work for two refineries in Iraq. Shaw did not disclose the value of the work, which involves refineries in Maissan and Kirkuk. The refineries will produce 150,000 barrels per day.
Willies on the River, an upscale martini and wine bar operated by the owners of the Little Village, has opened underneath the downtown restaurant in the former Thirsty Tiger location. The bar is named for the ghost that reportedly haunts the building. Willie was a stable hand who was killed in 1848 when he was crushed by a falling wall at what is now the site of the bar. Appetizers from the Little Village are available at the bar, and there is a dining room for private parties.
AWARDS/HONORS
Architect Kevin Harris has been inducted by the American Institute of Architects into the College of Fellows. The honor recognizes architects who have made contributions of national significance to the profession, and it is considered one of the highest honors bestowed to a select group of architects by a jury of their peers.
Blackwell Communications Group and WBRZ Production Services shared a Telly Award with Kaplan Advertising of Lafayette for a public-service announcement promoting seat-belt awareness. The PSA, sponsored by the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, was produced by Sandy Kaplan of Kaplan Advertising, shot and directed by Ed Ball of WBRZ Production Services, edited by Jason Russell of WBRZ Production Services and sound design was created by Jeff Blackwell of Blackwell Communications Group studio.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana has received the Local Corporation of the Year Award from the Louisiana Minority Supplier Development Council. The award honors the company that has consistently demonstrated commitment to minority business development through effective programs, awarding of contracts and sponsorship of minority purchasing organizations.
Capital Area Human Services District is one of eight regional finalists for the 2009 Council of State Governments Innovations Award for its behavioral health and primary care integration program. The award recognizes exemplary state programs and practices and facilitates the transfer of those experiences to other states. CAHSD’s program provides community-based integrated preventive, primary and behavioral health services for the uninsured and underinsured adult population delivered through public health units, federally qualified health centers, Louisiana Primary Care Association, Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center’s mobile clinic and CAHSD’s behavioral health clinics.
The Center for Planning Excellence has been awarded the Olmsted Medal for environmental leadership, vision and stewardship by the American Society of Landscape Architects. The award, named after Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture and designer of Central Park, recognizes CPEX for its efforts in leading planning efforts across the state.
Dr. Richard Burroughs, the medical director of Pennington Cancer Center at Baton Rouge General, has been recognized by the Louisiana Academy of Physicians with the 2009 Tar Wars Star Award for his contributions to the program, in which health care professionals discuss the harmful effects of tobacco use to area fifth-graders.
GROUP Contractors, an industrial construction company, has received a National Safety Excellence Award from Associated Builders and Contractors. The honor recognizes companies whose safety performance and programs are judged to be exemplary by the ABC National Environment, Health & Safety Committee and companies who exhibit a continued commitment to jobsite safety.
Kean Miller has been recognized in four practice areas by Chambers USA as Top Tier legal resources in Louisiana. The firm ranked first in environmental law; second in energy and natural resources, and litigation/general commercial; and third in corporate/mergers and acquisitions. The guide is compiled through telephone surveys with lawyers across the nation and is based solely on market recommendations.
James Honeycutt, a LSU professor of communication studies, has been selected to co-edit the interdisciplinary journal Imagination, Cognition and Personality. Honeycutt will co-edit the journal with Robert G. Kunzendorf of the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Honeycutt is internationally known for his work in intrapersonal communication, cognition and mental imagery, known as imagined interaction, in which individuals rehearse and replay encounters in their mind.
Jane Shank, CEO of Volunteers of America Greater Baton Rouge, has been elected to the National Volunteers of America Board of Directors. More than 30 members were elected to serve a three-year term.
Jason Jobes of St. Elizabeth Hospital has been appointed to the 2009 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The award, created by public law in 1987, is the highest level of national recognition for performance excellence that a U.S. organization can receive. As an examiner, Jobes is responsible for reviewing and evaluating applications submitted for the award. The board is composed of 500 experts from industry, professional and trade organizations, education and health care organizations and government.
Jones Walker has been recognized in nine practice areas by Chambers USA as Top Tier legal resources in Louisiana. The firm ranked first in banking and finance, bankruptcy/restructuring, corporate/mergers and acquisitions, energy and natural resources, environment, gaming and licensing, labor and employment, litigation: general commercial, and real estate. The guide is compiled through telephone surveys with lawyers across the nation and is based on market recommendations.
The Livingston Parish Assessor’s Office was named a finalist for the 2008 Distinguished Assessment Jurisdiction Award, which honors the most improved and/or most outstanding assessor’s offices in the association. The office is the first in Louisiana to receive finalist distinction for this award.
Sales and Marketing Executives of Greater Baton Rouge elected board members for 2009-10. They are: Michell Rabalais, Corporate Ideas, president; Kasey Perry, Visit Baton Rouge, president-elect; Robert Blanchard, American Audio Visual, immediate past president. Other board members are: Allison Crump, Holiday Inn-South, vice president of membership; Richard Dixon, Business Report, vice president of programs; Brian Ainsworth, Campus Federal Credit Union, vice president of development; Emily Wharton, Belle of Baton Rouge and Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center Hotel, vice president of marketing; Melissa Matherne, Safety Council of Greater Baton Rouge, vice president of special events; and Amber Martin, Russell Pool Company, chairman of socials.
The Volunteers of America Greater Baton Rouge elected board members for 2009-10. They are: Leo Abel, George Bell, Jim Van Hook, Nancy Roberts and Drew Sellers. Returning board members are: Katrice Albert [vice chair], Cheri Ausberry [secretary], Mark Bowen, Margaret Culbertson [chair], Clay Devlin, Nita Dupas, Sara Downing, Blaine Grimes, Mary Howard, Tom Landry, Graig Luscombe [treasurer], Bill O’Quin, Charles Patin, Virginia Pearson, Darrell Ray and Bob Thibodeaux.
Zehnder Communications won three Bronze Tellys at the Telly Awards, which honor the best cable TV commercials and programs as well as the industry’s best video and film productions. Zehnder received Bronze Tellys for a Baton Rouge Area Foundation video as well as TV commercials for St. Tammany Parish Hospital and Boudreaux’s Fine Jewelers.
