The Baton Rouge General has begun posting its emergency department wait times on its Web site, brgeneral.org. The wait time is automatically queried by averaging the times from the previous four hours. The Bluebonnet and Mid City facilities are calculated and listed independently.
Interactive E-Solutions has acquired SimplifyIT in a merger that was completed earlier this month. SimplifyIT had concentrated on small business customers, while IES worked with government agencies and finance companies. IES, which also owns the Plus+, TelNet, Inc., and the NerdWerks chain of computer stores, had about 15 employees prior to the acquisition, while SimplifyIT had five.
K-fx2, a design firm, and Diane Allen and Associates, a marketing and advertising agency, have teamed with the Port of Greater Baton Rouge to improve its Web site, portgbr.com. The port wants its new site to be a valuable source of information for its employees, partners, customers and the community.
Louisiana Economic Development has launched the Louisiana Development Ready Communities pilot program, one of LED’s strategies to cultivate the economic competitiveness of municipalities, parishes and regions statewide. All Louisiana municipalities are invited to apply for the program. Eight communities will be selected to implement four development-ready elements [assessment, strategic planning, leadership development and marketing] before completing their economic development strategic plans by early 2010.
Moreau Physical Therapy has been contracted to provide services for injury prevention, early intervention and rehabilitation for all Georgia-Pacific employees.
PJ’s Coffee of New Orleans celebrated the one-year birthday of its Highland Road location with an Aug. 15 party that included cake, ice cream and half-price beverages.
TOPCOR Services, a specialty contractor in concrete restoration and protection, celebrated its 20th anniversary by highlighting the company’s benchmarks, safety record and its first 20-year employee, Patrick Chambers.
AWARDS/HONORS
Burton LeBlanc, a shareholder with Barron & Budd law firm, was elected American Association for Justice treasurer. LeBlanc served last year as parliamentarian.
Cynthia Y. Rougeau, executive director of the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System, was elected vice president for Region 4 of the National Association of State Retirement Administrators. The region includes Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Colorado, New Mexico and Kansas.
Debra Lockwood, the executive vice president/CFO for Provident Resources Group, has been chosen chairman-elect of the American Heart Association’s national board of directors and chairman of the association’s Greater Southeast Affiliate. She will serve in both roles for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
Jim Austin, partner in charge of Adams and Reese’s Baton Rouge office, has been elected chairman of the Louisiana Bankers Association Bank Counsel Section. Austin is a member of the banking and finance and real estate practice teams in the transactions and corporate advisory services practice group.
John O. LeTard of the Medical Pharmacy of Zachary recently received the Independent Pharmacist of the Year Award from the Louisiana Pharmacists Association. The honor recognizes independent pharmacists for demonstrating creative management, advancements in technology and participation in new patient programs.
Kathi Gill, the president/CEO of Neighbors Federal Credit Union, received the Professional of the Year Award from the Louisiana Credit Union League. The honor recognizes an individual for their length of involvement in the credit union movement, their contributions to individual credit unions, promotion of the credit union movement, their involvement in credit union organizations on a local, state and national level, and their civic and community involvement.
Keypoint Federal Credit Union received an Excellence in Marketing Award for best Web site in the $20 million-$60 million category from the Louisiana Credit Union League.
The LSU Flores MBA Program in the E.J. Ourso College of Business ranks 26th in the country among public institutions based on return of investment—compensation five years after graduation minus tuition and the forgone salary during school. The Forbes rankings are based on the 2004 graduating class.
Mayor Kip Holden received the Sue Turner Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Arts by the LSU Museum of Art. The honor recognizes an individual who has made a significant difference in the community through artistic and cultural contributions and activities.
Neighbors Federal Credit Union received three 2009 Datatrac Great Rate Awards for outperforming the Baton Rouge market interest rate average on auto loans, credit cards and personal loans for the year ending March 31. The awards recognize the rate offered by the institution’s product consistently outperformed the specified market average of all financial institutions monitored by Datatrac during an annual or quarterly period.
Paul H. Dué of the law firm Dué, Price, Guidry, Piedrahita & Andrews has been named in the 2010 issue of The Best Lawyers in America in the personal injury litigation and products liability practice areas. Dué also was selected as the Personal Injury Litigation 2009 Lawyer of the Year for Baton Rouge.
Peacock Communications has been selected for the 2009 Best of Baton Rouge Award in the Commercial and Literary Writings Category by the U.S. Commerce Association. The award recognizes outstanding local businesses across the country.
The Public Affairs and Research Council of Louisiana received two awards from the Governmental Research Association. PAR was a region-level winner in Most Effective Education for GulfGov Reports: Study of the Recovery, Role, and Capacity of the States and Localities Damaged by the 2005 Hurricanes and a certificate of merit in Most Distinguished Research for Redistricting 2010: Reforming the Process of Distributing Political Power.
Regions Insurance Group is No. 18 on Business Insurance magazine’s list of the 100 largest brokers of U.S. business. The rankings are based on 2008 brokerage revenues, of which Regions had $110.5 million, an 8.6% increase from the previous year.
Six attorneys from Adams and Reese’s Baton Rouge office have been named in the 2010 issue of The Best Lawyers in America. They are: V. Thomas Clark Jr., insurance law; Richard B. Easterling, government relations law; E.L. Henry, government relations law; Patricia B. McMurray, bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights law; Daniel K. Rester, gaming law; and Robert C. Schmidt, employee benefits law. The firm also ranked No. 1 in 15 categories.
Ten attorneys from Phelps Dunbar’s Baton Rouge office have been named in the 2010 issue of The Best Lawyers in America. The attorneys are: Allen D. Darden, intellectual property law; Michael D. Hunt, bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, construction law; H. Alston Johnson III, appellate law, workers’ compensation law; F. Scott Kaiser, commercial litigation; Thomas H. Kiggans, labor and employment law; Jeffrey W. Koonce, tax law, trusts and estates; Steven J. Levine, environmental law, railroad law; Marshall M. Redmon, insurance law, professional malpractice law; Patrick Ragan Richard, franchise law; and Randy P. Roussel, banking law, real estate law. The firm also ranked No. 1 in 52 categories.
Twelve attorneys from Jones Walker’s Baton Rouge office have been named in the 2010 issue of The Best Lawyers in America. They are: John C. Blackman IV, employee benefits law, tax law, trusts and estates; Robert R. Casey, tax law, trusts and estates; Fred L. Chevalier, public finance law; Leon Gary Jr., bet-the-company litigation; Jeffry W. Gray, real estate law; Charles A. Landry, real estate law; B. Michael Mauldin, corporate law, trusts and estates; James C. Percy, commercial litigation; Louis S. Quinn Jr., real estate law; Dionne M. Rousseau, corporate law, securities law; Robert W. Scheffy Jr., energy law, natural resources law, oil and gas law; and Robert C. Tucker, intellectual property law. The firm also ranked No. 1 in 36 categories.
Twenty-two attorneys from Kean Miller have been named in the 2010 issue of The Best Lawyers in America. They are: G. William “Bill” Jarman, best-the-company, commercial litigation, energy law, oil and gas law; Russel O. Primeaux, intellectual property law; Charles S. McCowan Jr., mass tort litigation, personal injury litigation; Carey J. Messina, tax law, trusts and estates; Ben R. Miller Jr., corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, trusts and estates; Charles S. “Trey” McCowan III, bet-the-company litigation, commercial litigation, natural resources law, oil and gas law; Christopher J. Dicharry, tax law; Issac M. “Mack” Gregorie Jr., real estate law; Maureen N. Harbourt, environmental law; Leonard L. “Len” Kilgore, environmental law; Gary A. Bezet, commercial litigation, G. Blane Clark Jr., corporate law, mergers and acquisitions law; Vance A. Gibbs, medical malpractice law; Katherine W. King, administrative law, energy law, communications law; J. Randy Young, administrative law; Dean P. Cazenave, mergers and acquisitions law; Linda G. Rodrigue, health care law; John F. Jakuback, insurance law; Kyle B. Beall, water law; James P. Dore, timber law; Terrence D. “Terry” McCay, timber law; and David J. Nelson, construction law. The firm also ranked No. 1 in 23 categories.
ACCREDITATION/CERTIFICATION
Jerry Hebert, the managing principal of Grace and Hebert Architects, is now LEED accredited through the U.S. Green Building Council. He also has been selected to serve on the American Institute of Architects/Associated General Contractors of America National Joint Committee, which addresses issues of concern and interest to architects and contractors across the country.
