Aquaterra Engineering, which practices in geotechnical, environmental, construction materials engineering and testing, and solid waste services, has joined Olathe, Kan.-based Terracon, one of the nation’s largest employee-owned engineering consulting firms. Aquaterra, which has offices in Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama, will continue functioning with the same name. Terracon is maintaining Aquaterra’s more than 100 engineers, geologists, scientists and technicians.
Celtic Media Centre held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Oct. 9 for the completion of Phase One of the development of Raleigh Studios. Battle: Los Angeles, the first major feature film to shoot at Celtic, began principal photography at the center on Oct. 12.
Hammond Square celebrated its grand reopening on Oct. 1. Stirling Properties spent roughly $100 million to buy the original 430,000-square-foot Hammond Square Mall—a 1970s-era design disaster—demolish it, and create a new open-air power/lifestyle center twice the original size.
IEM has been awarded a five-year, $22.5 million contract to enhance an emergency system that protects Army bases where chemical weapons are being stored and destroyed. The company will enhance WebPuff, a system it developed for the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program and is installed at Army bases in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky, Oregon and Utah. WebPuff provides models on how to treat the release of chemicals stockpiled at the bases and creates models on the potential for chemical releases, based on the weather.
Neighbors Federal Credit Union held a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 1 for its Prairieville branch at Airline Highway and La. Highway 42. Construction on the full-service branch is scheduled to begin later this month, and the branch is scheduled to open in summer 2010.
On The Half Shell, a Prairieville seafood restaurant, has been purchased by the owners of local sandwich chain Brew-Bacher’s. On The Half Shell will keep its name and employees, and the only immediate changes are the addition of Visa and Mastercard and some new items on the lunch menu. Brew-Bacher’s has six locations in the Capital Region. On The Half Shell’s location on Bluebonnet Boulevard between Burbank Drive and Highland Road was not included in the sale.
The Shaw Group has entered into a $1 billion contract with Daewoo Engineering & Consulting to work on an oil project in Indonesia. The new contract furthers the bond between DEC and Shaw on projects in the Middle East and Africa.
Wells Fargo Advisors has moved into a new office at 7301 Commerce Cir., Ste. 200. The location is off Corporate Boulevard near Towne Center at Cedar Lodge. The Baton Rouge office has been in operation for 29 years and currently has 18 financial advisers.
ACCREDITATIONS/CERTIFICATIONS
Mel Landry, a sales associate for ERA Stirling Properties, has completed Louisiana Realtors’ LRLeadership Program. Landry received the distinction after attending a series of four retreats spanning a minimum of 55 hours of leadership training, covering subjects such as communications, anatomy of a leader, management essentials, networking, Louisiana legislature, risk management, decision making and implementation.
AWARDS/HONORS
The Center for Planning Excellence has received the Olmsted Medal for environmental leadership, vision and stewardship by the American Society of Landscape Architects. CPEX, which has been instrumental in revitalization efforts across Louisiana since hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, joins past recipients such as President Jimmy Carter and first lady Rosalynn Carter, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
EATEL has received the STAR Award from the Fiber-to-the-Home Council North America. The honor recognizes a person, community or company that has gone above and beyond what is expected in the advancement of fiber-to-the-home.
Fahui Wang, the Fred B. Kniffen Professor in the LSU Department of Geography & Anthropology, has been awarded the Outstanding Overseas Young Scientist Fund by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The fund supports Wang’s project, which is entitled “Evolutions of Transport Networks and Systems of Cities in China 1906-2008” and examines the interrelatedness of transportation networks and systems of cities and their historical evolution processes in China over a century.
Fanghua Mei, chief executive officer of Enervana Technologies, a tenant of the business incubator at LSU’s Louisiana Business & Technology Center, has won a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research award of $100,000 from the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships. The company will use the funding to develop a recirculating fluid cooling system for electronic devices.
J. Michael Cutshaw has been selected for inclusion in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, banking law.
LaPorte Sehrt Romig Hand CPAs has been named one of the 100 best accounting firms to work for in the U.S. by The Accountants Media Group. The survey identifies, recognizes and honors the best places of employment in the industry, benefiting the nation’s economy, its workforce and businesses.
Mesh Design has been selected to receive the 2009 Best of Baton Rouge Award in the design services category from the U.S. Commerce Association. The honor recognizes outstanding local businesses that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.
MidSouth Bank received a second-place Financial Marketing Award from the American Bankers Association for its 2008 annual report in the category of $500 million to $1 billion in assets. The honor recognizes innovation and creativity; the bank’s annual report used no photography and took a minimalist approach to graphics and artwork to reinforce the idea that it has a practical, cost-conscious view of spending throughout its business model.
The NeuroMedical Center Surgical Hospital Laboratory has been selected as a recipient of the COLA Laboratory Excellence Award. The honor recognizes the laboratory’s commitment to performing quality patient testing and overall practices. The award is achieved by those COLA laboratories that are found to be compliant with all COLA essential and required criteria at the time of an on-site survey. In addition, award recipients must have demonstrated successful proficiency testing for the previous three testing events and have no valid complaints against the laboratory.
The Rev. Donald Ruth, the pastor of St. John’s Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, has been named the 2009 Servant Heart Pastor of the Year. The honor recognizes servant-heart characteristics, including putting the needs of others first, leading a Christ-centered life, being committed to the calling, having a joyful spirit and participating in outreach.
STUN Design and Advertising has received nine American Graphic Design Awards. The company received awards for spread designs for the LSU Alumni Association’s Spring 2009 magazine; a brochure for the LSU Office of Public Affairs; two newsletters for the LSU Museum of Art; logo designs for Bryant Hammett and Associates, Ballet de la Louisiane, Noelie Harmon and the Live After Five concert series; and its own stationery package.
BOARD MEMBERSHIPS
Tina Craft, a specialty bromides product manager for Albemarle Corporation, has been named to the Association of Water Technologies board of directors. Craft will serve as ex-officio supplier representative, providing input about how board decisions might affect and/or be received by associate members.
Ann Stokes of Shreveport has been appointed to the Louisiana Community and Technical College System Foundation Board. Stokes, who is retired, owned and served as president of ESP Construction for 18 years.
NONPROFITS
Catholic Charities Diocese of the Diocese of Baton Rouge deployed its communications director, Carol Spruell, to American Samoa as part of a Catholic Charities USA Disaster Operations team. During her weeklong stay, she assisted with the national organization’s relief and recovery work following the recent earthquake and tsunami that devastated the island territory.
PHILANTHROPY
The LSU School of Veterinary Medicine recently received a $22,940 Canine Support and Relief Fund grant from the American Kennel Club Companion Animal Recovery for the continued support, operation and maintenance of a veterinary mobile unit.
