American Gateway Bank has begun a major renovation of its Mid City branch located at 4944 Florida Blvd. The project will include a more modern and functional lobby, new drive-thru lanes and additional parking. The renovation is scheduled for completion in spring 2010. A full-service temporary location will operate from the back parking lot during most of the project.
CC’s Community Coffee House on Nov. 17 opened its first Ascension Parish location, 17100 Airline Hwy., Ste. A in Prairieville. CC’s includes free Wireless and works from local artists affiliated with River Region Art Association. CC’s now has 30 locations.
IberiaBank has taken over two failed Florida-based banks, Century Bank of Sarasota and Orion Bank of Naples. The banks had 34 branches across Florida with assets totaling $3.1 billion, loans totaling $2.5 billion and deposits totaling $2.5 billion. Earlier this year, IberiaBank acquired three branches of Birmingham, Ala.-based CapitalSouth Bank, which had three Florida locations.
Moffatt & Nichol has signed a contract with the Bulgarian Ports and Infrastructure Company for detailed design of two container terminals at the Black Sea ports of Bourgas and Varna. In a joint venture with Japan-based Oriental Consultants, Moffatt & Nichol will be responsible for detailed design, tender assistance and construction supervision for the $410 million project.
The Shaw Group has been awarded a share of five-year contract for construction services at Navy facilities in the West. Shaw is one of eight contractors that will compete for task orders at Naval Facilities Engineering Command installations in California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. The contract includes building combat training ranges, canals and channels. Shaw also has been selected to provide proprietary technology and perform design work for an ethylene and propylene plant in China’s Shaanxi Province.
Smile Stars Pediatric Dentistry and K-fx2, a local Web design firm, have launched an enhanced version of smilestars.com. The redesigned site includes information about the office, doctors and team members as well as a photo gallery of their community involvement.
Wright Feigley Communications has been hired by Nottoway Plantation to lead its advertising and marketing efforts. Wright Feigley initially will develop a new creative direction and marketing strategy for the Mansion Restaurant, and then focus on an advertising, marketing and public-relations campaign for the rest of the property.
ACCREDITATIONS/CERTIFICATIONS
Stacy Russo-Nichols of Northwestern Mutual of Louisiana-Baton Rouge has been conferred her Chartered Financial Consultant designation from the American College. Russo-Nichols has served as a financial representative with Northwestern Mutual since 1999.
AWARDS/HONORS
Amedisys Home Health Care has received a 2009 Best of Baton Rouge Award in the Home Health Service category by the U.S. Commerce Association. The honor recognizes local businesses throughout the country.
Dr. Rebecca White has received the Judge Richard Ware Award from the Louisiana Children’s Trust Fund. The honor recognizes an individual who works in child abuse and neglect prevention and models the exemplary commitment to children demonstrated by Ware, the former chairman of the trust fund’s board of directors.
John Battaglia, a financial representative with Northwestern Mutual of Louisiana-Baton Rouge, was selected to attend the Northwestern Mutual Forum in Scottsdale, Ariz. The forum is an education and development symposium that focuses on industry issues and ways to enhance productivity. Of the company’s 7,000 representatives, only 235 were eligible to attend.
Jones Walker has been named to the National Law Journal’s NLJ 250, its annual list of the 250 largest law firms in the U.S. The firm ranks No. 156, climbing from No. 182 in 2007 and No. 163 in 2008.
Kean Miller has been listed in the National Law Journal annual “Who Represents Corporate America” report as one of the preferred law firms for Fortune 500 companies. The firm is listed in the areas of torts and negligence defense, and employment and labor litigation.
LSU’s Creative Writing Master of Fine Arts program has been ranked No. 42 by Poets & Writers Magazine in its November/December issue. The program is tied with Florida State, New Hampshire and Rutgers. The magazine compiled its rankings based on an online poll of more than 500 current and prospective MFA applicants from October 2008 to April 2009.
Phelps Dunbar partner Randy P. Roussel has been named to the Lawyers of the Year for 2010 by The Best Lawyers in America, which recognizes attorneys in high-profile legal specialties in large legal communities. Roussel is a partner in the firm’s business group. His general business practice is concentrated in real estate, banking and commercial transactions.
Tom Ashley of Denham Springs-based Expand Inc., has received a Homes for Life Award in the Single Space category from the National Association of Home Builders Remodelers. Ashley remodeled a bathroom for a retired couple to make it more accessible as they age.
MEMBERSHIPS
Anita Ducote, an ERA Stirling Properties sales associate, has completed National Association Green designation, an 18-hour course that covered the definition of Green professionalism, excellence and leadership while addressing the concerns of consumers who are seeking Green expertise.
Mark Weaver, the Thomas H. Daigre Endowed Chair of Business Administration in LSU’s Rucks Department of Management, has been selected as the president-elect of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He currently serves as senior vice president of programming for USASBE.
Michael Busada, an associate in the litigation practice group at Adams and Reese, has been elected to the Young Lawyers Section Council of the Baton Rouge Bar Association.
Rick Cox, a senior emergency planner at IEM, has been elected chairman of the board of the International Association of Emergency Managers, a nonprofit educational organization that advocates saving lives and protecting property during emergencies and disasters. Cox, who joined IEM in 2008, has more than 20 years of emergency-management experience.
PHILANTHROPY
The Copyu Foundation has donated $31,500 to the LSU Libraries to support a major exhibition of ornithological books from its E.A. McIlhenny Natural History Collection and the publication of an exhibition catalog in 2011. The foundation carries on the charitable work of the late John S. McIlhenny, a relative of the founder of the Avery Island-based McIlhenny Company, which makes Tabasco-brand pepper sauces.
The Foundation for Historical Louisiana has received an $83,000 “Partners in the Field” matching grant from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for advocacy and technical assistance to the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge and West Feliciana.
Seola and Richard Edwards have been recognized for their Forever LSU contributions with the naming of the Seola Arnaud and Richard V. Edwards Jr. Classroom. Located in Room 424 of Hodges Hall in the French Studies Department, the classroom is equipped for multimedia presentations and lectures. The Edwards’ gifts during the campaign total more than $250,000.
