Adams and Reese will take over the St. Petersburg, Fla., and Sarasota, Fla., offices of Ruden McClosky effective Jan. 1, a move that adds 23 lawyers and helps the firm expand across the Southeast. Adams and Reese will now have more than 280 lawyers in its 12 offices, including Baton Rouge.
Alabama Telco Credit Union has expanded its relationship with Wolters Kluwer Financial Services by joining its AppOne platform, which automates the indirect lending, credit approval and compliance processes for lenders and the auto, RV and marine dealers with which they work.
Graham Group Interactive recently redesigned the Louisiana Travel Promotion Association’s Web site. The site contains updated navigation for more intuitive browsing of the site in addition to allowing members to register online, reserve marketing space in cooperative advertising opportunities, participate in advocacy programs and link through LTPA social-marketing sites.
Imperial Sugar Co., Sugar Growers & Refiners and Cargill have closed a $100 million bond offering to finance construction of a sugar mill in St. James Parish, with building slated to begin immediately. The refinery, capable of producing 1 million tons of sugar per year, will be adjacent to Imperial’s existing Gramercy facility and will create 145 permanent jobs along with 500 construction jobs. For the project, priced at $120 million, each company will contribute an additional $30 million toward construction and operations and will own equal shares of the refinery under a new venture, Louisiana Sugar Refining.
Learning Sciences Corporation has been awarded contracts with H&E Equipment and PSC Nitrogen. The company will help implement SAP ERP software training at H&E, tracking employee participation and competence levels. The company will develop an eight-course health and safety library with PSC Nitrogen. The values of the contracts were not disclosed.
The Louisiana Transparency and Accountability Portal and Online State Spending Database now includes detailed information on government services contracts. The new feature allows users to search contracts by categories or to view all contracts and sort them by government agency, contractor name, contract type or amount. Details can be viewed by clicking on the row of a given contract. The new feature can be viewed at latrac.la.gov/contracts.
AWARDS/HONORS
Barbara Thompson, a Catholic Charities of Baton Rouge International Adoption Social Worker, has received the Angel in Adoption Award from the Coalition on Adoption Institute. The program provides members of Congress the opportunity to honor an individual or entity from their district that has made an extraordinary contribution on behalf of children in need of homes. Thompson was recommended by U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, a Baton Rouge Republican.
The Department of Natural Resources has been recognized by the Louisiana State Department of Civil Service for achieving a perfect score in 28 categories during a recent compliance review. The honor acknowledges DNR’s rating in areas such as posting vacancies as required, maintaining documentation on such things as employment applications and documenting qualifications, and maintaining schedules for planning sessions and employee ratings.
The East Baton Rouge Federation of Teachers has received an Union Values in Action Award from the Louisiana Federation of Teachers or improving the lives of members, enhancing the influence of the union and advancing the mission of public education. The East Baton Rouge Federation also won a membership award for the greatest membership growth in its category.
Hancock Bank, which has more than 30 locations in the Capital Region, has been named one of the strongest and safest financial institutions by BauerFinancial for the 20th consecutive year. The honor recognizes the bank’s commitment to conservative business practices, strong capital, proactive risk management and corporate values.
LSU’s School of Art & Design recently received two honors from DesignIntelligence, the leading journal of the design professions. Dean David Cronrath was named as one of the Most Admired Educators of 2010, and the Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture ranked second for its undergraduate program and No. 3 for its graduate program.
Marybeth Lima, a professor of biological and agricultural engineering at LSU, has been selected as the 2009 Louisiana Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education. The honor recognizes professors who “do all things necessary to encourage, uphold and dignify the profession of teaching.”
Naomi Doll, a second-grade teacher at Cedarcrest-Southmoor Elementary School, and Jessie Redd, a first-grade teacher at Hosanna Christian Academy, have received a $500 first-year teacher stipend from the Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana. The teachers will use the funds to purchase instructional items for their classrooms.
Ross & Yerger, which has an office in Baton Rouge, has been selected Commercial Agency of the Year by National Underwriter Magazine, one of only three insurance companies to receive the honor. The award recognizes the agency’s consultative business approach, employee-training programs and track record of success.
Seventeen Louisiana Community & Technical College System schools, including Baton Rouge Community College, have been named to the list of fastest-growing two-year public institutions by Community College Week. BRCC ranked No. 47 in the 5,000-to-9,999 enrollment category with an 8.2% increase from 7,031 students in fall 2007 to 7,606 in fall 2008.
MEMBERSHIPS
John Lancaster of Guaranty Income Life Insurance has been named secretary-treasurer for the Louisiana Insurers’ Conference for 2010. Michele Calandro of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana has been named to the conference’s board of directors.
John Milazzo Jr., the president/CEO of Campus Federal Credit Union, has been named president of the Cadets of the Ole War Skule, an organization that honors the military heritage and traditions of LSU.
The LSU Stephenson Disaster Management Institute has installed 10 members to its board of experts. They are: Toni Stephenson, SDMI creator; Emmet Stephenson, SDMI creator; Eli Jones, dean, LSU’s E.J. Ourso College of Business; Lori Bertman, president/CEO, Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation; Kim Burgo, vice president, Catholic Charities USA National Disaster Response Office; Rev. Jerry Campbell, president, Claremont School of Theology; Mark Cooper, executive director, Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness; Amy Donahue, associate professor/department head, University of Connecticut; Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré, retired, U.S. Army; and Thomas Ryder, former chairman/CEO, The Reader’s Digest Association.
Paul S. West, an attorney with McGlinchey Stafford, has been elected president of the International Association of Gaming Advisors. West serves as the head of the firm’s gaming section and represents casino owners, operators, suppliers and financiers in all aspects of gaming law, including regulatory, transactional and litigation matters.
PHILANTHROPY
Entergy and Entergy Charitable Foundation have awarded $250,000 to the Forever LSU campaign. The gift will allow LSU to strengthen the power systems program in electrical engineering and jumpstart a nuclear engineering and health physics program jointly in the College of Engineering and the College of Basic Sciences.
