1000 FEET
CREDIT: Charles Breard
Demolition began in July on the Tinseltown theater. The theater has been vacant since late 2007, when parent company Cinemark USA opened a new theater in nearby Perkins Rowe. Tinseltown opened in 1996 and was the first theater in Baton Rouge to offer stadium-style seating.
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The Louisiana Lottery Corporation ended its fiscal year with $453.8 million in revenue, up about $3.3 million from the previous year, making 2015 the lottery’s second best year ever and its fifth consecutive year of growth. Resulting transfers to the state treasury for K-12 public education were more than $158 million, which was $9.3 million more than the state expected. Also this fiscal year, the Lottery transferred an additional $9 million to the state treasury for the Louisiana Mega-Project Development Fund as part of a 2014 legislative act. In addition to state coffers, local businesses that sell lottery products also benefited from the lottery in fiscal year 2015 with total retailer compensation of more than $25.2 million, which includes sales commission, incentives for cashing winning tickets and bonuses for selling winning tickets.
COMPANY NEWS
Of the 39 Louisiana-based companies included on Inc. magazine’s 2015 listing of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in America, 10 are headquartered in the Baton Rouge area. They are ranked as follows: No. 364: e-Gov Systems, which saw revenues grow by 1,299% to $6.6 million last year; No. 689: Southern Marsh Collection, on revenue growth of 656% to $17.2 million; No. 975: Darren James Real Estate Experts, on revenue growth of 453% to $2.8 million; No. 1,177: Transformyx, on revenue growth of 358% to $12.8 million; No. 1,441: Envoc, on revenue growth of 287% to $2.9 million; No. 1,785: FMM construction, on revenue growth of 224% to $3.8 million; No. 3,386: ShoppersChoice.com, on revenue growth of 97% to $60.8 million; No. 4,327: Gulf South Technology Solutions, on revenue growth of 63% to $3.1 million; No. 4,331: Verma Systems, on revenue growth of 63% to $4.3 million; and No. 4,829: Starmount Life Insurance Co., on revenue growth of 49% to $98.4 million. Louisiana’s highest-ranked company on the list is PosiGen, which is ranked No. 58 and is based in New Orleans, with offices in Baton Rouge. The company saw revenue growth of 4,500% to $68.7 million.
ACCREDITATION | CERTIFICATION
Baton Rouge General’s Pennington Cancer Center has been awarded a three-year full accreditation designation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, a program administered by the American College of Surgeons. Baton Rouge General’s Pennington Cancer Center is the region’s first accredited and comprehensive cancer program, which includes a full slate of resources dedicated to helping women fight breast cancer.
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Camile Silva has obtained her architectural license and founded C. Silva Architect. She is also a licensed architect in Brazil, and has previously worked for firms in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Birmingham, and Brazil on various projects including health care, educational, and sports complexes.
AWARDS | HONORS
Baker Donelson has been ranked among the top ten law firms in the country in the 2016 edition of Vault, Inc.‘s Best Law Firms to Work For and Best Law Firms for Diversity. Baker Donelson ranked fourth in the country in the Best Law Firms to Work For list. For the third consecutive year, the Firm achieved a first-place ranking in the category of transparency. Baker Donelson was also ranked among the top ten law firms nationally in the additional categories of firm culture (second place), formal training (third place), informal training (seventh place), satisfaction (seventh place), career outlook (seventh place), substantive work (ninth place) and hours (ninth place). On Vault‘s Best Law Firms for Diversity list, Baker Donelson ranked eighth overall in the country. Baker Donelson was ranked among the top ten law firms nationally in four of the five categories, including: diversity for individuals with disabilities (seventh place), diversity for veterans (seventh place), diversity for minorities (eighth place) and diversity for women (ninth place).
Eighteen lawyers from the Baton Rouge office of Breazeale, Sachse and Wilson have been recognized in the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers in America. Those recognized are: Robert Atkinson, banking and finance law; Robert Bowsher, tax law; Jude Bursavich, commercial litigation; David Cassidy, litigation & controversy/tax and tax law; David Charlton, closely held companies and family businesses law; Murphy Foster, construction law, labor law/ management, litigation/construction; Gregory Frost, government relations practice and health care law; Emily Black Grey, health care law; Paul Hebert Jr., family law; Scott Hensgens, trademark law; Michael Hubbell, real estate law; David Kelly, commercial litigation; Van Mayhall Jr., business organizations, closely held companies and family business law, corporate compliance law, corporate governance law, corporate law, government relations practice, litigation/securities, litigation; and controversy/tax and reinsurance law; Trenton Oubre, workers’ compensation law/employers; Claude Reynaud Jr., commercial litigation, litigation/antitrust, litigation/intellectual property; Jerry Stovall Jr., employment law/individuals; Thomas Temple, commercial litigation; and B. Troy Villa, business organizations, corporate law, and mergers and acquisitions law.
Forum 35’s John W. Barton, Sr. Community Leadership Development Program has announced its participants in the class of 2015. The group of 30 young professionals will be trained in nonprofit governance throughout the duration of the program, which will conclude with a matching session designed to facilitate introductions between program graduates and area nonprofit organizations interested in identifying candidates to serve on their boards of directors, committees and special projects. Program participants are: Mindy Beeson, JP Morgan Chase; Quaja Bell, LSU Leisure & Arts Program; Cindy Bishop, Checkmate Strategies; Rudy Comeaux, The Lemoine Company; Courtney Debetaz, Performance Contractors; Julie Collins Donald, L’Auberge Baton Rouge; Zelma Frederick, McGlinchey Stafford; Ericka Garcia, Our Lady of the Lake Foundation; Lani Gholston, Corporation for National and Community Service; Rob Hagan, Next Generation Dealer Services; James Henry, ProSys; Cathy Juarez, Visit Baton Rouge; Jessica Keasler, Terracon Consultants; Emily Landry, LSU Foundation; Jeremy Meiske, Louisiana Office of Community Development; Melissa Miley, Miley Law Firm; Leland Moss, The Water Institute of the Gulf; Candace Parker, Exit Realty; Gregory Rockenbaugh, Hannis T. Bourgeois; Jami Smith, L’Auberge Baton Rouge; Meghan Spell, Kean Miller; Matthew Spencer, B.F. Anderson & Company; Blake Tolbird, First National Bankers Bank; Jessica Trepagnier, Jones Walker; Ian Trimble, Blue Cross Blue Shield Louisiana; Katherine Venetsky, City Year; Jeffrey Wale, Louisiana Department of Justice; AJ Walker, Louisiana Municipal Association; Trey Williams, Latter & Blum Commercial Real Estate and Kristin Williamson, Yoga Bliss.
Gordon Arata Baton Rouge attorney Louis Phillips has been selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2016 edition. Phillips was recognized in the practice area of bankruptcy and creditor debtor rights/insolvency and reorganization law.
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Sancerie O’Rourke-Allen received the Mastership Award from the Academy of General Dentistry. To receive this award, a dentist must earn a Fellowship Award, which O’Rourke-Allen obtained in 2011, and complete 1,100 hours of dental continuing education. After several years in the public health arena, O’Rourke-Allen opened Distinctive Smiles of Baton Rouge in 2007.
Phelps Dunbar has received a 2015 Global Legal Award from The American Lawyer for its work as an adviser on the Global Finance Deal of the Year in the area of project finance. Phelps acts as Louisiana counsel for Cameron LNG, providing legal advice regarding engineering, procurement and construction contracts and related construction and tax issues in connection with the development of the liquefaction facility in Louisiana. The American Lawyer’s Global Legal Awards honors the most distinguished international work performed between Jan. 1, 2014 and April 15, 2015, and the in-house legal departments and law firms that played a substantial advisory role in the matters.
Five lawyers from the Baton Rouge office of Taylor Porter have been recognized in the 2016 edition of Best Lawyers in America. Those recognized are: Richard Easterling, administrative/regulatory law; Brett Furr, litigation/real estate; Mary Hester, trusts and estates; J. Michael Parker, mass tort litigation and class actions/defendants; Patrick Seiter, health care law; and Michael Walsh, criminal defense/non-white-collar.
Turner Industries retained its No. 1 spot on Engineering News-Record’s Texas & Louisiana’s annual Top Contractors list, with regional revenue totaling $2.37 billion for 2014. Turner has held this ranking since 2011. The company posted a $160 million gain over the previous year with all divisions reporting positive news.
APPOINTMENTS | MEMBERSHIPS
The Louisiana Pharmacists Association has installed its 2015-2016 Board of Directors. Simone Ginn of Wal-Mart Pharmacy in Baton Rouge is director-at-large; Joseph Scott Black of GulfCoast Pharmaceutical Specialty in Prairieville, central regional director; and Rob Toups, treasurer. Also, Peggy Dean of Woman’s Hospital received the Hospital Pharmacist of the Year Award.
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Russell Robillard of Reliable Plumbing in Baton Rouge was installed as secretary/treasurer and Jimmy Lockwood of B&D Plumbing in Baton Rouge as district director of the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling-Contractors of Louisiana.
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Richard Vlosky, director of the Louisiana Forest Products Development Center at the LSU AgCenter, was named to the Energy Committee of the World Trade Center of New Orleans. Vlosky is also the Crosby Land & Resources Endowed Professor in Forest Sector Business Development.
