STAND ALONES
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Dealertrack’s Auto Title Express celebrated a grand reopening of its Baton Rouge location at 8350 Florida Blvd. The business is located next to Cullen’s Playland and FASTSIGNS. With this new location, Auto Title Express has added 20 new jobs to the local economy and doubled the space of its previous Baton Rouge location.
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Envoc has nearly doubled its office space by expanding into a 4,000-square-foot location above VooDoo BBQ in Perkins Rowe. The move comes after a year of rapid expansion due to strong sales. The office expansion was needed to accommodate new staff members, and the move also allows for a more desirable work atmosphere. Employees now have adjustable standing desks and areas to think creatively. The space resembles Envoc’s smaller office in Hammond, where the walls are painted bright green. Envoc now has about 30 employees, split between its Baton Rouge and Hammond locations, and the firm recently hired a new office manager. The recent growth in sales and employees was largely due to the success of Envoc’s tablet-based inspection app, Spotter, which can be used safely inside industrial plants and allows for more accurate recording of information.
AST Marketing Group recently moved to a larger office space to accommodate its expansion. The new office site, at 7913 Wrenwood Blvd., offers additional space, including a larger showroom, to increase client satisfaction and experience.
Hibbett Sports has opened its newest store in Hammond. The store is located at 2751 W. Thomas Street in Tangi Center and will employ eight full and part-time team members.
H Kyle Boutique, a ladies’ apparel and gift store featuring custom embroidery, has opened its first location in Prairieville at 17188 Airline Highway, Suite C. Owner Tia Whittington left her career as a schoolteacher to follow her passion for fashion, which began as a child.
HMO Louisiana Inc., a subsidiary of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, has signed a contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to sell Medicare Part C plans, also known as Medicare Advantage. Blue Advantage (HMO) will be available in 14 parishes, including East Baton Rouge.
Jones Walker has announced the expansion of its public finance capabilities through a strategic alliance with Joseph “Jay” Delafield of Lake Charles. The firms will work together on public finance and related matters throughout Louisiana and also on joint state and local government representations. The alliance will allow joint client service and a deeper talent base for clients involved in the redevelopment in the southwestern part of Louisiana.
The Sisters of St. Joseph Medical Plaza, an Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group facility, is now open in New Roads providing area residents with increased access to primary care services. It is located on the campus of Pointe Coupee General Hospital, at 310 Durel Drive. The 11,000-square-foot clinic houses five family practice physicians and a nurse practitioner who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of illnesses and medical issues.
AWARDS | HONORS
Albemarle Corp., through its subsidiary Rockwood Litio Limitada, received the 2015 National Mining Society Award for its valuable contributions to the advancement of the lithium industry in Chile. Albemarle, with operations in La Negra and Salar de Atacama, has made significant investments in research and development, as well as production capacity in the region.
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The following Baton Rouge area legislators were recognized at the Chamber Southwest Louisiana’s 10th annual LegisGator Awards Luncheon at L’Auberge Casino Resort in Lake Charles recently: Rep. Johnny Berthelot, Gonzales; Rep. Steve Carter, Baton Rouge; Rep. Franklin Foil, Baton Rouge; Rep. Jeffrey Hall, Baton Rouge; Rep. Barry Ivey, Baton Rouge; Rep. Patricia Smith, Baton Rouge; and Sen. Rick Ward III, Port Allen.
Community Coffee Co. achieved an “A” status for its coffee roasting facility for excellence in food safety and quality. The British Retail Consortium Global Standard for Food Safety certification provides Community coffee an internationally recognized mark of food quality, safety and responsibility. The inspection process includes an intensive three-day audit of the plant processing facilities and documentation.
Entergy Corp. has been named one of the nation’s Top 10 utilities in economic development for 2014 by Site Selection magazine. The company was chosen for its role that resulted in nearly $14.4 billion of capital investment and the creation of more than 7,200 new jobs in its service territory.
High schools recently recognized by the Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance as GBRIA High School Craft Workforce Development Champions are Livonia High School, St. James Career Center, Central High School, Maurepas High School, Denham Springs High School, Louisiana School for the Agricultural Sciences, Zachary High School and Walker High School.
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Mayor Kip Holden recently accepted an award from Generac Power Systems recognizing the City Parish’s Department of Public Works Generator Project as its National Project of the Year. The Public Works department has been implementing its Sanitary Sewer Overflow Control and Wastewater Facilities Program to plan for the future growth in the area. As part of that program, the city-parish is spending $20 million for emergency/standby power generators to keep the facilities going in the event of a hurricane. The award recognized the Mayor’s Office, the Public Works department and project manager Ch2M Hill.
Terri Howell of Dream Cruises in Baton Rouge was recently honored as one of 15 top travel agencies in the United States and Canada. Agencies were selected for an Excellence Award by Carnival’s sales team based on their innovative marketing techniques, brand advocacy and sales success strategies.
LaPorte CPAs has been named to INSIDE Public Accounting’s Top 200 Firms for 2015. LaPorte is one of only two Louisiana firms included. More than 500 firms participated in this year’s survey and analysis. IPA based its selection on firm revenue and growth, including companies with annual revenue of between $15 million and $32.4 million and 58 to 235 in staff. The IPA 200 averaged 5.4% top-line growth, and 4.7% growth to the bottom line.
LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication will honor Gary Hymel and James O’Byrne and posthumously honor Michael Danna and Malva Haynes Huson Brown at its 41st annual Hall of Fame gala on Oct. 22. Hymel was a former chief aide and press secretary to the late Speaker of the House Thomas “Tip” O’Neill Jr. O’Byrne is a three-time Pulitzer prize winner has worked at The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com. Danna had a 30-year career as public relations director for the Louisiana Farm Bureau and was host of the organization’s long-running agricultural television program, This Week in Louisiana Agriculture. Brown was a journalist, editor and newspaper publisher/owner of four award-winning weeklies in Louisiana.
Substance abuse treatment advocate Marolon Mangham and Turner Industries are the recipients of Spirit of Excellence Awards from Louisiana Health and Rehab Center. The awards will be presented during the agency’s fundraising celebration dinner, Pursuing Destiny Fulfilling Purpose II, at Boudreaux’s on Oct. 15. Mangham is executive director of the Louisiana Association of Substance Abuse Counselors & Trainers Inc. Turner Industries is being recognized for its record of corporate responsibility and commitment to employment opportunities for rehabilitated individuals who are often considered unemployable by other companies.
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The design of the Our Lady of the Lake Heart & Vascular Institute has been recognized as an outstanding example of interior design for a large health care facility by the International Interior Design Association’s Delta Regional Chapter. The association awarded the hospital’s architectural partners, VOA Associates Inc. and Bradley-Blewster and Associates, with an Interior Design Excellence Award. The awards celebrate outstanding examples of designed interior spaces in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.
Ochsner Medical Center has again been ranked among the best hospitals in the country in six medical specialties, according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2015-16 Best Hospitals rankings. This is the 15th time since 1996 that Ochsner has been recognized among the Best Hospitals in America. Ochsner was ranked No. 1 in Louisiana and was recognized among the Best Hospitals in southeastern Louisiana.
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Wayne Ricks, senior business consultant at Southeastern Louisiana University, was honored for his second time as a “State Star” at a recent annual conference of Small Business Development Centers held in San Francisco. Ricks received the award for his work with Southeastern’s Louisiana Small Business Development Center. In his 10 years with the agency, Ricks has secured approximately $173 million in funding and helped create more than 600 jobs for the Hammond and Northshore area business communities. In the last fiscal year, he brought in about $26 million in capital and created more than 100 jobs though the LSBDC at Southeastern.
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. The company also recently received the Gold Construtech Vision Award for its innovative TRAM software, a web-based application developed in-house, designed to identify and quantify a number of financial industry-risk categories, which can then be mitigated. The Construtech Vision Awards honor construction companies for recognizing advantages where construction and technology converge and for using technology in an innovative way to solve a problem and improve competitiveness.
Attorney Lewis Unglesby has been chosen for recognition in The Best Lawyers in America for his work in the practice areas of criminal defense/non-white-collar, criminal defense/white-collar, mass tort litigation I class actions/plaintiffs, personal injury litigation/plaintiffs, and product liability litigation/plaintiffs.
APPOINTMENTS | MEMBERSHIPS
Tuncer “Tony” Arikol of Professional Engineering Consultants Corp. has been elected president of the board of governors of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Louisiana for 2015-16. Other Baton Rouge-area officers and board members elected at the association’s recent annual meeting include President-Elect Robert Schmidt of AECOM; board member Lynne Roussel of Terracon; and chapter president Laurence Lambert of Stantec.
Serving as officers on the Downtown Business Association board are Lauralyn Maranto of Visit Baton Rouge, president; Rick Volland of Capital City Grill/Stroubes/Jolie Pearl, vice president; Wade Iverstine of Kean Miller, secretary; Libby McKerley of Harris, DeVille & Associates, treasurer; and Gary Anderson of LiftFund, immediate past chair. Other board members include Gabe Vicknair, Downtown Development District; Chris Brooks, Launch Media; Margaret Chappuis, Hotel Indigo; and Robert Hebert, MayerIT.
David Laxton III has been appointed to the board of directors of Business First Bancshares, parent company of Business First Bank. He joins the board with more than 35 years of experience in the energy and distribution industries. Laxton previously served on the board of directors of American Gateway Bank from 1996 until its merger earlier this year with Business First Bank. He served as chairman for five years and also as chairman of the audit committee.
The following Louisiana Bar Foundation members have been appointed as chairs of community partnership panels and committees: Valerie Briggs Bargas, attorney with Kinchen, Walker, Bienvenu, Bargas, Reed & Helm, LBF treasurer and chair of the budget/investment and grants committees; Lana Crump, attorney with Kean Miller, chair of the LBF Capital Area CCP; Harry “Skip” Philips Jr., attorney with Taylor Porter, co-chair of the LBF annual gala committee; E. Jane Sherman, attorney at law, co-chair of the development committee; and Michelle Sorrells, with the law firm Walters, Papillion, Thomas, Cullens, co-chair of the LBF Kids’ Chance Scholarship Committee.
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Ann Wise has been appointed to serve a fourth six-year term as director of the Division of Administrative Law. The DAL is Louisiana’s centralized administrative hearings tribunal, which provides impartial administrative law judges who conduct hearings for dozens of executive branch agencies. The DAL docketed 15,874 cases during the 2015 fiscal year. Wise was the founding director of DAL and has served since 1996. She ranks as the second-longest serving director among centralized state administrative law courts.
PHILANTHROPY | GRANTS
ExxonMobil employees donated 100 literacy kits to be distributed to pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students as part of their United Way Day of Action project. The kits include a backpack filled with an age-appropriate book, ABC flashcards, a notepad, a bookmark and crayons.
The Louisiana Bar Foundation is awarding $5.8 million in grants statewide to nonprofit organizations that provide free legal aid to those in need. Receiving funding were Baton Rouge Bar Foundation ($54,404), Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center ($6,706), Chez Hope ($21,191), Loyola College of Law Clinic/Workplace Justice Project ($16,667), Martinet Legal Foundation ($5,556), Metropolitan Center for Women and Children ($35,976), NO/AIDS Task Force Louisiana ($5,556), and Southeast Louisiana Legal Services ($1,289,000).
