High honors: BRAC announced the recipients of its annual awards at a shareholders’ meeting on Tuesday. The awards honor businesses and individuals for their meaningful contributions to the regional economy. Performance Contractor executive Lee Jenkins received the 2017 Board Chairman Award and the D. Jenson Holliday Award, given to the BRAC board member who exhibits extraordinary leadership and service. IBM consultant Ashley Touchet received the Community Champion Award while Louisiana Business Inc.—the parent company of Business Report, 225, inRegister and 10/12 Industry Report—received the Business Excellence Award. Louisiana ProtonCareCenter was honored as the project of the year, and Cottonport Bank vice president Steven Brown was named BRAC Ambassador of the Year. Get more information on the awards and check out BRAC’s 2017 Annual Report, also released Tuesday.
Taking off: Passenger volume at the Baton Rouge Metro Airport increased 7% year-over-year in February to 61,641 travelers, according to new figures released today by BTR. Enplanements reached 30,837 for the month—a 6.2% increase over February 2017. Deplanements were up 8.7% at 30,804. American Airlines serviced the most BTR passengers in February at 38%, followed by Delta (35%) and United (27%). Airport officials say the passenger count has been up 16 of the past 17 months dating back to September of 2016.
Hear me now? AT&T has added a cell tower on its 4G LTE network near the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge refinery, a move the company and city leaders claim will help spur economic development in north Baton Rouge. The tower—a collaboration between ExxonMobil and AT&T—should improve wireless connectivity and service at the refinery as well as in the surrounding area.
