Your Business

Published Sep 17, 2012 at 6:01 pm (Updated Sep 17, 2012)

COMPANY NEWS

Regal Construction, a Nucor Building Systems authorized builder, is working to construct integral parts of Nucor Corporation's newest direct reduced iron facility in Convent. As partners, Regal Construction and NBS work in the construction and manufacturing of metal building systems for diverse applications. As one of the largest industrial projects in Louisiana history, Nucor Steel Louisiana will initially create 150 permanent jobs with an annual average salary of $75,000. Throughout the various phases of construction Nucor could ultimately invest almost $3 billion and increase permanent employment to more than 1,000. With the purchase of approximately 4,000 acres on the Mississippi River, the company has currently invested more than $50 million.

North Oaks Physician Group announced the opening of Northshore Urological Associates in Hammond and Livingston. Urologists Stephen Graham and Brad Lake will staff the clinics and are accepting new patients of all ages. Graham and Lake specialize in the treatment of disorders of male and female urinary tracts, including blood in the urine, recurrent urinary tract infections, overactive bladder, kidney stones and trouble with urination. They also specialize in care of the male reproductive system, including vasectomy and infertility.

Lane Regional Medical Center's urgent care clinic, FastLane, now opens weekdays at 7 a.m. FastLane is open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. With on-site X-ray, lab and drug-screening services, FastLane is designed to provide and address ailments such as routine physicals, fevers and coughs, sprains and strains, eye and ear infections, stomach viruses, and cuts and bruises.

ACCREDITATIONS/CERTIFICATIONS

The National Institute of Certified Estate Planners announced the graduation of Christine Smith from the Certified Estate Planner course. Smith completed the advanced work and examination to earn the CEP designation. The NICEP aims to educate, promote, and support financial, legal, and tax professionals to work together as a team. Smith maintains an active status NICEP by complying with the continuing education requirements and abiding by the group's code of ethics.

Nick Alexander, producer at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., has successfully completed the requirements to become a certified insurance counselor. To earn this designation, Alexander attended five courses and passed five comprehensive examinations. The National Alliance requires annual attendance in the program to maintain the designation.

A.M. Best Co., an insurance rating service, has affirmed an “A- Excellent” rating for the financial strength of LUBA Workers' Comp. The rating reflects the company's business profile in the workers' compensation insurance market. LUBA Workers' Comp coverage is available in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi through select local independent insurance agencies.

The Commission on Medical Physics Education Programs has granted full accreditation to the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Medical Physics Residency Program. According to Mary Bird Perkins, it is the first center in Louisiana to establish such a program, helping provide highly specialized professionals to the workforce and enhanced care for cancer patients. Using a collaborative approach, Mary Bird Perkins formed a medical physics consortium with multiple affiliate sites, including Willis-Knighton Cancer Center in Shreveport, the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., and e+ Louisiana in Lafayette. This allowed for the expansion of residency training opportunities and resources. In conjunction with its affiliates, Mary Bird Perkins has the largest radiation oncology physics residency training program in the United States.

APPOINTMENTS/MEMBERSHIPS

Laura Simpson, president of Dugas Pest Control, assumed the duties as president of the National Pest Management Association. The NPMA is an international association with more than 7,000 member companies, and has been the voice of the industry in the United States since its inception in 1933. The NPMA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and employs a professional staff of technical, regulatory, governmental affairs, education and member services committed to the pest management industry.

A class of 30 has been selected for the Livingston Parish Chamber of Commerce's leadership program. The class includes Parish President Layton Ricks, Sheriff Jason Ard, Mayor Bobby Font, and Marshal Jerry Denton. It also includes Regina Scott, North Oaks Health System; Henry Powell and Mickey Thompson, Wright & Percy; Dean Williams and Jill Wyble, Our Lady of the Lake; Shelby Carnahan, Carnahan Andrews CPA; Derek Babcock, Babcock Insurance Agency; Sonya Allen, Realtor; Shannon Bernard, Primerica; Donna Bliss, Child Advocacy Services; Heather Crain, Livingston Parish; Travis Eiermann, Labarre Associates; Wayne Dugas, Lard Oil; Jolene Ott and Nick Terito, Whitney Bank; Sherry Mely, IberiaBank; Rhonda Nichols, Alternative Incarceration Monitoring; James Osborn, Snelling Staffing Services; Dawn Mauk, Ochsner Medical Center; Ashley Rivere, Amerigroup; Brandy Roberts, Continental Kennel Club; Jay Robichaux, Robicheaux Insurance; Kim Sanders, L.A. Champagne & Co.; Jennifer Lyons Thomas, Generations Hospice Service Corp.; Michelle Babin Tranchina, St. Michel Day Spa; April Rome Wehrs, Livingston Parish Chamber of Commerce; and Timothy Glenn Whittington, Skid Marks Tires & Auto Service.

The Louisiana Academy of Family Physicians hosted 93 family physicians at its 65th annual Assembly and Exhibition in Destin, Fla. Officers, from left, include Bryan Picou, treasurer, Natchitoches; Michael Harper, president-elect, Shreveport; James Taylor, vice president, Zachary; James Campbell, AAFP alternate delegate, Kenner; Jack Heidenreich, District 3A alternate, Raceland; Phillip Elhers, District 6A director, Baton Rouge; and Brian Elkins, secretary, Alexandria. Other members elected include Mark Dawson, president, Rayne; Derek Anderson, speaker, Baton Rouge; and Carol Smothers-Swift, District 6A alternate, New Roads. The LAFP named Dr. Jonathan Hunter as its Family Physician of the Year.

AWARDS/HONORS

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, has been named the 2011 Advancement in Animal Law Pro Bono Achievement Award winner by the Animal Legal Defense Fund. Over the last two years, Baker Donelson attorneys Monica Frois, Laura Carlisle, Erin Pelleteri, Brandy Sheely and Anne Derbes Wittmann have provided assistance to the ALDF in its efforts to secure the release of a Siberian-Bengal tiger. “Tony the Truck Stop Tiger” has been confined as a roadside exhibit at a Louisiana truck stop for more than 10 years. Last year, a permanent injunction was granted against the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries preventing it from renewing the truck stop owner's annual permit when it expired at the end of 2011. Since that time, the truck stop owner has filed separate litigation to keep Tony at the truck stop. Baker Donelson is continuing to assist ALDF in its fight to free Tony.

Todd Hymel of Edward Jones in Baton Rouge won the firm's Ted Jones Entrepreneurial Award for his exceptional achievement in building client relationships. Hymel has also been selected a field trainer, a position created for those financial advisers who voluntarily give their time and energy to help their new colleagues succeed. Designated field trainers receive certification through training sessions and testing; they work with groups of new Edward Jones financial advisers for several months to help the latter while they build their businesses.

The 2013 edition of The Best Lawyers in America recently named several Capital Region attorneys to its list. Among those recognized are the following from Taylor Porter: Arthur Abercrombie Jr., Robert Barton, John Campbell Jr., John Campbell III, Preston Castille Jr., Robert Coco, Anne Crochet, Vicki Crochet, Jeanne Davis, Paul Dicharry, Nancy Dougherty, James Ellis, Brett Furr, Eugene Groves, Ann Halphen, Mary Hester, Clayton Johnson, Amy Lambert, Amy Groves Lowe, Shelby McKenzie, John Murrill, Michael Parker, Skip Philips, Patrick Seiter, Fredrick Tulley, and Gerald L. Walter Jr. The Baker Donelson attorneys on the list include Alton Bayard III, Phyllis Cancienne, Stephen Chiccarelli, Warner Delaune, Errol King, Christopher Morris, Dickie Patterson, and Paul West. First published in 1983, the list is based on a peer-review survey in which more than 36,000 attorneys cast almost 4.4 million votes on the legal abilities of other lawyers in their practice areas. Lawyers are not allowed to pay a fee to be listed.

Woman's Hospital has been named a “Patient-Centered Care Champion” for comfort and respect for patient preferences in the 2012 National Research Corporation Picker Path to Excellence Awards. NRC Picker recognizes health care organizations that utilize their patients' satisfaction surveys to improve the patient experience. Woman's was selected as a “Patient-Centered Care Champion” based on its performance from April 2011 to March 2012. Based on hospital consumer assessment of health care providers and patient surveys, Woman's scored one of the highest patient ratings out of 208 facilities nationwide.

LSU's Eugene Turner recently received the Wetland Lifetime Achievement Award at the Ninth International Wetland Conference. The conference is the largest wetland meeting in the world and is held every four years and this year. It attracted 1,240 people from 43 countries to Orlando. Turner's research interests focus on the low oxygen zone off the Mississippi River and wetland conservation, restoration and management.

The seventh annual Legis-Gator Luncheon, hosted by Chamber Southwest Louisiana, bestowed this year's Legis-Gator of the Year award on Sen. Elbert Guillory, D-Opelousas. The group named the following “Business Champions”: Sen. Sharon Weston Broome, D-Baton Rouge; Rep. Johnny Berthelot, R-Gonzales; and Rep. Hunter Greene, R-Baton Rouge. Chamber SWLA recognized these Business Champions for “perfect” voting records: Rep. Clay Schexnayder, R-Sorrento; Rep. Franklin Foil, R-Baton Rouge; and Rep. Steve Carter, R-Baton Rouge.

The Archival Education Collaborative, founded and coordinated by LSU Library and Information Science professor Elizabeth Dow, received the 2012 Distinguished Service Award from the Society of American Archivists, or SAA. Dow accepted the award on behalf of the AEC at an awards ceremony in San Diego. The AEC is composed of five universities: Auburn University, Indiana University, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and LSU. The AEC works together to create archival education programs through distance education. Each of the universities shares resources and courses through video conferences.

Piccadilly Restaurants recognized Merchants Foodservice as a recipient of the 2012 Partner of the Year award. Pictured, from left, are Andy Mercier, president and CEO, Merchants; Pat Prudhomme, vice president of purchasing, Piccadilly; Rick King, director of national accounts, Merchants; Darla McGee, Merchants; and Tom Sandeman, CEO, Piccadilly.

PUBLIC SECTOR

Kenilworth Science and Technology Charter School is starting the 2012-13 school year with an 11% increase in its student enrollment. At the beginning of the 2011-12 school year, KST had 475 students enrolled. This year, the school had enrolled 530 students, and another 98 students are on a waiting list. KST is a charter school operated by Pelican Education Foundation under the state of Louisiana's Recovery School District. Formerly a part of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Kenilworth was acquired in 2009 by Pelican, a nonprofit, Louisiana-based corporation, and has since operated as a state-sanctioned charter school. The percentage of students performing at grade level for all grades and subjects grew from 40% in 2009 to 53% in 2012.

River Parishes Community College, the Louisiana Chemical Association and the Louisiana Chemical Industry Alliance held a meeting to discuss opportunities and needs of LCA/LCIA members. Posing from left are Tom Yura, Robert Burgess, Charlie Freeburgh, Lisa Pulizzano, Kevin Hardy, Hickley Waguespack, Dan Borne', Joe Ben Welch and Bill Martin. Representatives of the three groups met with 16 business and industry leaders to discuss ways RPCC can help meet the needs of the plants. RPCC is also in the process of expanding its facilities. RPCC signed a purchase agreement to acquire 44 acres of land at the Gonzales/Burnside exit of Interstate 10.

GRANTS/PHILANTHROPY

Linda Munchausen, a professor in the Southeastern Louisiana University chemistry and physics department, has been awarded a 2012 literacy grant from Phi Kappa Phi. One of 14 recipients nationwide to receive the award, Munchausen is president of the Southeastern chapter of Phi Kappa Phi. She has taught at Southeastern for more than 30 years and is the 2004 recipient of the Southeastern President's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service. As part of the grant, the Phi Kappa Phi chapter at Southeastern has partnered with the Kiwanis Club of Hammond and the Zeta Kappa chapter of Kappa Delta Pi, an international honor society in education, to provide “Blessings in a Backpack” to students at Woodland Park Elementary Magnet School. The program is part of a national movement that provides snacks and reading material to low-income children each weekend.

The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program $597,333 each to assist in the restoration of disappearing coastal habitats along the U.S. Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Texas. The program was established by the federal Clean Water Act to protect and restore water quality and ecological integrity of estuaries. The Clean Water Act requires each group to address water quality, habitat, and living resources challenges within the estuary watershed.

Rite Aid announced the Rite Aid Foundation is making a $25,000 donation to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund to help the victims, families and communities affected by Hurricane Isaac. The Rite Aid Foundation, founded in July 2001, is a not-for-profit foundation dedicated to helping people in the communities Rite Aid serves. Since its inception, the Rite Aid Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $14.3 million to about 1,250 organizations in 629 communities.

Representatives from the Cargill-U.S. Aquaculture division presented the LSU AgCenter with $47,306 to help finance alligator research at the Aquaculture Research Station. The donation is part of the “Gator-bate” agreement between Cargill and alligator farmers to apply a portion of their feed cost to sponsor research conducted by the AgCenter. John Russin, LSU AgCenter vice chancellor and director for the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, says the donation makes it possible to have research-based information that's shared by the industry, which has never been done before.

The Fresh Beginnings Program, developed through Mayor Kip Holden's Healthy City Initiative, has�been awarded�a $1 million grant from the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation's Challenge for a Healthier Louisiana. The purpose of the funding is to support innovative partnerships that promote healthy eating and active lifestyles to reduce obesity in Louisiana, especially among children. The Fresh Beginnings proposal was selected to improve the health of children and adults in underserved or high-risk populations. A major component of Fresh Beginnings is a mobile farmers market designed to make healthy foods available in East Baton Rouge Parish neighborhoods with little or no access to grocery stores.