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Legal maneuvering

LeBlanc and Waddell, founded in 1996 by Burton LeBlanc and Cameron Waddell, has been acquired by Dallas-based Baron & Budd. LeBlanc becomes a Baron & Budd shareholder as part of the transaction, and Waddell has agreed to serve as special counsel to the firm. Baron & Budd has 49 attorneys and 200 staff members with offices in Beverly Hills, Calif., and Austin, Texas.

Part of the solution

AppOne has become the exclusive portal solutions provider of the Internet-based myEZCarCare maintenance program. Through this partnership, independent dealers will have the opportunity to offer their customers myEZCarCare preventive maintenance services at their own service departments and at more than 1,000 national service chains throughout the U.S.

Top chefs

The John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University welcomed 12 visiting chefs from Taiwan as part of a cultural immersion program sponsored jointly by the Southern United States Trade Association and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The training series features culinary demonstrations, lectures and field trips designed to expose the visiting chefs to the rich traditions of Louisiana, Southern Soul, Tex-Mex, Latin American, Lowland Carolina, Appalachian and Delmarva Peninsula cuisines.

A click away

Workin.com has launched BetterBatonRougeJobs.com, a Web site designed to serve the needs of local employers and job seekers in the Capital Region.

Clinical adjustment

North Oaks Family Medicine Clinic in Walker is relocating to a larger facility at 28799 Walker South Rd. Ste. 1, to enhance patient care and comfort. The clinic’s phone number also changed to 664-4398. Hours of operation are 8 a.m.

to 5 p.m. on weekdays.

Tourism relocates

The Baton Rouge Area Convention and Visitors Bureau moved into its new building at 359 Third St. The 7,500-square-foot building was purchased from the Louisiana Home Builders Association for $1.1 million.

AWARDS/HONORS

Charles Wilson, executive director of the Louisiana Sea Grant College Program, was named to the Northern Gulf Institute Advisory Council, a collaboration led by Mississippi State University to conduct high-impact research and education programs that contribute to the recovery and future health, safety, resilience and productivity of the region.

The Baton Rouge Paralegal Association swore in its newly elected Executive Board, including President Cindy Shotwell, First Vice President Shonnie Broussard, Second Vice President Shari Pere, Secretary Shelby Guidry, Treasurer Lisa McAllister and Parliamentarian Rebecca Holder.

B. Mark Hafner, professor of biology and curator of mammals at the LSU Museum of Natural Science, was awarded the 2008 Donald W. Tinkle Research Excellence Award by the Southwestern Association of Naturalists. The award is presented to a scientist who has made a significant contribution to the knowledge and understanding of the biota of the southwestern United States, Mexico and Central America through scientific articles and books over the past 10 years.

Carol O’Neil, Ann Peltier Professor of Dietetics and a TIAA-CREF Service-Learning Fellow, has been named the Louisiana 2007 Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for her influence on teaching and her outstanding commitment to undergraduate students.

Katrice A. Albert, LSU vice provost for Equity, Diversity and Community Outreach, was selected to participate in the 2008 HERS Bryn Mawr Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration, a residential program preparing women faculty and administrators for senior institutional leadership roles. Participants are exposed to areas of leadership, including strategic visioning, resource management, organizational skills and conflict management and institutional impact.

Linda Rewerts, assistant dean of LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication, has won the Award of Excellence in the 2008 Communicator Awards competition for her entry of the school’s annual report. The Communicator Awards honor creative excellence in print media by seeking out the best in advertising, public relations, corporate communications, graphic design and identity work.

Tom Olinde of Olinde’s Furniture was elected president of The Furniture Marketing Group. FMG’s membership includes 79 large, noncompeting furniture retailers in North America and the Bahamas.

Matthew C. Saurage joined the IberiaBank Baton Rouge Advisory Board. Saurage has served as president and CEO of Community Coffee Company since 2005.

Adams and Reese has been named as one of the nation’s top law firms in national market awareness, according to BTI’s Survey of National Market Awareness for Law Firms. BTI Consulting Group Inc. conducted a survey of more than 500 corporate counsel at the world’s largest organizations and also studied more than 39 branding attributes to identify the distinct factors that drive law firm growth and revenue.

Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrère & Denègre was named a Go-To Law Firm of the World’s Leading Companies by Corporate Counsel magazine. The firms were selected based on an ALM national survey of General Counsel of Fortune 500 companies and leading financial services companies as well as on in-depth research and analysis of public filings and resources.

Frances Bennett and Sister Judith Brun of Baton Rouge were honored as Louisiana Heroine Award winners by the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations. The annual awards pay tribute to women who volunteer for nonprofit organizations and positively impact the lives of others. Ten women from throughout the state were also named as 2008 Heroines, including Katrice Albert, Gracie Bielkiewicz, Valerie Harwell Myers, Gail Johnson, Rev. Mary Moody and Donna Saurage.

Branon Pesnell of Beau Box Commercial Real Estate was named top producer in company-wide commercial real estate sales for 2007. Pesnell achieved this status with more than $22 million in transactions.

CERTIFICATIONS

Benjamin Wheeler of Northwestern Mutual Financial Network’s Smith Group has been conferred his Chartered Life Underwriter designation from the American College. With a CLU designation, Wheeler has achieved the highest level of studies in the life insurance profession, enabling him to provide a wider range of solutions for the life insurance needs of individuals, business owners and professionals, including income replacement, estate analysis and wealth transfer.

Chip Blair of Blair Construction earned the Certified Graduate Builder designation, identifying him as one of the building industry’s top professionals. CGBs earn the building industry’s premier professional designation by successfully completing a series of nine six-hour courses that incorporate training by leading building industry practitioners and academics on a range of topics, including business management, emerging technologies and market trends.