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Attorneys Edward J. Walters Jr., Darrel J. Papillion, David Abboud Thomas and J.E. Cullens Jr. have established a new firm, Walters, Papillion, Thomas, Cullens. The firm moved into its new office at 12345 Perkins Rd., west of Siegen Lane, earlier this month.

Cornerstone Solutions, a political consulting and strategic communication firm, has launched its Web site, cornerstonesolutionsteam.com. The site offers detailed descriptions of the firm’s experience in politics, candidate and ballot campaigns, grassroots mobilization, and issue management and campaigns as well as the firm’s client work with associations, corporations, individuals and issues groups.

Cox Communications opened its new Cox Digital Store at 122 S. Airline Hwy. in Gonzales with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 10. The Ascension store is Cox’s first digital-experience store in the nation. It operates as a full-service retail center and an experience store for new and emerging products.

DezinsInteractive, a Web development and marketing agency, has been chosen to design the logo and marketing materials for the 2009 Association of African American Museums Annual Conference to be held in Baton Rouge in August. The conference will attract an estimated 500 participants from around the nation.

Express Oil Change & Service Center, the largest independent quick-lube chain in the Southeast, has opened its first Louisiana location at 7680 Perkins Rd. The Birmingham, Ala.-based chain, which has more than 100 franchised locations, plans to have eight Louisiana locations within five years.

Lane Regional Medical Center held a grand opening for its Outpatient Diagnostic Center on June 22. The center, located inside the Lane Medical Plaza at 6550 Main St. in Zachary, includes services for drawing blood, urine collection, drug screen collection, X-ray, CT scan, ultrasound, mammogram and bone density.

Nottoway Plantation commemorated its 150th anniversary and the completion of an 11-month restoration project that included the construction of four additional overnight rooms, an open-air pavilion, museum and mini-theater, business center, coffee and pastry shop and a bridal dressing salon and spa.

Red Six Media has joined the Louisiana Business & Technology Center. Red Six Media is a start-up advertising agency dedicated to offering creative, design and Web services to small businesses and local business professionals. Majority owner and creator Kristen Morrison formed the agency along with her sister, Kayla Morrison, and former LSU classmates Trey Bartsch, Matt Dardenne, Joe Martin and James Spencer.

Regions Financial Corporation has been ranked third among large U.S. banks in the Small Business Administration’s annual study measuring banks’ emphasis on lending to small businesses. The ranking is based on the most recent Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income data. Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions also received top rankings for small-business lending in several states in which it operates. SBA defines small-business loans as those less than $1 million.

SDT Waste and Debris, the New Orleans-based company known for cleaning up the French Quarter, has been awarded a one-year contract for LSU’s recycling and waste disposal. The contract includes an option to renew for two years. The deal is SDT’s first major contract in Baton Rouge. As part of the contract, SDT will continue LSU’s ongoing recycling program on campus with pickups of cardboard, aluminum, plastic and glass twice a week.

Sharp Energy has been awarded area franchise rights for Rockland, Mass.-based Koko FitClub. The first Baton Rouge location opened earlier this month at the Shops at Windermere, a strip shopping center at Perkins Road and Windermere Boulevard. Koko FitClub is a personal training concept that offers its members unlimited personal training for a flat monthly fee of $49 and access to its proprietary Koko Smartraining System.

The Wal-Mart Supercenter at Marketplace Siegen Lane held a grand reopening on June 17. The store underwent a three-month renovation, including a new layout, wider aisles, low-profile shelving, bright interior paint, enhanced lighting and easy-to-read signage. The pharmacy has moved closer to the store’s grocery entrance, and the electronics department has been expanded. Houston-based Woodforest Bank opened its first Baton Rouge location inside the store.

Woman’s Hospital and the Baton Rouge Clinic have developed HerHeart, the area’s first comprehensive cardiovascular wellness program designed for women. The program is designed to help women clarify their risks for cardiovascular disease and take steps to avoid it.

AWARDS/HONORS

Adams and Reese ranks No. 197 on the AmList 200 List of the nation’s 200 highest-grossing law firms by American Lawyer magazine. Adams and Reese is ranked for the sixth consecutive year.

BASF Corporation’s Geismar plant is one of eight manufacturers being honored by the state. The plant was the regional winner of the 2009 Lantern Award, sponsored by Louisiana Economic Development and Louisiana Industrial Development Executives Association. The awards go to companies for their contributions to the community, including employment growth and facility expansions.

The Baton Rouge Bar Association received the Service to the Bar Award for its handbook, The New [and not-so-new] Lawyers’ Survival Guide, from the Louisiana State Bar Association Young Lawyers Section. The guide includes information for practicing attorneys, including court contacts, rules of the Louisiana Supreme Court, details on how to become a state notary, information on the Secretary of State and the Division of Administrative Law, and explanations on pro bono, case referral services and service as a curator with local bar associations and courts.

Earl K. Long Medical Center has received the Silver Level 2008 Louisiana Hospital Quality Award from the Louisiana Health Care Review, the Medicare quality improvement organization for the state. EKLMC is one of only 18 hospitals in Louisiana to receive the silver-level award, which recognizes facilities that have improved the quality of health care given to its patients.

Entergy Nuclear has received the Top Industry Practice awards from the Nuclear Energy Institute. The awards recognize nuclear energy operators for innovations that improve safety, economics or plant performance. The company’s Innovations group was honored for improving processes and reducing costs through a robotic program and other efforts. Vermont Yankee won for implementing a remote system that improved the plant’s ability to conduct certain inspections.

Dr. James A. Birke, the director of rehabilitation services at LSU Health Sciences Center and the LSU Diabetes Foot Program at Earl K. Long Medical Center, has received the Roger Pecoraro Lectureship from the American Diabetes Association. Clinical researchers are selected for this award based on their outstanding contributions to the knowledge and treatment of the diabetic foot. Birke has specialized in the treatment of neuropathic foot problems for the past 27 years.

Lofton Staffing Services has received Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation’s 2008 Safest 70 Award, which represents the safest 70 companies out of 22,000 that have LWCC policies. LWCC recognizes those companies that demonstrate excellence and a commitment to workplace safety. Lofton, which maintains an in-house safety department, is one of 14 winners from the Capital Region. Of that number, 11 companies are based in East Baton Rouge Parish, two in Ascension and one in West Baton Rouge.

The LSU AgCenter Communications and Information Technology staffs received 11 awards from the Association for Communication Excellence. Associate Director of Communications Linda Benedict received the 2009 Professional Award, the highest recognition given by ACE to one of its members. Gold awards were given to Tobie Blanchard for a radio spot on agriculture awareness, Kathleen Kramer for a marketing campaign on flood protection and a 10-member team for its “Working Smarter” training series. Silver awards went to John Wozniak for a Louisiana Agriculture magazine cover, Randy LaBauve and Craig Gautreaux for the “Fun with Chickens” video series, Megan Smith and Sandy Fiser for the home page of the AgCenter’s Web site and a six-member team for the Chancellor’s Challenge blog. Bronze awards went to Bruce Schultz and Mark Claesgens for their photo series on hurricane damage; Fiser, Smith and Katina Hester for a 4-H Web graphic; and to Tanya Ruffin for a series of video training spots.

The Melting Pot of Baton Rouge has received the Service Pot Award, the company’s highest franchisee honor. The award recognizes the high quality service of the Baton Rouge location and represents the best operating Melting Pot restaurant in the franchise system. The local restaurant, owned by Susan and Chris Womack, won the award from among more than 140 restaurants nationwide.

Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center has been recognized with the 2008 Level III Louisiana Performance Excellence Award given by the Louisiana Quality Foundation. The honor, the highest given by the foundation, is awarded to organizations for outstanding results in areas such as leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, workforce focus, process management, measurement and analysis.

Taylor Porter has received high practice rankings in Chambers USA—America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. The firm received honors in Corporate/Mergers & Acquisitions, Environment and Litigation: General Commercial, and also ranked in the top tier for Employment Law in Louisiana. Three attorneys—Anne J. Crochet [Environment], Paul O. Dicharry [Environment] and Harry J. “Skip” Philips Jr. [Litigation] were recognized as leaders in their field.

Virginia Grenier, the executive director of the International Hospitality Foundation at LSU, has received the Hugh M. Jenkins Award from the National Association of International Educators. The award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting global understanding and international change in the community.

WBRZ-TV has received six awards from the Louisiana Associated Press. Chief Forecaster Pat Shingleton received first place for Best Weathercast, winning for the eighth time. Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum finished third in the category. Dana Hackett finished second in Reporter of the Year and second in Story of the Year for her report on a child-abuse case in Ascension Parish. 2une In and News 2 at Noon anchor John Pastorek finished third for Best In-Depth Series for his methods for preventing heart disease. Sports Director Michael Cauble finished third in Best Sportscast.

ACCREDITATIONS & CERTIFICATIONS

Hui Juan Xing of Wynn L. White Consulting Engineers Inc. has achieved accreditation as a LEED Accredited Professional. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification is a voluntary, consensus-based, nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of energy-efficient, green buildings. LEED was developed by the United States Green Building Council.

Pennington Cancer Center at Baton Rouge General has been a granted three-year accreditation by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, under the American College of Surgeons. It is the first accredited breast center in the state. The designation indicates that the center meets all 27 NAPBC standards reflecting a commitment to offering patients “every significant advantage” as they battle breast disease.

MEMBERSHIPS

The Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board of Supervisors has re-elected Stephen Smith of Shriever as its chair, Vincent St. Blanc III of Franklin as first vice chair and Michael Murphy of Bogalusa as second vice chair. Brock Dubois, the Student Government Association president of LTC Gulf Area Campus in Abbeville, and Jared Hauge, SGA president of Louisiana Delta Community College in Monroe, have been added to the board for 2009-10.

Manners of the Heart has named new members of its Board of Directors. They are: Kevin Hambrice, K-TEK; Sam Denton, Gulf Coast Office Products; and James Riley, NAI Latter & Blum.

The Young Leaders Academy of Baton Rouge has named board officers for 2009-11. They are: Jan Breen, Catholic High School, president; David Bondy, LUBA Workers Comp, vice president; Kimberly H. LaMotte, volunteer, secretary; Jason Droddy, LSU office of the chancellor, treasurer; and Matthew T. Butler, The Shaw Group, immediate past president. The Young Leaders Academy is an academic and leadership development program serving young black men in the Capital Region.

PHILANTHROPY

The Baton Rouge Referral Group has made a monetary contribution to the McMains Children’s Development Center to support the physical, speech, and occupational therapy programs provided to children with special needs in the Capital Region.

The Fore!Kids Foundation has awarded $25,000 to three Baton Rouge charities—Boys and Girls Club of Greater Baton Rouge, Capital Area Family Violence Intervention Center and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation—that were selected as recipients of funds raised through the Cox Greater Louisiana Pro-Am of Baton Rouge.

Gail and Randy Bashore of Fork Union, Va., have pledged $100,000 for the establishment of a scholarship in memory of their son, Luke, a LSU Manship School of Mass Communication junior who died in an automobile accident in 2008. The Luke S. Bashore Memorial Scholarship is a four-year scholarship for out-of-state students interested in broadcast journalism, new media communication, visual communication or other electronic media.