Anne Plattsmier Jones has joined Teche Federal Bank as branch loan officer in the Opelousas office. Jones has 36 years of banking experience and has been a Notary Public since 1979. Teche also recently announced construction of two new branches in Houma and a new office at 921 Canal Boulevard in Thibodaux to replace a temporary location at the site. New Iberia-based Teche has operated in Thibodaux since 1998.
Priscilla A. Hutchinson has joined the CPA firm Thibodaux Hebert Deshotels LeBlanc as staff auditor. She earned a bachelor's degree in accounting and finance from UL Lafayette in May 2006. Bryan P. Laperouse has joined the firm as a business services accountant. He also earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from UL Lafayette this spring.
Gachassin Law Firm, which specializes in health care law, has added two medical malpractice defense attorneys, Janet C. Smith and Janice M. Culotta. Smith has seven years of health care law experience, having previously worked as an administrative law judge with the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals. Prior to that, she defended physicians and provided risk management advice for LAMMICO, a professional liability insurance company, and focused on loss prevention at Christus Health, a non-profit health care organization. Culotta has 11 years of litigation experience in the areas of toxic torts and professional liability. She defends medical professionals, hospitals, nursing homes, home health care agencies and rehabilitation hospitals and handles general liability matters. Culotta practiced law for a decade at a private New Orleans defense firm and previously served as an assistant to the Orleans Parish District Attorney.
Coldwell Banker Pelican Real Estate's new office at 123 E. Bridge St. in Breaux Bridge is tentatively scheduled to open Nov. 1. The Lafayette-based real estate company's fifth location, the office will operate out of a historic home in downtown Breaux Bridge, across from Café Des Amis. Coldwell Banker Pelican Real Estate is the market leader in St. Martin Parish, handling more than 34 percent of the real estate business in that area.
Peggy Richard-Grace of Lafayette, along with Whirlpool Corporation and nearly 300 volunteers nationwide, is participating in a week-long Habitat for Humanity International's construction project that will result in the completion of 10 homes on one block in Nashville, Tenn., Nov. 4-10. The Whirlpool Building Blocks program engages people from around the country to raise awareness of and help eliminate substandard housing. Richard-Grace will join other Habitat for Humanity, Nashville area and Whirlpool volunteers from across the country as part of the inaugural program. The owner of PAR Realty, she was chosen to participate in the build because of her commitment to Habitat and the Lafayette community. She is on the board of Lafayette Habitat for Humanity, which is preparing for an 11-house blitz build in November/December, 2006, sponsored by Major League Baseball and HFHI's "Operation Home Delivery." All 11 homes will be built in partnership with families displaced by last year's hurricanes.
Downtown Lafayette Unlimited and the Downtown Development Authority joined forces with Bizzuka to create a new Web site for Downtown Lafayette, www.downtownlafayette.org. The energetic and vibrant site caters to three target audiences, locals, visitors and the business community. News briefs and downtown events, along with spotlights on entertainment and printer-friendly maps are features of the site. Additionally, the site has a property finder for anyone looking to set up a business or find living space in the heart of the city. Just click on the listing for a flyer with numerous details about the property. A comprehensive directory of downtown businesses also is in the works and will be posted on the site.
The Shepherd's Guide for Lafayette/Acadiana has been purchased by sisters Susan Melancon and Claudette Holder, who bring decades of combined professional business, sales and marketing experience to the new venture. For more than 25 years, the Shepherd's Guide has been the choice of yellow pages for millions of Christian families across North America. This comprehensive guide provides a bridge between Christian families and Christian businesses, churches and ministries in more than 100 markets nationwide. For additional information, call 337- 857-9120 or email [email protected].
Lafayette attorney Patrick A. Juneau Jr. has been named the LSU Law Center 2006 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year. Juneau will be honored at the Law Center's Distinguished Alumnus banquet Wednesday, Nov. 1, at the City Club at River Ranch. Juneau is a graduate of LSU's Paul M. Hebert Law Center. He has been a frequent guest lecturer at the LSU Law Center and Tulane Law School.
A senior vice president at MidSouth Bank for the past seven years, Glenn Decou was promoted to regional president of the bank's central Louisiana region, one of five market designations recently created in a restructuring of the financial institution's Louisiana operations. Decou previously served as city president of MidSouth Bank's Acadiana market. Decou, who also heads the bank's commercial lending department, has been with MidSouth for 13 years. Also promoted to regional presidents were: Irving Boudreaux, rural central Louisiana; John Nichols, west Louisiana; Jim Greely, east Louisiana; and Troy Cloutier, south Louisiana. The bank also announced the promotion of Jim Allen to senior vice president in Baton Rouge, where MidSouth has begun constructing a new location on Siegen Lane.