People & Flashes

PEOPLE AND FLASHES

New hires, promotions and more from the Acadiana business community

April Guillote has joined Right Angle as traffic and production manager. A native of Edgemont, S.D., Guillote has an associate’s degree in business management from the University of Phoenix. She previously worked as a financial specialist and office administrator.

Donald D. Trexler is taking the helm at Acadia General Hospital in Crowley after having served as interim administrator since early this year. Trexler previously served as CEO of Cypress Pointe Surgical Hospital in Hammond. Prior to that he served as a health care strategy consultant and was CEO at TAP Group New Orleans and Southern California Orthopedic Institute. Trexler also served in a senior management position at the Trover Clinic Foundation. Trexler earned a bachelor’s degree in health management information and dual master’s degrees in health care administration and business administration at the University of Pittsburgh.

Jenny Istre, a local salon owner, will manage the salon and spa at The Blake at Lafayette, a retirement community at Kaliste Saloom Road and Polly Lane. Istre has more than 30 years of experience as a professional cosmetologist. She has owned and operated Strands, a full-service salon, in Lafayette’s Oil Center for the past 20 years. Istre will offer a full range of services, including hair, nails and massage.

UL Lafayette student A.J. McGee has been hired as a public relations assistant at Right Angle after completing an internship at the Downtown firm. The 21-year-old New Orleans native is involved in almost every aspect of the Right Angle’s operation. He researches potential clients, contributes to creative decisions about advertising campaigns and distribution channels, and drafts press releases and social media posts. McGee is a junior at UL majoring in public relations with a minor in French. He is president of UL’s chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America and incoming chair of the university’s Honors Program Executive Board, a student committee that takes a leading role in planning Honors programs, workshops and trips. As a community volunteer, he is helping to organize TEDxVermilionStreet, a locally produced speaker series. He has also completed an internship with Downtown Lafayette Unlimited and volunteered at area festivals.

Two local dentists were selected as Dentist of the Year for 2016 by 232-HELP’s Donated Dental Program. Dr. Ken S. LeBlanc has been a volunteer dentist in the program since 1999, and Dr. John T. Mahoney has volunteered since 2001. Together they have donated their services to more than 200 patients. The 232-HELP Donated Dental Program began in 1998 to serve the most vulnerable segment of the population, the elderly living at or below the poverty line, and the developmentally delayed and disabled. The program has more than 54 dentists in 10 parishes that provide dental care for patients who have no other resources.

Acadian Ambulance medic Kimberley Richard was chosen as the 2016 Hub City EMT of the Year, and was a finalist for the overall Louisiana/Mississippi honor. After working for 15 years, Richard made a career change and enrolled in Acadian’s National EMS Academy. The Carencro native currently works out of the Scott ambulance station.

Larry Thibodeaux, owner and general manager of WCC Furniture & Mattress Center, is a recipient of Home Furnishings News’ 40 under 40 honor. HFN is a national monthly publication centered on all things relating to the houseware and home furnishings industry. The inaugural list is comprised of the most noteworthy professionals in the home furnishings and house ware industries under 40 years old. Thibodeaux was the only representative from Louisiana to make the list. The Church Point native started his furniture career in 2007 when he took over WCC Furniture & Mattress Center, then a 7-year-old business.

Architect Kyle Libersat has joined Abell + Crozier + Davis Architects. He has more than a decade of experience designing judicial and health care facilities, as well as structures for the refining and manufacturing industries. Libersat holds two architecture degrees from UL Lafayette: a bachelor of science degree with a concentration in architectural studies and a master’s degree in architecture. He is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-accredited professional and a member of the American Institute of Architects. Libersat lived and worked in Colorado and California before joining ACDA in 2013. He previously worked for Smith LaRock Architecture in Denver, Colo., which specializes in laboratory facilities and blast-resistant buildings.

IberiaBank recently joined forces with schools across six states to participate in the American Bankers Association’s Teach Children to Save Campaign. More than 115 of the bank’s associates from commercial, retail, senior management, finance, marketing and other departments volunteered to teach 178 classes at elementary, middle and high schools in 24 different markets. Through this initiative, bankers were able to reach 4,200 students. The national effort encourages bankers to demonstrate their community commitment by teaching young people about the value of saving. Individual lessons focused on the differences between needs and wants, how to save, reasons to save and where to save.

Angela Stewart has joined Home Bank as AVP/banking center manager. Stewart, who has 23 years of banking experience, works out of Home Bank’s location at 1001 Johnston St., which serves the Downtown Lafayette area. The Lafayette native most recently lived in Alexandria, where she was VP/banking center manager at Red River Bank. A UL Lafayette graduate, Stewart completed the Louisiana Bankers Association’s Supervisory School and the Mortgage Bankers Association’s School of Mortgage Banking. She’s a graduate of Leadership Central Louisiana, and she completed the Disney Institute’s Approach to Quality Service Program. Her community involvement includes work with Komen Acadiana, where she’s currently vice president of the board.

Karl Broussard has been elevated to executive director of Hospice of Acadiana after most recently serving as interim director. Broussard previously owned a home health company in Monroe.

The Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana received an additional $205,000 for its Workforce Scholarship Fund for more than 60 scholarships through ABC School and Sowela Technical Community College. Sasol contributed $155,000, yielding a total investment of more than $500,000 to the program to date. Lake Charles LNG contributed $50,000 this year, totaling a $100,000 investment from the company to the program thus far. The foundation is accepting applications at any time throughout the year. To apply, interested individuals and mentors should visit www.foundationswla.org. Scholarships will continue to be awarded for a variety of craft training programs as funding becomes available. Sasol founded the Community Support Fund and Workforce Scholarship program in 2014 as a pilot program with an over-arching goal of establishing the fund as a vehicle of community support to the estimated 20 percent of Southwest Louisiana’s population currently unemployed, underemployed or uneducated. Lake Charles LNG was the fund’s second corporate contributor and the Community Foundation is actively pursuing additional donors.

Save