People & Flashes

People & Flashes

A look at the people making waves in Acadiana's business community.

Adam A. Abdalla, a graduate of Loyola University School of Law and a practicing attorney since 2006, has joined Andrus Boudreaux/Complete Title. His practice has been focused on residential and commercial real estate transactions, as well as corporate and general business law. A Lafayette native, Abdalla was admitted to the Louisiana State Bar Association in 2006, along with the Federal Bar Association and the Lafayette Parish Bar Association. He has served as a board member of the Lafayette Parish Bar Association, Young Lawyers Division, as well as on the Editorial Committee of the Promulgator (the newsletter of the Lafayette Parish Bar Association). In addition, Abdalla is admitted to practice law in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana and the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Adam is engaged in the Acadiana Mortgage Lender's Association and the Realtors Association of Acadiana. Adam's community involvement includes working with the Homeless Experience Legal Protection program and the Family Tree Information, Education and Counseling Center.

Jones Walker law firm announced that Kyle Bacon is among 14 attorneys elected partner, effective Jan. 1. Bacon's practice encompasses mergers and acquisitions, commercial real estate, secured financing, private equity investments, commercial transactions, and corporate counseling. Jones Walker also announced that partner Ian A. Macdonald was appointed to a three-year term on Our Lady of Lourdes' board of directors. Macdonald served five years on various committees and last year was chair of the Our Lady of Lourdes Foundation board and chair of the Development Committee. Macdonald heads the Lafayette office of Jones Walker, concentrating his practice in the areas of general litigation, including insurance defense, health care, and labor and employment matters. Another attorney at the firm, Megan E. Donohue, was appointed to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Acadiana's board of directors. Donohue will serve on the board for two years. Donohue's practice includes a wide range of business and commercial litigation cases as well as environmental/legacy litigation. She has represented clients in the insurance, oil and telecommunications industries.

Frank Randol, president of Randol Inc., was appointed by Gov. Bobby Jindal to serve as a representative of the crawfish industry on the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. The board's purpose is to help strengthen and revitalize the Louisiana seafood industry, to identify threats, and execute strategic plans to overcome them. By statute, the board is comprised of 14 members, 13 appointed by the governor. The secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries or his designated representative serves as an ex officio nonvoting member. Randol was chosen from a list of three names submitted by the Louisiana crawfish industry. Another local appointee was Sherbin Collette of Henderson, owner of Collette's Seafood and the mayor of Henderson. Mayor Collette was appointed to serve as a representative of the wild catfish industry. Randol's and Collette's appointments rotate between a farmer, a harvester and a processor.

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Louisiana announced that Chairman Earl J. Barbry Sr. was honored by the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs for his outstanding leadership of the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe and in Indian Country. Barbry, one of the longest serving chairmen in Indian Country, has worked diligently to promote Native American issues on a local and national level. He and several other Native American leaders were honored by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs for their hard work and dedication. He serves on several committees in Indian Country, including United South and Eastern Tribes, a committee of 26 Native American Tribes across the south and eastern regions, and on the Louisiana Inter-Tribal Council, an organization that serves federal and state-recognized Indian communities.
CBM Technology has hired Logan McDaniel as business developer. McDaniel has 30 years of experience in the technology industry. He is responsible for matching CBM Technology's areas of expertise to the needs of the education sector nationwide. McDaniel previously was chief information officer at the Lafayette Parish School System, responsible for deployment of integrated software systems sharing real-time data. He also developed and implemented workflows to reduce paperwork delays and increase efficiency.