Lafayette General Medical Center's Cancer Center of Acadiana opened a new cancer center at Abbeville General Hospital. The Abbeville center will offer the same clinical treatments as those in Lafayette and in renowned cancer centers in Houston and throughout the country. LGMC hopes to utilize this clinical affiliation with Abbeville General as a stepping stone for more clinical service line partnerships in the future. A year ago, the hospital formed a similar partnership with Savoy Medical Center in Mamou.
MidSouth Bank promoted Chris Lassalle from network engineer to AVP/network administrator. A New Iberia native, Lassalle has been employed by MidSouth Bank for six years. He has more than 12 years of experience in the IT field and previously worked for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and Entré Computer Center. Lassalle graduated from Louisiana Technical College's Tech Area Campus with a degree in computer technology. Also at MidSouth Bank, Naomi Colomb has been transferred to the St. Martinville location and promoted to AVP/banking center manager. Joining Colomb is Karen L. Melancon, who was hired as VP/commercial lender. Colomb previously was banking center manager at the Super 1 Foods location in New Iberia and has been with MidSouth since 2004, having joined part-time while in college. A Church Point native, she has a bachelor's degree in business management from UL Lafayette. For the past 28 years, Melancon was employed by First Louisiana National Bank and before that was with St. Martin Bank for nine years. She has almost two decades of commercial lending experience. Melancon has completed various banking courses and programs, including the Bankers School for Supervisory Training. A Catahoula native, she now lives in St. Martinville.
Chris Rosson has been promoted to global business manager and Greg Zaunbrecher to assistant global business manager at Knight Oil Tools. Rosson is responsible for ensuring that the proper business infrastructure and operational procedures related to SAP and the company's rental tool management system are in place at its locations worldwide. The Shreveport native has been with Knight for more than six years, most recently as operations manager for its manufacturing business unit. He graduated from LSU Shreveport with a business and business management degree and has more than 20 years of management experience. Zaunbrecher is aiding in development and implementation of all employee training related to RTMS and SAP procedures. Prior to his promotion, Zaunbrecher was a business applications analyst for the manufacturing business unit. He has a BS degree in finance from LSU and is completing his master's degree at UL Lafayette.
The bariatric surgery department at LGMC has recently been designated a Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, as well as the Surgical Review Corporation. The BSCOE designation is awarded to the hospital and the center's surgeons, Drs. Philip Gachassin and Dennis Eschete, for meeting the rigorous requirements of a center of excellence.
David Gleason, a licensed commercial real estate agent with Van Eaton & Romero since 2007, was installed as the 2012 Realtor Association of Acadiana president.
Certified Physician Assistant Cal Domingue of the Louisiana Heart Lung and Vascular Center is one of the first PAs in the nation to earn a new specialty credential from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Domingue was awarded a Certificate of Added Qualifications in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, a distinction earned by meeting licensure, education and experience requirements and then passing an exam in the specialty.
Tootie Anderson of Dwight W. Andrus Real Estate has been awarded the Accredited Buyer's Representation designation by the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council of the National Association of Realtors. This designation required successful completion of a comprehensive course in buyer representation and an elective course focusing on a buyer representation specialty, both in addition to submitting documentation verifying professional experience.
OB-GYN Dr. Donald Mickal, one of the founders of Women's & Children's Hospital, was named chief medical officer for The Regional Health System of Acadiana. Mickal was chief of staff for the first two years of the merger between Women's & Children's and The Regional Medical Center of Acadiana.
Van Eaton & Romero Realtor Cheryl C. Hebert was named relocation assistant. She has been at Van Eaton & Romero since 2009.
Pat Logan, who recently retired from Lafayette Consolidated Government as associate director of public works, has joined Acadiana Metro Realty's commercial real estate division. Logan will specialize in commercial sales and development, putting his more than 30 years of experience dealing with governmental land development and infrastructure issues to work for the company.
Joshua Mayers, who recently returned home from his third overseas military deployment, is now a full-time agent with Keller Williams Realty Acadiana. He has more than 15 years combined service in the U.S. Army and the Louisiana Army National Guard. Mayers is native of Lafayette and graduate of Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif. His focus of study was Farsi, Italian and German languages. Mindy Wiggins, John Nguyen, Celeste Ellis and Jason Bernard have also joined the real estate firm as agents. Wiggins is a native of Des Moines, Iowa, and is a certified meeting and event planner. Nguyen earned a BS degree from UL Lafayette and has several years of business management experience. Ellis, a St. Martinville native, previously worked at Stuller Inc. Bernard's previous employment includes work for Xerox, Halliburton and Sensormatic Electronics.
Cajun Harley-Davidson was awarded Harley-Davidson Motor Company?s Bronze Bar & Shield Circle of Recognition Award for the 2011. It earned the award for the South Plains region based on its motorcycle and related product sales performance, an evaluation of customer service and satisfaction, and various operational measures.
Darrel Smith has been named director of community supports and services for LARC. He previously worked in LARC's Supported Work and Independent Living programs in 1990 and has more than 20 years of management experience. His previous experience includes work for Gulf Coast Teaching & Family Services as well as owning his own supported work agency called Empower. In his new role, Smith will oversee the day-to-day operations of the 24-hour respite center, the personal care attendant services and the supported independent living program.
The Lourdes Foundation disbursed $50,000 in grants to 21 local nonprofit organizations at its 2012 annual Grant Awards Breakfast in the Lourdes Robert Trahan Conference Center. Grant funds are awarded to nonprofit agencies and programs focused on health care and wellness. The foundation has awarded $450,000 in grants in the past eight years. Funds for the grants are raised through the Lourdes Foundation Legacy Golf Tournament.