Who's moving up in Acadiana's business community? Friday, July 19, 2013
By the ABiz Staff
Attorneys Christopher S. Afeman and Margo H. Dugas have joined Tuten Title & Escrow. Afeman is a partner and Dugas an associate to the firm. Afeman completed both undergraduate and law school at LSU before moving to Lafayette in 2006. He practiced law for five years with a local law firm handling commercial transactions, real estate matters and general business litigation. In May of 2011, he moved to a statewide title company's Lafayette office. Dugas is a 2009 magna cum laude graduate of UL Lafayette, where she earned a BS in finance. In 2012 she graduated cum laude from Southern University Law Center. Dugas served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable James R. McClelland of the 16 Judicial District of Louisiana. She is licensed to practice law in all Louisiana State courts.
Dr. Stephanie Aldret has earned certification in sports medicine from the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists of the American Osteopathic Association. Certification eligibility requires the physician to undergo an additional year of training focused on sports medicine. The examination evaluates an understanding of the scientific basis of the problems involved in sports medicine, the familiarity with current advances in sports medicine and of a high degree of skill in the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures involved in the practice. Aldret is a board certified family medicine physician at Regional Medical Center of Acadiana and a member of the hospital's Sports Medicine Team. A graduate of Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa, Aldret completed an internship and residency in family medicine at Oklahoma State before completing a one-year fellowship in sports medicine at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in Blacksburg, Va. She served as team physician for Virginia Tech and Radford University and also provided medical coverage for Special Olympics, Paralympic qualifying events, high school sporting events, roller derby and the Seattle Mariners single-A rookie level affiliate in Pulaski, Va., before joining Regional Medical Center.
Joey Auer has joined Global Data Systems as director of sales. He is responsible for the direction and management of the public sector and commercial sales teams for the company's New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Lafayette markets. Auer joins GDS with 26 years of professional information technology experience. His breadth of experience ranges from enterprise software architect and engineering to enterprise network and communications engineering. In 1993, Auer started his own IT firm, Diamond Data Systems, which grew to 90 employees in four states serving commercial, national defense and FBI Anti-cyber terrorism. He was awarded U.S. Top Secret clearance by the FBI, named "Top 20 Technology Companies in America" by Ziff-Davis publishing, and won the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's business ethics award. His firm was acquired in 2008 by Geocent.
iLandMan, a Lafayette-based company specializing in land management and lease acquisition software, has added industry veteran Hank Latimer to its national sales team, naming him the Mid-Continent regional sales executive. Latimer is a third-generation oil and gas executive, and joins iLandMan with an established career in the industry, including positions with Anadarko, XTO Energy and most recently Chaparral Energy, where he covered three of the company's districts in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Latimer also is an active member of the Young Professionals in Energy, the American Association of Professional Landmen and the Oklahoma City Association of Professional Landmen. iLandMan also promoted developer Ben Bingham to director of research and development. Raised in West Monroe, Bingham has more than 15 years programming experience, with 10 years in enterprise-level applications, and has been with iLandMan since 2005. Previously, Bingham worked as senior software engineer for National Oilwell Varco, John Chance, and MD Totco, pioneering developmental best-practices and streamlining productivity for all three companies. He is also a Microsoft Certified Professional Developer for Enterprise Applications and has worked alongside some of the best development teams in the region. In addition to his role with iLandMan, Bingham is a presenter and instructor for the Acadiana.NET User's Group.
Delta Media Corporation announced that nationally recognized sports talk host Nick Bonsanto hit Acadiana's morning airwaves July 8. Bonsanto is well versed in the SEC and the Southern sports scene after spending many years in Chattanooga, Tenn. He most recently hosted "The Nick Bonsanto Show" on The Sports Byline USA Network live from the Luxor Casino in Las Vegas. He will host the morning show as well as his national show from Lafayette each week day and also serve as the program director for Delta Media's 103.7 The Game. "We want to welcome Nick and his lovely wife to the Acadiana region and invite everyone tuning in to make him feel at home on KLWB,103.7, The Game," Delta Media Corporation Operations Manager Erik Tobias said in the announcement.
Lafayette Surgical Specialty Hospital was named to Becker's Hospital Review's annual list of 100 Great Places to Work in Healthcare. The hospitals, health systems, ambulatory surgery centers and physician groups included in the list offer robust benefit packages, positive work environments, excellent employee recognition programs and opportunities for professional development and continuing education. The Becker's Hospital Review and Becker's ASC Review editorial teams accepted nominations for the 2013 list and selected recipients based on nominations and editorial research. Retention is a strong point for nurses at LSSH, evidenced by its low turnover rates and an average of 16 years of experience. The hospital's 190 employees can earn generous bonuses for meeting annual performance benchmarks, with added incentives for length of tenure and attendance for scheduled shifts. The hospital frequently provides meals when caseloads are heavy, and employees can earn $100 just for being nominated as employee of the year or nurse of the year, while the winners take home $1,000 each. The hospital also offers tuition reimbursement, fitness challenges, wellness support groups, monthly birthday luncheons and 401(k) matching plans.
Brown & Brown Insurance named Jennifer Luquette and Oceanna Trzeciak-Cates corporate sales executives for its Lafayette office. Luquette, a Lafayette native who attended UL Lafayette, has 10 years of sales experience. In 2010, Luquette was named a top 10 finalist for the National Radio Wayne's Account Executive Award, a national recognition awarded to the top sales executives in business-to-business sales, and is currently pursuing her designation as a certified insurance counselor. Trzeciak-Cates is a California native who has lived in Lafayette since 2008. She holds a BA in public relations from UL. Trzeciak-Cates comes to Brown & Brown with a life, accident and health state insurance license and is responsible for generating new business for the company in its employee benefits division.
Chris Camos was promoted to vice president of global facilities and real estate for Knight Oil Tools. He is responsible for all of Knight Oil Tools' real estate from a strategic worldwide standpoint. In addition to his new global duties, Camos will continue to oversee all of Knight Oil Tools' land acquisitions and the company's ongoing and future construction projects from planning, designing and constructing to completion. Camos has more than 35 years of experience in sales, real estate and construction development. After joining Knight in 2011, he served as vice president of real estate and construction for two years. Prior to Knight Oil Tools, Camos was vice president for Rudick Company Inc., a Lafayette-based general contracting company that specializes in constructing commercial facilities for the oil and gas industry. He also worked for the J.I. Case Construction Equipment Division, where he served as regional marketing manager. Earlier this year Knight announced it has implemented a new leadership team to focus on global growth strategies. As part of the realignment, Pat McLaughlin, executive vice president, was appointed global chief operating officer for Knight Oil Tools. Doug Keller, senior vice president, was promoted to executive vice president of strategic global business development. Bobby Veazey, chief financial officer, Dean Cole, general counsel, and Clark Carnes, president of Knight Oil Tools International, are continuing in their current roles with a global focus.
MidSouth Bank promoted Christopher Broussard to assistant VP/senior commercial credit analyst. He performs analysis on commercial loan requests. Broussard, who has been with MidSouth Bank since 2012 as junior commercial credit analyst, has 11 years of banking experience. Before joining MidSouth Bank, he worked for J.P. Morgan Chase from 2008 to 2012 as