Michael L. Matherne has been named president of Champion Real Estate Services LLC. Matherne joined Champion Real Estate in 2001 as the director of leasing and marketing and is actively involved in the commercial real estate markets of New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Metairie. He has assumed responsibility for all aspects of Champion’s operations in the Lafayette market. He is a 1998 graduate of Tulane University where he received a bachelor of science degree in economics.
The UL Lafayette Alumni Association honored Red Dumesnil during its 13th annual Spring Gala, held May 9 at the Alumni Center. The gala offered fine food, entertainment and both silent and live auctions that included a variety of offerings including original art, travel packages and Ragin’ Cajun merchandise. Cox Communications was the gala’s presenting sponsor. Proceeds from the gala are entirely dedicated to maintain and make improvements to the landmark Alumni Center. UL also recently honored artist George Rodrigue, known for his Blue Dog paintings, with an honorary doctorate of fine arts. The degree was presented during the graduate school commencement ceremony May 17 in the Cajundome. Rodrigue, born and raised in New Iberia, studied at UL Lafayette during the 1960s. He later studied drawing and painting at the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. In much of his early paintings, Rodrigue used oak trees as his main subject and later included the Cajun people and traditions as well as his interpretations of myths such as Jolie Blonde and Evangeline. One myth, the loup-garou, inspired the artist’s most famous series, the Blue Dog. Rodrigue found inspiration for the image of the loup-garou in pictures of his studio dog Tiffany. In 2005, he premiered Bodies, reacting to the intensity of Hurricanes with a sudden return to classical nudes, cemeteries and oak trees. His accomplishments have been acknowledged at many museums including the Dixon Gallery and Gardens Museum in Memphis, Tenn. This museum hosted a 40-year Rodrigue retrospective, which also traveled to the New Orleans Museum of Art. In New Orleans, 60,000 visitors attended the art show, setting an attendance record for a contemporary show or living artist. Most recently, he was honored by UL Lafayette’s College of the Arts with a lifetime achievement award during the college’s annual Festival of the Arts. Rodrigue and his wife, Wendy, live in New Orleans’ historic Faubourg Marigny neighborhood.
Trey Trahan is one of 22 U.S. architects featured in the new book, Arquitectos Americanos, published by The Atrium Group in Barcelona, Spain, to recognize the work of America’s most outstanding architects. Trahan’s design of Holy Rosary Church in St. Amant, La., is featured on both the front and back covers of the book and is the only design to earn a spot on the book cover. Other architects profiled in the book include Pritzker Prize Laureates Frank Gehry, Thom Mayne and Richard Meier and internationally recognized designers Daniel Libeskind and Stephen Holl. Trahan, who is from Crowley and practices out of Baton Rouge, was notified of his selection last year and received an advance copy of the book in May. Holy Rosary Church is one of the most honored ecclesiastical designs in the world, having received nine national and international awards.
Darnall, Sikes, Gardes & Frederick promoted Joan B. Moody from partner to shareholder in the firm. Moody practices in the areas of taxation, business consulting and wealth management. Having graduated Summa Cum Laude from Louisiana State University in 1988, she went on to achieve her CPA license in 1990. In 2006, Moody earned the FINRA Series 7 and NASAA Series 66 licenses and is a registered financial adviser, assisting the firm’s clients with their financial and investing needs. She is a registered representative with 1st Global Capital Corp. Moody is a member of both the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants.
The Louisiana Community and Technical College System Annual Conference, attended by more than 600 system employees, recognized 57 award recipients from across the LCTCS with jade-glass plaques. The recipients for LTC Region 4 were: Outstanding Professional Staff - Christina Dooley, LTC Teche area campus chief financial aid officer; Outstanding Faculty - Tommy Smith, LTC Teche area campus welding instructor; Outstanding Professional Support Staff - Dale Thibodeaux, LTC Lafayette campus IT technical support Analyst 1; Distinguished Retiree - Felix St. Julien, LTC Lafayette campus air conditioning and refrigeration faculty (recognized posthumously).
Sarah Hamilton Berthelot, a Junior League of Lafayette member, was elected to the board of directors of the Association of Junior Leagues International, a 108-year-old women’s community leadership organization, during the association’s annual conference in Atlanta in April. She will serve as at-large director from 2009-2012. Berthelot joined the Junior League of Lafayette in 2001. As a Junior League member, she held numerous leadership positions, including president, community vice president, executive committee member, provisional chair and step-up chair, public relations chair and chair of the 50th Anniversary Planning Committee. Berthelot currently serves as chief philanthropy officer of United Way of Acadiana. She received her BA in interpersonal communications from UL Lafayette.
Jamie Bienvenu has joined Wealth Advisors as an administrative assistant. Wealth Advisors is a financial services firm that specializes in wealth management and retirement planning in Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Georgia, Oregon, Maryland, Florida, and California. Bienvenu is a lifelong resident of Lafayette and was previously employed by a physician in Lafayette. She has 11 years of customer service and administrative experience.
Monique Bradberry has joined MidSouth Bank’s human resources department as HR generalist. Bradberry is responsible for overseeing the administrative and benefit functions of the HR department, including interpreting and maintaining current HR policies and resolving employee issues. She also is responsible for completion and analysis of survey results, along with developing, implementing and administering all employee benefits programs. The Houma native has 12 years of HR experience, most recently working for Emerson Heating Products (a division of Emerson Electric) in Murfreesboro, Tenn. She attended Nicholls State University, majoring in accounting, and later transferred to Middle Tennessee State University. She is a current member of the Society for Human Resource Management and is on track to receive her PHR Certification later this year.
Cox Communications has named Michael Glorioso director of accounting for all Cox Louisiana markets, including Baton Rouge, Lafayette and New Orleans. Glorioso joins Cox Louisiana from Cox’s Hampton Roads system where he was business operations manager. Glorioso joined Cox in 2000 as accounting manager for Cox’s New Orleans market. Prior to his service with Cox, Glorioso served as controller for American Classic Voyages. A native of New Orleans, Glorioso holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting with a minor in finance from UNO.
Cindy Lannes, a Realtor with more than 13 years of experience in real estate consulting, has joined Keller Williams Realty Acadiana, teaming up with Rex Steele, one of the leading commercial real estate agents in the area. Lannes will concentrate on residential real estate sales. She previously worked in the New Orleans metropolitan area and joined Keller Williams there in 1998.
A new executive board was appointed for the UL Lafayete Foundation, the primary trustee of university assets. The appointments are for two years. Barry Berthelot has been named the UL Lafayette Foundation’s president, Bill Fenstermaker vice president and Jay Culotta secretary/treasurer. Berthelot, the former president and CEO of JP Morgan Chase Bank Lafayette, served on the board of trustees as audit and finance chairman. He is a UL Lafayette graduate in economics. Fenstermaker has served on the board as chairman of the foundation’s development committee and past co-chairman of UL Lafayette’s centennial campaign fund drive. Fenstermaker is a graduate of UL Lafayette in production management and is chairman and CEO of Fenstermaker & Associates. A longtime trustee member and university supporter, Culotta also graduated from UL Lafayette with a degree in pre-med and is a retinal specialist in Lafayette. Outgoing officers John Chappuis and Gerald Dubroc were recognized for their dedication as volunteers to the university and continued commitment to service on the foundation board.
Mary Landry has joined the Woman’s Foundation Inc. as assistant program manager. She assists with managing all programs and will help with coordination and implementation of future educational programs. A native of Breaux Bridge, Landry is a graduate of UL Lafayette with a bachelor of general studies with a concentration in behavior sciences. She previously interned for the Healthy Start Program at The Family Tree and has been a dance instructor with Irene’s School of Dance in Breaux Bridge for five years.
Erin Chance Fenstermaker has joined Evangeline Galleries Inc. as marketing director. Originally from Lafayette, Fenstermaker graduated from LSU with a bachelor of fine arts. She recently moved back to Lafayette from Houston, where she was gallery associate at McClain Gallery for two years. While at McClain Gallery, she assisted in all aspects of gallery management and marketing, from research for private collections to preparing for gallery openings. Evangeline Galleries, a long-standing Lafayette family business, specializes in fine art and custom framing. The gallery is located in downtown Lafayette, next door to the Lafayette Museum Alexander Mouton House.