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Kudos

Blair Abene, Miss Southeastern Louisiana University 2006, was named first runner-up in this summer’s Miss Louisiana Pageant in Monroe.

Louisiana Cookin’ magazine recently named their Chefs to Watch in 2006. Among the five honorees were Allison Vines-Rushing and Slade Rushing, the dynamic husband-and-wife duo behind the sumptuous dishes at The Longbranch restaurant in Abita Springs.

 

 

 

Melissa Landry, St. Scholastica senior and student council president, was elected Governor of Girls State and chosen to represent Louisiana at Girls Nation in Washington, D.C. in July. Melissa was also elected Key Club Governor for the Southern Region for a second term.

 

 

 

Thursday, July 13 marked the beginning of a new mission for twenty-seven graduates of the Leadership St. Tammany Class of 2006. Armed with nine months of intense development, these emerging community leaders are now equipped to do their part to improve the quality of life in St. Tammany. Their demonstrated leadership on several key initiatives throughout the program is indicative of the impact they will continue to make on the community as a whole. “Our actions may not be widely visible in the community, but we’re there,” stated Rick Danielson, class spokesman, in his commemorative speech.

 

The United States Tennis Association’s 4.5 ladies tennis team based out of Franco’s Athletic Club recently won the state championship. Team members are (Top row) Lisa Knight Finley, Judy Osborne, Eileen Lambertson, Mamie Baker, Kim Calamari, Pam Bradner. (Bottom row) Janie Kuebel, Leslie Boudreaux and Bobbie Miles.

 

 

A new group of leaders is also in the making on the western end of the northshore. The 2007 Leadership Tangipahoa Class includes (Bottom row) Randy Matthews, Melissa Stilley, Wendy Barnes, Mikki Martin, Christy Gatlin, Tonia Delatte Gay, Carolyn Giannoble, Joyce Jackson, Dennis Pevey and Ricky Masaracchia. (Middle row) Dedra Fourmaux, Cindy Shelton, James McHodgkins, Jr., Samuel Richmond, Amy Harris and Lance Power. (Top row) Glen Villalobos, Phillip Jeanfreau III, Parish President Gordon Burgess, Brian Gohres and Kelly Wells. (Not pictured: Blair Foster.)

 

Mandeville’s Janet Miller-Schmidt was elected earlier this year to serve as Commodore of the Gulf Yachting Association, which encompasses 33 yacht clubs from Houston to St. Petersburg, Fla. She is the first woman to be elected to this position in the GYA’s 105-year history. Janet will watch over the rebuilding of 14 clubs along the coast that were destroyed by Katrina. She is a past commodore of Pontchartrain Yacht Club.

 

Degrees were recently conferred upon the fifteen members of the North Oaks School of Radiologic Technology graduating class. Graduates include Jacob Albin, Michael Duffy, Jude Bailey, Rebekah C. Bankston, Keli A. Bourgeois, Katherine L. Bulloch, Selmon A. Corkern, Amanda L. Forsythe, Ryan T. Lee, Laura M. Maggio, Denise M. Mayeux, Lisa M. Miley, Amanda Parks, Ken Schilling and Mallory T. Wagner.

 

Slidell Mayor Ben Morris has promoted Kim Bergeron to acting director of the city’s Department of Cultural and Public Affairs, where she has worked as a media specialist for four years. “My goal is to continue to ensure that citizens can enjoy the arts regardless of their socioeconomic status,” she says, adding that she will emphasize exposing children to cultural activities.

 

Resource Bank recently celebrated the grand opening of their new branch on Highway 21 in Covington.

 

 

 

Louisiana Heart Hospital deserves double kudos! In June, the hospital earned full accreditation from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals, following a comprehensive three-day survey. In July, LHH was one of only 173 hospitals nationwide to be recognized in U.S. News & World Report by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for implementing quality cardiac and stroke care.