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Notes and Noteworthy

Gayle Sloan

St. Tammany Parish Superintendent of Schools Gayle Sloan recently received a Friend of Education Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Louisiana Federation of Teachers. Pictured (from left) are St. Tammany Federation of Teachers and School Employees President Elsie Burkhalter, Supt. Sloan and LFT President Steve Monaghan.

Slidell Award

For the fifth year, the City of Slidell’s Department of Cultural & Public Affairs has been honored for its marketing efforts by a national organization, the City-County Communications and Marketing Association. The department received a prestigious Savvy Award, first-place honors in the category of Marketing and Tools/Community Issues, for its “Slidell: The Forgotten City” campaign, which drew attention to Slidell after Katrina. The marketing efforts included the “Day of Destruction” DVD, “Message of Hope” story and countless press releases sent out across the United States. The campaign also received the President’s Award as the most outstanding marketing campaign in any category. Pictured is Kim Bergeron, department director.

Poet Alison Pelegrin

SLU English instructor and poet Alison Pelegrin has been awarded a $20,000 National Endowment for the Arts fellowship for creative writers. Pelegrin has also received the Akron Poetry Prize for her latest collection, “Big Muddy River of Stars,” which will be published next fall. Two poems from the collection will appear in a special issue of The Southern Review devoted to writing in the South. Gretna native and Mandeville resident Pelegrin is the author of “Dancing with the One-Armed Man,” “Voodoo Lips,” “The Zydeco Tablets” and “Squeezers.”

St. Tammany Parish Hospital

During the 2006 WE Care Employee Campaign Kickoff, the employees of St. Tammany Parish Hospital raised $85,000. In recognition of their dedication, the hospital’s Board of Commissioners approved a matching gift of $85,000 to the St. Tammany Hospital Foundation. Some of the funds will be used for the “Learning Together: Personal Development and Clinical Education for Employees” program, with the remainder earmarked for endowment to provide for long-term security and strength of the hospital.

Author Bev Marshall

Ponchatoula writer Bev Marshall’s third novel “Hot Fudge Sundae Blues” has been selected by The New York Public Library for inclusion in Books for the Teen Age 2006. Her first two novels, “Walking through Shadows” and “Right as Rain,” have also won multiple awards.

STHBA New Leadership

The St. Tammany Home Builders Association recently celebrated its installation of officers for 2006-2007. Those installed included Randy Varuso, President; Clifton Siverd, Vice President; John Barry, Secretary; Al Hamauei, Treasurer and Randy Meyer, Past President. Members of the Board of Directors were also introduced, including Kenneth Adams Jr., John Bruhl, Buddy Coate, George Dantin, Silvio Fernandez, David Gaspard, John Grab III, Michael LeCorgne, Ron Lee, Mitchell Ripoll and Alice Torry. STHBA is looking forward to its 2007 events, including the Raising the Roof for Charity Raffle House, the Parade of Homes and the Home Show.

SLU Children’s Museum

Hammond council member Kathy Montecino, who is spearheading the city’s efforts to develop the Louisiana Children’s Discovery Museum, and Randy Moffett, Southeastern’s president, recently signed an agreement to develop and operate the proposed museum. Under the agreement, Southeastern will provide assistance in planning exhibits, marketing and promotion, financial planning and market analysis, opportunities for student internships and service learning, and the development of grant funding. Pictured, from left, are Mayson Foster, Hammond mayor; Montecino; Moffett; and Tammy Bourg, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, who serves on the board of directors for the new entity.

Fairway Medical Center

Employees of Fairway Medical Center participated recently in the Walk to Cure Diabetes benefitting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Team Fairway gathered approximately $1,000 in donations.

Southern Surgical

James G. Redmann, M.D., a 1986 graduate of Jesuit High School, has joined The Surgical Specialists of LA. In addition to many awards, commendations and numerous presentations, Dr. Redmann is well-known for his publications on breast cancer cell research. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, Southern Medical Association, Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons, American Hernia Society and Rotary International.

Ballin’s LTD

Ballin’s LTD women’s boutique is proud to celebrate 25 years of business! Ballin’s LTD operates seven locations, including Covington, New Orleans (2), Baton Rouge, and Lafayette in Louisiana, as well as Jackson, Miss. and Mobile, Ala. The chain boasts of well-known designers such as Vera Wang, BCBG, Donald Pliner, Calvin Klein and Joan Vass, featuring clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry and special-occasion attire.

Eustis Insurance

Eustis Insurance & Benefits recently celebrated the opening of its new Mandeville office. The St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce and Eustis kicked off the celebration with a ribbon-cutting ceremony opening the doors to the public.

SLU Vocal

Three students from Southeastern Louisiana University vocal music studios were among the winners in the recent National Association of Teachers of Singing Southern Regional competition. David Thomas of Slidell finished first place in the adult student division, while Sarah Kennemer of Mandeville placed second in the junior women’s division. Meghan Wagner of Hammond took fourth place honors in the women’s high school division.

Back2School PC

Derek Legendre, owner of Covington’s Back2School PC, recently announced the opening of The Salon @ Back2School PC. The salon is a teaching facility, complete with computer lab and kitchen, that is designed to make learning computer programs interesting in a comfortable environment.

Cirrus Health

Cirrus Health, a nationwide healthcare development and management company recently announced the purchase of Southern Surgical Hospital in Slidell, La. Cirrus Health is a premier healthcare development and management company specializing in ambulatory surgery centers and short-stay hospitals. Their niche is physician-invested short-stay hospitals, so Southern Surgical was a perfect fit for the new model that Cirrus is creating for the healthcare industry.

CCTV Imports

CCTV Imports, which specializes in surveillance needs, recently announced its relocation to a new 24,000 square-foot building in Madisonville. The new building will offer a state-of-the-art showroom and more warehouse space. CCTV Imports also recently opened a branch in Los Angeles. Pictured are members of the staff, celebrating the holidays.

Business and Professional Women

At its fall Award Banquet, instead of naming one nominee Business Woman of the Year 2006, the West St. Tammany Business and Professional Women organization and its judges gave the award to all nine candidates.

The announcement of the awards recognized the women’s long-standing dedication and commitment to the community, especially during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, while they continued to thrive personally and excel in their chosen fields.

The nine award recipients are: Frances Barker, American Red Cross; Cindy Caveretta, Krazy Cajun Hydraulic Training Company; Phyllis Chandler, Office of Community Services; Anne Dale, Anne-Dale Jewelers; Maura Donahue, DonahueFavret Contractors Inc; Dorothy Garcia, Children’s Advocacy Center “Hope House”; Lori Murphy, Inside Northside Magazine; Marilyn Wenzel, Habitat for Humanity; and Kay Frost Wheat, Kay Frost Insurance.

Chamber Awards

The St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce recently honored several members who dazzled them throughout 2006. Inside Northside publisher Lori Murphy was honored as Chamber Member of the Year. Jean Champagne of Krebs, LaSalle, LeMieux Consultants received the Board Member of the Year award. The Governmental Affairs committee, chaired by Eric Evans of Lakeview Regional Medical Center and Todd Richard of F.A. Richard and Associates, received the Committee of the Year award. Linda Casse of the St. Tammany Association for Retarded Citizens took home the Ambassador of the Year award.

Wink Companies

Wink Companies LLC, the largest privately owned engineering firm in the state, will make its temporary post-Hurricane Katrina headquarters in Baton Rouge permanent, and has also reached an agreement to build a 60,000-square-foot office building near Covington for further expansion. About 120 employees will initially move into the new three-story building near the northwest quadrant of the intersection of Interstate 12 and Hwy. 190. Wink plans to add about 100 engineers to the company over the next two to three years. The St. Tammany Wink building will be the largest office building built in the parish since Northpark in Covington, which was built in the late 1990s.