Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations
New hires at J.O. are Jennifer Casseday and Christina Berger. Casseday, former executive editor of Fort Worth, Texas: The City’s Magazine since 2008, is the new senior copywriter, overseeing all copywriting and social media copy. Berger, former public relations intern, is public relations coordinator. Berger was an assistant with Wells, Purcell and Kraatz of Fort Worth. While attending Texas A&M University, she co-hosted a radio program and began her public relations career as a greeter at the university’s Catholic Center.
Appraisers
Jennifer Salazar joined Property Damage Appraisers as chief financial officer. Salazar is responsible for aiding PDA’s executive team in developing, implementing and executing a strategic business plan. She is also responsible for the finance department. Previously, Salazar worked at the International Bowling Campus as the chief financial officer. Prior to that, she was the director of accounting for American Consolidated Media and had accounting positions with Gannet Inc., Belo Corp., AT&T and BP/AMOCO.
Banking & Finance
Will Maberry joined Southwest Bank as vice president-commercial lender, bringing nine years of banking experience to the company. Prior to Southwest Bank, Maberry was a vice president at LegacyTexas Bank (formerly Viewpoint Bank and Highlands Bank), with experience in commercial real estate, mid-market corporate and energy finance. He will work at Southwest Bank’s Belt Line banking center in Dallas.
Boards & Organizations
Cathy Neece Brown, vice president for development at James L. West Alzheimer’s Center, is one of 90 women selected from across the state as a member of the Leadership Texas Class of 2016. Leadership Texas is a program of Leadership Women Inc.
Gov. Greg Abbott reappointed David Tillman to the State Board of Dental Examiners for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2021. Tillman, in private practice in Fort Worth, is a member of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, Academy of General Dentistry, American Dental Association, American Society of Orthodontics and the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. He is a member of the Aledo Independent School District school board and a volunteer for the American Dental Association Give Kids a Smile Program, Texas Dental Association Save a Smile Program, John Peter Smith Dental Clinic and Texas Mission of Mercy.
The Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association (TSCRA) elected Richard Thorpe of Winters as the new president. Thorpe was elected a TSCRA director in March 2006. He most recently was first vice president alongside Pete Bonds of Saginaw, who was president from September 2013-April 2016. Bobby McKnight of Fort Davis will be the new first vice president. Hughes Abell of Austin was elected second vice president. New directors include: Donnell Brown, Throckmorton; Seth Denbow, Weatherford; Heath Hemphill, Coleman; Ty Keeling, Boerne; Leslie Kinsel, Cotulla; Carl Ray Polk Jr., Lufkin; and Gary Price, Blooming Grove. Kinsel, Brian McLaughlin of Midland and Clay Jones of Brady were elected as executive committee members.
Honors & Awards
The Real Estate Council of Greater Fort Worth honored Paul Paine with the 2016 Susan A. Halsey Founder’s Award and Casey Tounget with the 2016 Outstanding Young Leader Award. Paine has been president of Fort Worth South Inc. (now Near Southside Inc.) since 2005. He served in the U.S. Navy for more than 26 years before retiring in 2004. He spent three years in the Pentagon on the chief of naval operations staff for aviation budget requirements and was the base commander of Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth from 2002-2004. He is chairman of the Texas Military Preparedness Commission and has served on the board of the city of Fort Worth Directions Home Committee.
Tounget, of Coldwell Banker Commercial Alliance DFW, is the chairman of the Young Leaders Council. He also serves on the boards of Communities in Schools Tarrant County and Texas Christian University Young Alumni and is an active member of SteerFW, VisionFW, Society of Commercial Realtors and Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. He is a 2014 graduate of the leadership program Leading Edge. Tounget began his career in commercial real estate in February 2012 as an intern with SCM Real Estate Services, which merged in 2014 with CBCA. He joined the firm fulltime as a broker associate in December 2012.
Local McAlister’s Deli franchisee Adam Saxton has been selected as one of the 2016 Multi-Unit Franchisee MVP Award winners for the Community Involvement category. Saxton is vice president of The Saxton Group and runs 63 franchises. He oversees both real estate development and brand positioning for the company’s portfolio. He is chairman of the McAlister’s Deli Franchise Advisory Council and is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers.
U.S. News & World Report ranked more than 20 graduate programs at the University of Texas at Arlington among the nation’s best in the magazine’s 2017 edition of “Best Graduate Schools.” UT Arlington has top 100 graduate programs in seven colleges and schools including engineering, nursing, science, architecture, planning and public affairs, and social work. The three graduate-level degree programs that the magazine ranked in the top 50 in the nation are online graduate education in the College of Education at No. 30, the graduate social work program in the School of Social Work at No. 38, and the graduate program in aerospace/aeronautical/astronautical engineering in the College of Engineering at No. 39.
Morrison Supply Co. was named 2015 LG Duct Free System Distributor of the Year. This is the second year in a row that Morrison has received this award.
Texas Trust Credit Union won the Carat Award, along with a Diamond Award, from the Credit Union National Association Marketing & Business Development Council. The Carat award recognizes the credit union marketing campaign that achieves the greatest impact from all the Diamond award winners. Texas Trust received both awards for its One Million Brighter campaign. Through the credit union’s Spirit Debit Reward card, five Texas school districts have collected $1 million in reward money since the inception of the program.
Sundt Construction Inc. of Tempe, Arizona, was named the nation’s safest construction company in 2015 by the Associated General Contractors of America.
Hospitality
Larry Auth has returned to Omni Fort Worth Hotel as manager, responsible for overseeing all day-to-day hotel operations. Auth is a seasoned hospitality veteran with more than 26 years of experience. He started at Omni Fort Worth in 2007 as director of sales and marketing. He returns to the property after three years as the regional sales director for Omni Hotels & Resorts. Prior to that, he was the area director of sales and marketing for all Omni’s Dallas-Fort Worth properties. Before joining Omni, he was the director of sales and marketing for Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth.
Material Handling
David Gaona joined Shoppa’s Material Handling as operations manager of the company’s facility in Saginaw. Gaona owned One Specialty Concrete, Landscaping & Pools for 11 years. He was previously in sales and management with Shoppa’s Material Handling and Clarklift of Fort Worth.
Nonprofit Organizations
Lynda Gearheart is the new director of development and marketing at Lena Pope, succeeding Marilyn Sammons, who retired after 10 years of service. Gearheart has decades of experience in both the corporate world through Dally Advertising and Chesapeake Energy and the nonprofit sector in North Texas. Her responsibilities are developing and implementing marketing and fundraising initiatives for the organization, including cultivating individual donors and major gift givers.
Christina Middlebrook joined Camp Fire First Texas as vice president, outdoor division. She oversees all outdoor programs, including summer overnight camp, day camps, outdoor education, family programs, and camp retreats and rentals. Previously she was the director of Green Revolution, an environmental leadership platform focused on increasing environmental stewardship and E-STEM skills of students at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas. She has also been a high school science teacher, AVID coordinator, teacher mentor and director for an out-of-school time program. She is a member of the North American Association for Environmental Education, Texas Science Education Leadership Association, National Science Teachers Association, SteerFW and VisionFW. She is a founding member of Propel Women’s Brain Trust.
Real Estate
New at Champions DFW Commercial Realty LLC are Anderson Schulle, director of investment sales, and Kameron Alexander, sales and leasing associate. Schulle has been in business development and commercial real estate since 2007. He has been global business development manager for an Internet gaming company, a founder/managing partner for a multi-market property management firm and CEO in an investment firm. Alexander, a native of Abilene, has been a radio personality in his home town, has worked in the oil and gas industry, and was a marketing director for a home exterior business.
Paul Wittorf – has been named executive managing partner, market leader for Transwestern’s North Texas operations, based in Dallas. He also has been appointed to the company’s executive committee and board. Jack Eimer, Transwestern’s current market leader, will shift to national leadership as executive managing partner. Wittorf has been one of Transwestern’s top producers nationally. Since joining the firm’s Houston office in 2000, Wittorf has leased and marketed office buildings and new development opportunities for clients in every major submarket in the city. Eimer will remain on the firm’s executive committee and board, in addition to his new senior role targeting major growth initiatives. Wittorf and Eimer will assume their new positions by July 1.
Send newsmakers to Betty Dillard at bdillard@bizpress.net