Thornton to lead county homeless program
Mark “Otis” Thornton, director of the City of Fort Worth’s Homelessness Program for the past nine years, has been named executive director of the Tarrant County Homeless Coalition (TCHC).
As the lead author of the city’s Directions Home program, Thornton worked closely with then-Mayor Mike Moncrief, Ralph McCloud and the Rev. Brooks Harrington to develop a plan focused on making homelessness “rare, short-term and non-recurring.”
The plan was endorsed by the Tarrant County Commissioners Court and adopted by the Fort Worth City Council in 2008. Homelessness in Tarrant County has decreased 33 percent since then, according to the program. Thornton has been involved in numerous projects and programs since Directions Home was published, including the development of a Community Eye Clinic and a major initiative with Cook Children’s Health Care System to insure a medical home for every homeless child in Tarrant County.
City- and state-funded programs that Thornton administers have housed more than 1,500 people since 2009. As a member of the National Leadership Council of the Alliance to End Homelessness, he has served as policy expert to the Texas Big City Mayors Group, helping to secure $65 million for two new programs between 2009 and 2013.
TCHC manages between $12 million and $15 million annually to address homelessness in Tarrant and Parker counties. The local Continuum of Care – the network of providers who coordinate housing, shelter and services for the homeless – has designated TCHC as the lead agency for planning and administering the Homeless Management Information System.
Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations
The Balcom Agency has hired Tedi Schmidt as director of first impressions. Prior to Balcom, Schmidt served as assistant coordinator at Jordan Payne Events, a luxury wedding planning company in Dallas.
Banking & Finance
Courtney Garner joined PlainsCapital Bank as a senior vice president in commercial lending at the Camp Bowie Boulevard location in Fort Worth. She has 13 years of banking experience, including eight in Tarrant County. She most recently spent three years with Community Trust Bank. Her experience includes positions with BBVA Compass, Washington Mutual and Chase Bank.
Boards & Organizations
The new board for the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas Fort Worth Chapter includes: Chairman Jennifer Trevino, Past Chairman Anette Soto, Vice Chairman of Marketing and Public Relations Rosalinda Martinez, Vice Chairman of Membership Allie Giraldo, Secretary Sandy Martinez Russell, Treasurer Tanisia Queppet, Historian Victoria Ruiz, Scholarship Chairman Evalis Chapa, Education Chairman Crystal Alba, Chairman of Development Anelia Banda, State Representative Judy Perez and Parliamentarian Lorie Martinez.
Mary Stallings DeNuccio has been named director of communications and development for the Tarrant County Bar Association. She brings 28 years of experience in the legal field and business development. Her new position will encompass media relations, sponsor and underwriter development, marketing and event planning.
Honors & Awards
David Nygren, presidential distinguished professor of physics at the University of Texas at Arlington and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, has been named a co-recipient of the Aldo Menzione Prize for 2015 by the executive board of the Frontier Detectors for Frontier Physics Association. Nygren is being honored for his invention of the Time Projection Chamber, which has been used worldwide for more than three decades in particle detection and discovery. The award is given every three years to coincide with the Pisa Meeting on Advanced Detectors. Nygren will accept the award May 25 during the 13th Pisa Meeting on Advanced Detectors at Elba Island, Italy. Italian physicist Fabio Sauli was named a 2015 co-recipient of the award.
The Texas Bankers Foundation honored Patsy Dumas, senior vice president and board member at First National Bank of Burleson, with the 50-Year Banker Award. Dumas has spent her entire banking career in Burleson, including working for Farmers & Merchants State Bank and First State Bank of Rio Vista. She is the new president of the board for United Cooperative Services, has served as chairman of the Burleson Area Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of the Burleson Rotary Club and the Texas Electric Cooperatives.
Gulliver’s Travel agent Cindy McCoy has been named an American Express Representative Pacesetter, honored for her customer service, sales performance and commitment to delivering extraordinary travel experiences. McCoy has more than 28 years of experience in the travel industry, specializing in luxury and corporate travel, honeymoons and family travel. She and other global Pacesetters will be recognized in May in Cape Town, South Africa.
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors-Fort Worth honored Rodney Culp with the 2015 Career Service Award. Culp began his insurance career in 1985 with the Al Boenker Insurance Agency, where in 1992 he became vice president of the life and health department. Culp has been a member of the association for 30 years, serving as president in 2006-2007.
Chris Gammill, field manager for Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Fort Worth, received the Service Technician of the Year award from Mr. Rooter Plumbing corporate office out of 1,500 technicians throughout North America.
Studios 121 was a bronze winner in four categories for the 35th annual Telly Awards. The winning commercials and online videos were for Craig’s Collision, Cavender’s, NAPE and Deloitte University.
The Arlington communication firm PartnerComm Inc. won 13 Gold Quill Awards from the International Association of Business Communicators in writing, benefits communication and publication design, among other categories.
KERA News won six regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for achievements in electronic journalism, including the top award for Overall Excellence in the division of Large Market Station. This is the most Murrow awards KERA has won in a single year and the first time the station has won the Overall Excellence award. The awards are presented by the Radio Television Digital News Association.
Terracon celebrated its 50th anniversary in April. The company traces its roots to a small engineering firm in Iowa. The firm has expanded into a nationwide operation with more than 150 offices and 3,400 employees. Terracon’s Fort Worth office opened in 1995 as a branch of the Dallas office, offering construction materials engineering and testing services. With the acquisition of HBC Engineering in 1998, the two offices were merged. Environmental services were added in 2002, and geotechnical engineering services were added in 2008. The office has grown to nearly 30 employees. The Fort Worth office has contributed to numerous projects, including the Amazon fulfillment center, Eagle 35, nine Texas Health Resources campuses, Museum Place, Arlington Brownfield Grants and the FAA North Texas Headquarters.
Manufacturing
Socomore appointed Andrew Leech as vice president North America. Leech comes to Socomore from his position as president of Oemeta-North America. He also has extensive experience managing international companies around the world, including setting up the European business of HAAS and establishing the integrated aerospace chemical supply of UTC. He also was director of global chemical management for Quaker Chemical.
Nonprofit Organizations
New hires at Lighthouse for the Blind of Fort Worth include Will Frederick and Ken Kiesling. Frederick has been in sales for more than 21 years, most recently in the area of offshore drilling equipment and support. At the Lighthouse, he will lead a team of five sales reps. Kiesling brings more than 25 years of sales experience for CNC lathes and machining. He is the first sales representative for the Lighthouse CNC Machine Operations, a new venture that will provide more jobs for individuals who are blind.
Technology
ECi Software Solutions named Grant Howe as chief technology officer. Howe will be responsible for product/technology strategy and execution across the ECi family of companies. He brings more than 21 years of product development and management experience to ECi. He has served as a senior technology executive in the areas of research, development and engineering with companies such as Abila, Sage Group LLC, CareFlash.com and NetIQ.
Send newsmakers to Betty Dillard at bdillard@bizpress.net