People: Aug. 26, 2013

 

Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations Cooksey Communications Inc. recently hired Carli K. Baylor as an assistant account executive with experience in writing, integrated marketing communications and social media. Prior to joining Cooksey, Baylor had an administrative position at the University of North Texas, where she was a program planner, communicator and supervisor for six years. She has managed social media and public relations for several artists, entertainers and nonprofit organizations in the area, including Teatro Dallas, Tyler and the Tribe, Karyna Micaela and Zach Balch.

Banking & Finance Stephanie Perryman is vice president, business and community banking relationship manager at Regions Financial Corp. in Fort Worth. Perryman specializes in commercial and industrial financing, franchise financing, public finance and not-for-profit businesses. She previously was assistant vice president at Prosperity Bank in Dallas. Texas Capital Bank promoted James Hill to executive vice president for the Commercial Real Estate Lending Group in Fort Worth and named Eddie Broussard senior vice president in the Corporate Banking Group in Fort Worth. Hill joined the bank as a vice president in 2010 and was promoted to senior vice president in July 2012. Hill is a graduate of the University of Texas Honors Business Program and received an Accelerated MBA from Texas Christian University. Gov. Rick Perry recently appointed him to the Housing and Health Services Coordination Council. Broussard brings almost 29 years of banking and business financial experience to Texas Capital Bank, Fort Worth Region. He began his banking career at Texas American Bank in Fort Worth in the 1980s. From 1996 to July 2013, Broussard worked in the wholesale/distribution industry as a chief financial officer. He is a graduate of Texas Tech University with a degree in finance. Southwest Bank named Holly Blocker as senior vice president-commercial lender for the Camp Bowie banking center in Fort Worth and Terry Smith as Dallas market president for the regional banking center at Prestonwood Tower in Dallas. Formerly a senior vice president of commercial lending at PlainsCapital Bank, Blocker has more than 12 years of industry experience. She supports the United Way of Tarrant County’s Leadership Society and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, and she is active in several professional groups, including the Tarrant County Bankers Association, The Greater Fort Worth Real Estate Council and CREW Fort Worth. Blocker earned a degree in business administration from Friends University in Kansas. Smith brings more than 25 years of corporate and community banking experience to his new role. He previously was the regional president for Southwest Securities, FSB, and has also worked for MBank Dallas, First State Bank of Texas, Frost Bank and Highlands Bank of Dallas, which he co-founded. BFT Financial Group LLC recently hired Ray Pinson as a financial adviser. A certified public accountant since 1980, Pinson comes to BFT with more than 30 years of experience in corporate financial services, including banking, private equity and fund management. Pinson worked for the Bass family in Fort Worth for 21 years, including 14 years at Oak Hill Capital Partners, where he was chief accounting officer and most recently chief financial officer. Pinson graduated summa cum laude from Abilene Christian University with an accounting degree. David Roffman joined Fort Worth-based EECU Credit Union as senior director of indirect lending, bringing more than 20 years of automotive finance experience to the financial institution. Roffman previously worked in the auto finance divisions for DaimlerChrysler Financial Services and Nissan Motor Acceptance. Lincoln Financial Group’s Retirement Plan Services named Troy Fontenote as a sales director for the Institutional Retirement Distribution team. Fontenote supports the South Central region of the country and is based in Houston. Fontenote has more than 21 years of financial services industry experience. Prior to joining Lincoln, he was director of sales at Principal Financial Group. Rhodes Securities welcomes Brian Prasifka as a registered representative. Prasifka specializes in employer-sponsored retirement plans. He has worked in employee benefits for 19 years, including more than eight years as a 401(k) wholesaler before going into personal production. Prasifka graduated with a business degree from The University of Texas. He has earned four professional certifications specific to qualified plans, most recently the DALBAR Fee Disclosure Expert Certification. Prasifka is the only certified fee disclosure expert in North Texas and one of only 14 nationwide. Northern Trust will open an office in early November in the D.R. Horton Tower in downtown Fort Worth. Jeff King, Fort Worth region president, is leading this location. Northern Trust established its Fort Worth wealth management presence in late 2012. King previously was the market manager at Private Bank at JP Morgan in Fort Worth for more than 20 years. Prior to that, King ran the firm’s local commercial real estate group as well as oil and gas services. Drake Mills, president and chief executive officer of Community Trust Bank, Ruston, La., will serve as president in 2014 of the Federal Reserve Board’s Community Depository Institutions Advisory Council.

Boards & Organizations The Public Relations Society of America Board of Directors selected Gigi Westerman, president of Strategic Image Inc. in Arlington, for induction into the PRSA College of Fellows in 2013. Westerman is the sixth member of the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of PRSA to be inducted into the PRSA College of Fellows since 1990 and one of 14 professionals nationwide to be selected for induction this year. The 2013 Fellows will be inducted Oct. 26 during the PRSA 2013 International Conference in Philadelphia. The American Chamber of Commerce Executives has designated RaDonna Hessel, CEO of the Grapevine Chamber of Commerce since 2008, as certified chamber executive, one of 21 chamber executives in the nation to earn the designation this year. She completed the Institute for Organizational Management at Southern Methodist University, graduated from Oklahoma University in 1997 and currently attends Northwood University. Hessel serves on the executive board of the Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives Association and will become its chairman in 2018. She also serves on the board of the North Texas Chamber of Commerce Executives Association, of which she was the president in 2008. The American Chemical Society has named University of Texas at Arlington chemistry and biochemistry professor Daniel W. Armstrong to its 2013 Class of Fellows. Armstrong, UT-Arlington’s Robert A. Welch Chair in Chemistry, has written more than 550 publications, including 29 book chapters and one book, and has 20 U.S. patents. United Way of Tarrant County elected new officers and board members. Chairing the board for another year is Julie H. Wilson, strategist with Reasons Group Inc. Wilson has served on the board since 2007 and chaired the 2010 United Way Campaign. She was honored with the 2011 Legend Award by the Texas Christian University Energy Institute and the 2010 Distinguished Leadership Award by the National Association of Leadership Professionals. She serves on the boards of the North Texas Commission and the Petroleum Club of Fort Worth. Charlie Powell, president and COO of Bank of Texas, Fort Worth Region, and his son James Powell, assistant counsel for transportation with the North Central Texas Council of Governments, will lead the 2013 United Way Annual Campaign as the first father-son co-chairmen in the organization’s 91-year history. Charlie Powell is a United Way board member whose career spans three decades. Among his civic commitments, he is chairman of the finance committee for the John Peter Smith Hospital and Healthcare Network board and serves on the Economic Development Council of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce. James Powell is a founding member of the United Way Young Leaders Society and a two-time past chairman of the group. Other officers are: Brad Forsberg, treasurer, chairman, audit and finance, and compliance officer; Jean Wallace, chairman, compensation and benefits; Charles Milliken, chairman, governance; Mary Jo A. Polidore, chairman, strategic planning; Tran Trong, chairman, diversity; Terry Almon, chairman, community development; Tim McKinney, president; and Beverly Boyd, corporate secretary. Directors elected to new three-year terms are Richard Casarez, Dr. Marcelo Cavazos, Randy Cleveland, Cory Fickes, Tommy Lawler, Mark Nurdin, Reginalea (Reggi) Sturns-Kemp and David Webb. Directors elected to a second three-year term are Brian Gutierrez and Dr. Scott D. Ryan. Also new to the board this year is Dorothy Hynson-Williams, chairman of the United Way-Northeast Steering Committee.

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Health Care Gary Barlow has been named director of the Texas Center for Proton Therapy. The center will be the first to bring a highly targeted cancer treatment option to Dallas-Fort Worth. Previously, Barlow was the technical director of the University of Florida proton treatment facility. Jack Sosebee has been promoted to vice president within Cook Children’s Medical Center, and Winifred King has been named the assistant vice president of corporate and community affairs for Cook Children’s Health Care System. In his new role, Sosebee oversees Cook Children’s transport, respiratory, rehabilitation, food and nutrition, clinical performing arts, family support services, volunteer and child life departments. He joined the staff of Cook Children’s 22 years ago. He also serves on the Association of Air Medical Services as a board member and is president of the Texas Association of Medical Services. King oversees public relations for the health care system, including media, Web content, social networking and community relations. She joined the staff of Cook Children’s in 2007 as director of public relations. Previously she was employed by Texas Southern University and Walt Disney World, where she worked in brand marketing, promotions and public relations for 11 years. Ross Teemant has been named director of Texas Health Springwood Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford. Teemant started at Texas Health Springwood as a social worker more than a decade ago. He later served as a coordinator and manager at the hospital. In 2011 he was named director of Texas Health Seay Center at Plano before being named to his current position at Texas Health Springwood. Teemant earned a bachelor’s degree in behavioral science from Utah Valley State College and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Honors & Awards Will McClatchey, Botanical Research Institute of Texas vice president, director of research, was presented the Distinguished Economic Botanist award at the recent annual meeting of the Society for Economic Botany in Plymouth, England. McClatchey was recognized for his roles as an accomplished teacher, mentor and adviser. At the annual meeting, he spoke on A Future of Ethnobotany Research. McClatchey oversees the research program at BRIT, which includes the herbarium (plant collections), bioinformatics, publications and the library. He has written numerous botanical papers and articles and has extensive research experience in the South and Western Pacific regions. Currently, his research group is working in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Pacific Islands. Prior to BRIT, McClatchey was professor of botany at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu. He earned a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and anthropology from Oregon State University, a master’s degree in botany from Brigham Young University and a doctorate in evolutionary biology from the University of Florida. The Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants recently honored Fort Worth professional D.D. Holmes with the organization’s Honorary Fellow Award. Holmes received her Texas CPA license and joined TSCPA in 1979. She has served on various society and Fort Worth chapter committees and was the Fort Worth chapter’s president in 1994-1995. Fort Worth was named the eighth best fleet operation in North America by Government Fleet Magazine. Fort Worth’s fleet was regarded as exceptional based on performance measures including uses of technology, accountability, pricing, customer service, innovation, efficiency and continuous improvements. Fort Worth was recognized especially for its working environment, productivity and ability to bring to the public sector a sense of urgency. MedHab, a TECH Fort Worth client whose technology allows providers to customize physical therapy regimens to meet the needs of patients in clinic and remotely, has been recognized by the Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center for “world class and next generation manufacturing practices, including innovation, workforce development, collaboration, growth and market development, sustainable practices and continuous improvement.” 714 Main Street in Fort Worth won a Texas Society of Architects 2013 Design Award for its renovation by Schwartz Hanson Architects. The building was recognized for “underscoring the value of early 20th century preservation in the area.” The 11 design winners will be featured in the September/October issue of Texas Architect magazine and honored at the society’s annual convention on Nov. 7-9 in Fort Worth. Mouser Electronics Inc. recently awarded its annual Mouser Best-in-Class Awards. Winners of the 2013 awards are: Bret Murphy, Emerson Connectivity Solutions; Dee Fuller, Amphenol Industrial; Doug Lippincott, Panasonic; Hank Lee, ADLINK Technology; Jacquie Boyer, TE Connectivity; Lee Bourns, Bourns; Raymond Willie, CREE; Scott Johnson, Freescale Semiconductor; Steve Nye, Vishay; and Tim Healey, NXP Semiconductors. Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford received national recognition from the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy for its commitment to patient safety, quality and evidence-based practices in GI endoscopy. Methodist Mansfield Medical Center was voted the Best Hospital and Best Emergency Department in the recent Living Magazine Best of Arlington and Mansfield Readers’ Choice Awards. The award winner was chosen by thousands of readers who voiced their opinions on the best local businesses and professionals in Arlington and Mansfield. Camp Fire Child Development Center has received accreditation by the Association for Early Learning Leaders’ National Accreditation Commission for Early Care and Education Program.

Nonprofit Organizations Camp Fire First Texas promoted Christy R. Jones from marketing manager to vice president of marketing and communications. Her background includes leadership roles at Texas Health Harris Methodist Fort Worth Hospital, where she was director of communication, and Martin, Fletcher, where she was director of public relations and marketing. Mary Clay Gupton joined the Child Study Center Foundation staff as the grant writer. With a background in the oil and gas industry, Gupton most recently worked for Quicksilver Resources Inc. She obtained a degree in communication studies from the University of Texas. Crystal Cardwell is the new development director at The Parenting Center, where she will oversee marketing and play a key role in directing the agency’s development initiatives. Cardwell joins the nonprofit following a position as business development manager for GCG Marketing.

Restaurants Corner Bakery Cafe has promoted Gregg Koffler to vice president of franchise sales, responsible for the overall sales and growth of the franchise division. Koffler joined Corner Bakery Cafe in May as the director of franchise sales for the western United States. He has six years of hospitality franchise experience as a multiple award-winning director of franchise sales at Global Hyatt’s U.S. Franchise Systems, now Wyndham Worldwide.

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Retail Amy Havins is the voice of a new fashion and lifestyle blog for four local retail centers owned and managed by General Growth Properties: Hulen Mall, The Parks at Arlington, Stonebriar Centre and Town East Mall. Fearless Fashionista is a fashion and lifestyle blog started this summer at 52 GGP shopping centers in 18 metropolitan areas nationwide. Technology Consuro Managed Technology has hired Lauren Kwedar Cockerell as director of public relations and Victoria Igbojionu as marketing coordinator. Cockerell was previously vice president of Paige Hendricks Public Relations Inc. She is a graduate of Rhodes College with a degree in business administration with emphases in finance, marketing and English literature. She is a member of the Greater Fort Worth Chapter of PRSA and the Fort Worth chapter of the American Advertising Federation. Cockerell will work closely with the marketing department and Igbojionu, who first joined Consuro as a marketing intern while she completed her strategic communications degree at Texas Christian University.

Tourism, Entertainment & Leisure Dan Wildfong has been named the new head coach of the Lone Star Brahmas, members of the North American Hockey League. During the previous six seasons, he was the head coach and general manager for the Texas/Fort Worth Brahmas of the Central Hockey League. Last season, he was named the CHL Coach of the Year and won his 200th career professional game. A native of Clinton, Ontario, Wildfong was a four-year letterman for Colgate University in the Eastern Collegiate Conference.

Send People items to Betty Dillard at bdillard@bizpress.net