People – May 20, 2013

Honors & Awards

Fort Worth Library Director Gleniece A. Robinson received the Texas Library Association’s sixth annual Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her exemplary career, leadership and contributions to librarianship. Robinson also was chosen to attend the April 22-25 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Libraries Peer Learning Meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. Robinson has been library director of the Fort Worth Library system since 1999 and is the first African American in that position. She received her master’s degree and doctorate in library and information science from the University of Michigan. Her career spans more than 40 years, including positions at the Library of Congress, University of Michigan Library and 23 years at the Dallas Public Library. She is active in national, state and local professional associations and community organizations. Robinson was the first African American to lead the Texas Library Association, the largest state library association in the United States.

Architecture Adam Hillman joined Komatsu Architecture as an architect. Prior to joining Komatsu, Hillman worked as a project manager for Ascension Group Architects, where he led teams in the areas of design, production, coordination and construction administration, and served on the business development and leadership team. Hillman earned a master of architecture and a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Texas at Arlington. He is accredited by the American Institute of Architects and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and is a U.S. Green Building Council LEED Building Design + Construction (BD+C) professional.

Aviation Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. selected Roderick (Rod) McLean as vice president and general manager of the F-16/F-22 Integrated Fighter Group (IFG). Michael Cawood has been selected to serve as vice president and deputy for IFG. In more than 19 years with Lockheed Martin, McLean has served as F-16 deputy vice president and F-16 program director for countries in the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia. He began his Lockheed Martin career as a radar systems engineer in Moorestown, N.J. He has an electrical engineering degree from North Carolina A&T State University, a master’s degree in engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Cawood most recently was vice president of F-16/F-22 IFG Product Development, providing overall leadership to an industry team of partners focused on enhancing the Viper’s and the Raptor’s future capabilities and maintaining affordable sustainment of the platforms. He has extensive experience in flight controls, program management, technology integration and improvements and derivatives. Cawood has a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of California and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the University of Texas. Banking & Finance Geniece C. Brunson joined the Frost Insurance team as an employee benefits producer. Prior to her move to Texas in 2012, she worked as an employee benefits producer for BB&T Insurance Services in Tennessee for more than five years. While at BB&T, she earned her registered health underwriter designation and brokered for 55 companies. Brunson graduated from Tennessee Technological University with a degree in chemistry. She served on several boards and was involved in Rotary in Tennessee.

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Boards & Organizations Cantey Hanger LLP partner Sarah K. Walls has been appointed to the board of Meritas, an alliance of international law firms. Walls will be responsible for reviewing and establishing policy and setting strategy for Meritas. She also will serve as a liaison to member firms on administrative issues, encouraging and promoting cross communications, and gathering feedback on Meritas initiatives. She also will serve on the membership committee. She has been involved with Meritas for more than 10 years, serving as a speaker on environmental issues and as a member of the finance committee. Walls serves on the city of Fort Worth Water Utility Task Force. She was a founder and chairman of the Environmental Law Section of the Tarrant County Bar Association. She is chairman of the Environmental and Safety Committee of the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and serves on its board. She serves on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Compliance Advisory Panel, sat on the board of the North Texas Commission and was on the executive committee of the Environmental and Natural Resources Section of the State Bar of Texas. Walls received her bachelor’s degree from Emory College and a law degree from Harvard Law School. Gov. Rick Perry has reappointed Ralph Duggins III to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2019. Duggins is a partner at Cantey Hanger LLP and is admitted to practice law before the U.S. District Courts for the Eastern, Northern, Southern and Western districts of Texas, the Eastern and Western districts of Missouri, and the Third, Fourth, Fifth, Eighth, 10th and 11th Circuits of the U.S. Court of Appeals. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Missouri Bar, a master in the Eldon B. Mahon Inn of Court, and a fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation. He also is a past member of the Texas Supreme Court Advisory Committee, a board member of the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show, a past board member of the Lena Pope Foundation and Lena Pope Home, and past chairman of the Cook Children’s Healthcare System and Cook Children’s Health Foundation. Duggins received a bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University and a law degree from the University of Missouri.

Energy USA Compression Partners LP hired Cathy J. Guthrie as vice president-human resources. Guthrie most recently worked in the midstream sector for Southern Union Gas Services headquartered in Fort Worth, where she was director of human resources for locations throughout Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. She has 15 years of experience in human resources strategic leadership and earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Le Tourneau University.

Honors & Awards Joe Michels, the managing principal of Solomon Bruce Consulting LLC who recently relocated to Fort Worth from Billings, Mont., was named Montana Ambassador of the Year for his service to the organization. Michels is a retired Air Force colonel with 30 years of service. He has been the dean of the School of Systems and Logistics at the Air Force Institute of Technology, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and the dean of the College of Business at Montana State University-Billings. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas and Montana and a certified professional logistician by SOLE-The International Society of Logistics. Michels graduated from Weber State University in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering technology. He was a distinguished military graduate from the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps at the University of Utah. He earned his master’s degree in systems management from the Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California in 1980 and his doctorate from the Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University in 1986. He completed his post-doctoral work at the University of Oklahoma in 1990. Michels received a master’s degree in strategic sciences from the Naval War College in 1996. He was selected as Forrestal Scholar at the Naval War College. Mark Fenner, president of Rise Performance Group in Flower Mound, has been honored with the Rookie of the Year award by Profiles International, a global talent management and assessment organization. Rise specializes in leadership development and employee assessment and is a Profiles International strategic business partner. Rise was recognized for its strong performance in 2012, the first full year as a Profiles partner. Kristy Libotte Keener, a graphic design coordinator at the North Central Texas Council of Governments, recently won a Gold Hermes Creative Award for graphic design for a nature postcard/poster. CTC Inc. was recognized by the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals with two 2013 Hermes Creative Awards. The company won a Gold Award in the category of Design/Logo. CTC’s entry, “Finding CTC at the Intersection of Railroad Tracks and Roads,” was recognized for exceptional design of the company’s logo, which conceptualizes a roadway and adjacent railroad tracks. The company earned an honorable mention in the category of Marketing Collateral/Branding/Postcard for its “Who’s IGOR? So Glad You Asked!,” a direct mail campaign announcing a preview of a grade crossing operations recorder that the company developed and showcased at the 2012 Institute of Transportation Engineers annual conference. Texas Health Resources received the MAP Award for High Performance in Revenue Cycle from the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Texas Health is one of only four health care organizations nationwide to receive the award at the system level for 2013. The award recognizes health care organizations that demonstrate innovative and effective practices that deliver sustained financial performance, including patient satisfaction scores. Trinity Terrace, Tarrant County’s only accredited continuing care retirement community, has been recognized for operating an exemplary safety and health management system by the national Occupational Safety and Health Administration. OSHA’s Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) recognizes high-hazard companies with 250 employees or less who enter this elective program and achieve an exemplary injury and illness prevention program. Trinity Terrace is one of only two companies in Fort Worth and 100 in Texas to be accepted into SHARP. It’s also currently the only SHARP-certified continuing care retirement community in Texas. This year, Trinity Terrace also earned a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for its on-site Skilled Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, as reported by U.S. News & World Report. Nine Texas Health Resources hospitals made “A” grades for patient safety, according to the latest Hospital Safety Scores from The Leapfrog Group, a national watchdog on the quality and safety of hospital care. Nationally, about one-third of the 2,514 hospitals scored were ranked “A,” with the greatest number earning a “C” grade. All Texas Health hospitals ranked “A” or “B.” Texas Health hospitals that received “A” grades were: Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital; Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Azle; Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne; Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth; Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford; Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth; Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville; Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton; and Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano. The Society of Professional Journalists awarded the NBC 5 Investigates team its top national 2012 Sigma Delta Chi Award in the category of Investigative Reporting, large-market stations, for the story “Critical Delays: Dallas County’s Response to the West Nile Epidemic.” The team of Scott Friedman, Eva Parks, Peter Hull and Shane Allen researched and reported on the response of Dallas County officials during the summer of 2012. The team also won two regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for Continuing Coverage and News Series. In the Continuing Coverage category, the team’s investigation resulted in the series “Driven to Distraction,” which led to local police department policy changes designed to prevent crashes caused by police officers using mobile dashboard computers while driving. “You’re Gonna Wait,” an investigation on long waits at the Texas Department of Public Safety drivers license offices, won a Murrow Award in the News Series category. Regional Murrow awards also were awarded for Sports Reporting and Use of Sound/Video. “The Game of Life,” a story about a teenager with an illness who gets to meet his sports hero, won for Sports Reporting and was produced by Noah Bullard, Peter Hull and Matt Barrie. Hull won in the Use of Sound/Video for a collection of work. Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford has been designated a Level III Trauma Facility by the Texas Department of State Health Services. The hospital is the first in Northeast Tarrant County to attain the designation, which demonstrates the hospital’s ability to meet a high level of 24-hour trauma emergency, operative and critical care services.

Law Kelly Hart & Hallman named Craig N. Smetko of counsel in the Corporate and Securities Practice Group. Prior to joining Kelly Hart, Smetko was of counsel in the Corporate Finance Department of Chapman and Cutler LLP. Before that, he was associate general counsel and assistant secretary in the law department of BNSF Railway Co. He was employed at BNSF and its predecessor companies for more than 25 years. He handled the corporate secretary function for the board of the then-publicly traded parent company, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., from 2001 to 2009 as the assistant secretary. His other responsibilities included corporate governance and general corporate matters, finance, equipment acquisition and leasing, and a range of contractual matters for the strategic sourcing and technology services departments, including software development agreements. He also practiced in the real estate department at Rudnick & Wolfe (now DLA Piper) from 1984 to 1990. Smetko graduated cum laude from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in English and received his law degree, cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School in 1978. Nonprofit Organizations Robert R. Roby, a longtime board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters Lone Star, has been named chief executive officer of the agency. Most recently, he was a counsel member of the Curran Tomko LLP law firm in Dallas, which he joined in 2007. Roby joined the Big Brothers Big Sisters Dallas board of directors 15 years ago. In 2002, he became board chairman and helped oversee the agency’s historic 2003 merger with its Fort Worth and Arlington-Mansfield counterparts to form Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Texas. He became chairman of the executive board for the merged entity in 2004 and continued to serve on the executive board after the expiration of his three-year term, before reassuming the chairmanship last year. For the last 11 years, he also has volunteered as a Big Brother in the program. In addition to his work with Big Brothers Big Sisters, Roby has served the Dallas Bar Foundation and Texas Association of Defense Counsel. He has been an attorney in private practice for 36 years and was the named, founding and managing partner of Gwinn & Roby from 1986 to 2007. Roby earned his bachelor’s degree from Southern Methodist University in 1974 and a law degree from the SMU School of Law in 1977. The Recovery Resource Council has hired veteran fundraiser Patti Broyles to expand its reach in North Texas. The organization focuses on reducing drug and alcohol abuse by providing guidance, education and services to children, adults and their families. Broyles most recently was the director of development at the Center for Vital Longevity at the University of Texas at Dallas. She spent 10 years at the Perot Museum of Nature & Science, as the director of development from 2001 to 2006 and as the director of individual and foundation giving from 2006 to 2011. Broyles also served as the executive director of the Today Foundation, as director of major gifts at the Dallas Museum of Art and as associate director of development at Southern Methodist University.

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