Posted 8:40 pm Sunday, February 19, 2012
Austin Bank Selected One Of Best Companies To Work For
Austin Bank was selected as one of the Best Companies to Work for in Texas 2012.
The bank was honored at an awards ceremony Feb. 2 at the Texas Association of Business 2012 annual conference in Austin. This is the fourth year for Austin Bank to receive the award.
Companies statewide entered the two-part process to determine the Best Companies to Work for in Texas, which is composed of 100 companies that benefit the state's economy, its workforce and businesses.
The awards program was created in 2006 and is the project of Texas Monthly, the Texas Association of Business, the Texas State Council of the Society of Human Resource Management and Best Companies Group.
Austin Bank is a community bank with $1.3 billion in assets. Based in Jacksonville, it has more than 400 employees in 31 locations, 21 cities and 10 counties. During 2011, employees gave countless hours of volunteer service and the bank contributed more than $380,000 in direct support of local education, literacy, health and housing needs. Austin Bank is locally owned and operated by the Austin family, who is celebrating 103 years of serving the banking industry.
CFO
Joyce Anne Hester, CPA, was promoted to senior vice president and system chief financial officer for Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics.
She has served as the system's vice president of financial operations since 2004. Since joining Trinity Mother Frances in 1982, she has served in several capacities, including administrative director of business services, controller and accounting manager.
"During her 30 years of service, Joyce has played a pivotal role in the growth of Trinity Mother Frances and in the expansion of the services we provide,"
Lindsey Bradley, president of Trinity Mother Frances Hospitals and Clinics, said in a prepared statement. "As we celebrate Trinity Mother Frances 75th year of service in 2012, I have full confidence that her financial leadership and commitment to the community will position our organization for an exceptional next 75."
Mrs. Hester earned her undergraduate degree in accounting from Pan American University in Brownsville and is a fellow with the Health Care Financial Management Association.
NEW ASSOCIATES
Stephen M. Spitzer has joined the Ramey & Flock firm as shareholder while Nolan Smith joined as associate.
Spitzer's practice focuses on probate litigation as well as litigating other civil matters, including business disputes and personal injury cases. He has litigated many types of cases in his more than 22 years of practice. He is board certified in personal injury trial law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
Smith graduated from Southern Methodist University in 2011. His practice focuses on appellate and general litigation and transaction matters.
Ramey & Flock was founded in 1922 and represents individuals and corporations throughout East Texas and specializes in areas of labor and employments, intellectual property, oil and gas, appellate, probate litigation and all manners of commercial litigation.
PRINCIPAL
Randall Childress, an Edward Jones financial adviser in Tyler for the past 21 years, was named a principal with the firm's holding company, the Jones Financial Companies, LLLP.
He is one of only 41 people chosen from more than 42,000 associates across the country and Canada to join the firm's 323 principals. Childress joined Edward Jones in 1991 and was named a regional leader with the firm in 2009. He is responsible for guiding and supporting nearly 60 financial advisers and serving as a liaison between them and the firm's St. Louis headquarters. Childress holds the certified financial planner and accredited asset management specialist designations and serves on the boards of several local organizations.
Edward Jones provides financial services for individual investors.
NEW LOCATION
Rene McCarty, owner of LifeTime Health Center medical clinic in Tyler, opened a new location at 1420 WSW Loop 323, across the street from her old office on Kinsey Drive, in January.
Ms. McCarty, a nationally certified physician assistant, has more than 25 years of experience in family medicine and women's health and hormone replacement therapy. The LifeTime Health Center provides a range of affordable family practice services while specializing in hormone replacement therapy and weight loss programs.
Ms. McCarty also announced that Brooke Dreiss, a nationally certified family nurse practitioner, joined the staff at the medical clinic.
Ms. Dreiss graduated with a Bachelor of Science in nursing from The University of Texas at Austin and obtained her nurse practitioner degree from UTMB.
CERTIFIED
The Billy R. Martin Insurance Agency announced Teena Mienk attained the designation of certified insurance counselor.
By earning and maintaining the designation, she has demonstrated professional competence through a series of rigorous written examinations focusing on all major fields of insurance, agency operations and insurance management. The achievement signifies a commitment to continuing education, required of those who have earned the CIC designation. Ms. Mienk can be reached at 903-581-8191.
GENERAL MANAGER
Robroy Industries Conduit Division in Gilmer appointed Steve Voelzke as general manager.
He brings industrial market experience to Robroy through his core competencies, which are strategic planning, financial and operational management, coordination of sales and marketing, human resources, technology development and IT. He was senior vice president of automation and information systems at Glenmount Global Solutions.
PHOTOGRAPHER RATED
Gema Blanton's Photography received recognition from Knot Magazine.
The local photographer was included in the Best of the Knot Magazine for 2012 after brides in the Dallas area were asked to rate and review wedding vendors.
Blanton, who has been shooting weddings since 2005, was also listed in the Best of the Wedding Wire for 2012. Gema Blanton's Photography is at109 W. Front St., Suite 205. Visit www.gemasphotography.com.
BUSINESS SHOWCASE
Lindale Area Business Showcase will be March 1 at First United Methodist Church in Lindale's Family Ministry Center.
The event, held to bring business and community together to connect, communicate and network, is set for noon to 7 p.m. and will end with a $500 cash prize drawing. The event will be held for the third year and invites all businesses and nonprofit organizations to participate. The free showcase is open to the public. Each hour focuses on a target audience.
Starting at noon, Business Development Hour will feature a light lunch. From 1 to 2 p.m., the focus will be on senior citizens, followed by Ladies Hour, Men's Hour and wrapping up with Lindale Community Focus. Door prizes will be awarded every hour. For more information, to sponsor or participate, contact Project Progress at LindaleABS@gmail.com or 903-780-7969.
TRAINING SERIES
Leadership Tyler will hold a Business Etiquette workshop on Wednesday.
Participants will learn how to make the right choices in business etiquette. It will be held from 8 a.m. to noon at the Courtyard Marriott, 7424 S. Broadway Ave., and cost is $79 for Leadership Tyler alumni and $99 for nonmembers. For more information, contact Roxanne Apolskis at 903-707-1889 or Roxanne@leadershiptyler.org.
NETWORKING TEAM
The Networking Team meeting will be at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at Bruno's Pizza Meeting Room, 15770 Old Jacksonville Highway.
Ramona A. Butler, CPA, will host this month's meeting with "Starting the New Year by Managing Taxes Correctly: Business & Personal Tax Issues and Changes." To register, contact Ms. Butler at rabutler@mytylercpa.com or 903-391-3974, or Holly Rand, with Project Progress, at hollydrand@aol.com or 903-780-7969.
IHOP DONATIONS
The International House of Pancakes is celebrating National Pancake Day Feb. 28 by offering guests free pancakes and collecting donations for Shriners Hospitals for Children.
The restaurant chain set a goal of raising $2.7 million during the one-day event. From 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Feb. 28, patrons can receive one free short stack of pancakes at IHOP, 115 WSW Loop 323, and will be invited to make a donation to the nonprofit organization.
In addition to raising funds, the campaign will raise awareness of Shriners Hospitals for Children, a 22-hospital health care system. Nearly 1 million children have benefited from Shriners, which provides pediatric specialty care, innovative research and teaching programs for medical professionals. Children up to age 18 with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries and cleft lip and palates receive services regardless of their ability to pay.
COAT DRIVE
This month marks the close of the fifth annual Warm Coats & Warm Hearts Coat Drive, a partnership between Burlington Coat Factory, a national retail chain with a Longview location; One Warm Coat, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to providing coats to those in need; and "Good Morning America."
This year's coat drive achieved the milestone of collecting 1 million coats over its five-year history. The fifth installment of the coat drive kicked off Oct. 28 and ends at all Burlington locations on Monday. More than 215,000 gently worn coats have been collected from Burlington customers across the country and donated this year to local participating One Warm Coat agencies.
