Names in the News - September 2005

Ayres Bradfordhas joined Lincoln Builders Inc. of Ruston as director of business development, which is a new position. Bradford has been in the athletic and recreational construction business for nearly 20 years with No Fault Industries of Baton Rouge and its sports division, No Fault Tennis & Track. He will focus on several segments of the company, including business development, acquisitions and governmental relations.

"This is a major step as we continue to plan for the future of this company," said Danny Graham, president. "Ayres and Ken Henry, our vice president of marketing, will make a great team."

Bradford is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University and serves on the boards of directors of the Louisiana Tech Alumni Association, the Ruston/Lincoln Chamber of Commerce and the North Louisiana Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He is a member of Temple Baptist Church in Ruston.

Lincoln Builders,a 43-year-old commercial contractor, has a regional office in Fort Worth, Texas.

Dan Poole recently joined Boggs Contracting Group of Bossier City as a new partner. His experience encompasses 21 years of project management and estimating. Sixteen of those years were at McInnis Bros. Construction.

He has managed commercial and industrial construction projects, and has experience in the Ark-La-Tex region with health care facilities, retail, corrections, water and wastewater treatment projects.

Boggs and Poole Contracting represent 65 years of experience in the construction industry.

Daniel J. "Dan" Burchewas recently named federal security director at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport.

Burche, a native of Branson, Mo., joined the Transportation Security Administration in October 2002 and most recently served as deputy federal security director at Greater Binghampton Aiport in New York. Burche also served as deputy federal security director of Ithaca-Tompkins Regional (ITH) and Elmira-Corning Regional airports, located in New York's Southern Tier Region.

Prior to TSA, Burche spent three years as a senior project officer with the U.S. Department of State's Explosive Detection/Countermeasures Program.

He also spent 15 years in the U.S. Navy Special Operations Community and is a master explosive ordnance disposal technician.

Composite Mat Solutionsof Carencro has promoted Ron Houghton to DURA-BASE sales manager and Don Couvillon to BRAVO sales manager. Composite Mat is owned by Newpark Resources.

Houghton and Couvillon will manage sales and marketing initiatives for their respective product lines. The DURA-BASE Composite Mat System and BRAVO Mat System serve as temporary working surfaces or roadways for the oilfield service, utility and construction industries, special events and military applications.

Houghton previously served as vice president of International Mat of Canada, Newpark's Calgary-based subsidiary. He has also served on the Alberta Energy Resource Conservation Board.

Couvillon has more than 16 years of managerial experience in petrochemical and industrial sectors. He previously served more than nine years as marketing manager for both the SOLOCO and CMS divisions of Newpark Resources.

Couvillon has degrees in landscape architecture, urban planning and environmental engineering from Louisiana State University.

Col. Richard P. Wagenaarrecently became the 59th district engineer of the New Orleans District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, during a formal military change-of-command ceremony.

Brig. Gen. Robert Crear, division engineer, Mississippi Valley Division, and president-designee of the Mississippi River Commission, placed the Corps of Engineers flag, symbolizing command of the New Orleans District, into the hands of Wagenaar during the ceremony.

Also participating were Lt. Col. Stephen E. Jeselink, the outgoing district engineer, and Gregory Breerwood, deputy district engineer for project management. Jeselink will leave New Orleans for Fort Jackson, S.C., where he will command the 1st Battalion, 345th Engineer Regiment.

Wagenaar will be responsible for a top Corps project - restoring coastal Louisiana in partnership with the state of Louisiana.

He will also be responsible for the Corps' flood control, navigation and environmental stewardship projects in 30,000 sq. mi. of south Louisiana. The New Orleans District includes more than 2,800 mi. of navigable waterways, including the Mississippi River deepwater channel from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico.

The district's projects include the Bonnet Carré Spillway, Atchafalaya Basin, 973 mi. of levees and floodwalls along the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers, and 320 mi. of hurricane protection levees. Wagenaar will also oversee the Southeast Louisiana Urban Flood Control Project, a rain-flood project in Jefferson, Orleans and St. Tammany parishes.

Topcon,a manufacturer of precision positioning instruments and systems, recently announced two promotions. Joe Brabec will serve as Topcon's chief technology officer and Jamie Williamson will serve as senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Brabec's prior eight-year success with Agtek, his knowledge of technology and his performance record at Topcon qualified him for the position. As CTO, he will be responsible for guiding Topcon's macro technology programs and formulating research/development budgets.

Williamson joined the company in 1995 when Topcon Positioning Systems was formed. His prior responsibilities with Spectra Physics ranged from sales to worldwide product and marketing manager.

Charles W. "Chuck" Merydithrecently joined the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) of Chicago as managing director of marketing and communications. In this post, he is responsible for national marketing initiatives and communications strategies.

"We're pleased that Chuck brings more than 30 years of marketing communications experience to this critical position," said James G. Toscas, PCI president.

Merydith's experience includes positions with Hill and Knowlton Public Relations, Sears, Roebuck and Co., Tenneco Packaging,