Danny Cavalier

Basic Industries recently announced the addition of Danny Cavalier to its sales and marketing group in Baton Rouge. Cavalier will be responsible for business development in the petrochemical corridor from New Orleans to Baton Rouge.

Cavalier has served as the director of education for ABC for the past six years, first in the Bayou Chapter and most recently in the Pelican Chapter. During his tenure as the director of education, the Pelican Chapter received 14 national awards for the training center programs, nine National Craft Olympic awards and two Top 10 User Awards from NCCER.

Cavalier has been active on many NCCER committees, as well as involved with education and training at National ABC. In addition to these activities, he played an active part in establishing new satellite facilities, training partnerships with OSHA and the development of the GBRIMA/ABC long-range business plan, as well as introducing a number of new craft training programs to the Pelican Chapter.

Michael Childers

The Shaw Group Inc., Baton Rouge, recently announced that Michael Childers has been named president of its Stone & Webster Power Division. Childers will oversee global power operations for the company and will report directly to J.M. Bernhard Jr., chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Shaw Group.

"We are extremely pleased that Mr. Childers has joined our organization and look forward to his leadership at this important time," Bernhard said. "He has had a very successful career in the power industry and will be a valuable asset to Shaw and its effort to remain a top competitor in the industry."

Prior to joining Shaw, Childers served most recently as president of Entergy Asset Management, a subsidiary of Entergy Corp. During his tenure at Entergy, he served as chief operating officer of Entergy Wholesale Operations as well as senior vice president and chief development officer of the Wholesale Power Development Business Unit.

Childers' career includes senior level experience in power development, acquisitions, marketing and trading, as well as managing long-term, structured, power and gas marketing and financial derivative transactions. He received his bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of San Diego.

In a separate announcement, The Shaw Group announced that its subsidiary, Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure Inc. (Shaw E&I), hired Timothy W. Hardy as an executive vice president to focus on building Shaw E&I's presence in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region.

Hardy will also work to build Shaw E&I's government relations presence.

Prior to joining Shaw E&I, Hardy was a partner in the law firm of Lemle & Kelleher LLP of New Orleans, where he had been employed since January 1994. He has also been appointed to various positions in the Louisiana state government during his career.

Hardy is an adjunct professor at the Southern University Law Center, where he teaches environmental law. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a law degree from Southern University.

The Shaw Group Inc. also announced that V. Joyce Matthews has joined Shaw E&I as a vice president. Matthews will be working to build Shaw E&I's presence in the environmental and infrastructure arenas in Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region. She will also assist in building Shaw E&I's presence in government relations.

Prior to joining Shaw E&I, Matthews was a partner in the law firm of Lemle & Kelleher LLP of New Orleans, where she specialized in legislative, judicial, administrative and regulatory matters, primarily in the areas of government affairs and environmental law.

Matthews holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Louisiana State University. She received a law degree from Southern University School of Law in 1992.

Mike Landry

Fagioli PSC recently announced that Mike Landry joined the company as the sales representative in Louisiana. Landry will call on refineries and petrochemical plants in the Baton Rouge and New Orleans areas to promote heavy lift and transport capabilities.

Landry has called on contractors and the petrochemical industry for more than 20 years. His background includes heavy equipment sales for several local dealers. He attended the University of Southwestern Louisiana and is originally from St. Martinville.
Fagioli PSC has been active in Louisiana for several years. Prior to Fagioli purchasing PSC Heavy Lift in 1998, PSC had participated in offshore construction projects for fabricators.

Since that time, Fagioli PSC has provided transport services to powerplant projects, fabricators of heavy vessels in the petrochemical industry and offshore fabrication yards.

Lisa Crimaldi

The National Drilling Association recently announced its 2003 officers and board members. Elected as president for a two-year term was Lisa Crimaldi of Mid-America Drilling Services Inc., Elburn, Ill.

The new vice president is P. Don Ulses of Heber Mining & Exploration Co., Phoenix, Ariz.; and Mike Tiani of Terra Testing Inc., Washington, Penn., is the new secretary/treasurer. R. Alan Garrard, Southern Co. Services Inc., Macon, Ga., was elected director at large.

Directors elected for a two-year term include Will Acker, Acker Drill Co., Scranton, Penn.; F. Gordon Craig, Craig Test Boring Co., Mays Landing, N.J.; Denis Despres, Boart Longyear Contracting Service, Salt Lake City, Utah; John Gregg, Gregg Drilling & Testing Inc., Signal Hill, Calif.; and David Niebert, Central Mine Equipment, Earth City, Mo.

Returning board members include Gregg Nieto, N&N Drilling Supply, Jessup, Penn.; Steve Palovchik, Hoffman Diamond Products, Punxsutawney, Penn.; and Jeff Thew, North Star Drilling, Cortland, N.Y.

"It is an honor for me to assume the presidency of NDA and have the opportunity to continue to expand the programs that began in 2002," said Crimaldi. "Our future depends on a strong board and with this dedicated group of leaders working with O'Brien International we are prepared to lead NDA to greater heights."

O'Brien International is NDA's association management company.

Steve Johnson

Cimline Inc., a manufacturer of pavement maintenance equipment and accessories, recently appointed Steve Johnson as the new national sales manager. With an 18-year history in the industry, Johnson brings an extensive background in management to the position.

As a 15-year employee of Thermo Ramsey, a process control company based in Blaine, Minn., Johnson served as product manager for the company's asphalt products. Johnson joined Cimline in 2000 as Midwest regional manager. As the new national sales manager, he operates from the company's manufacturing plant in Plymouth, Minn.

Kathi Littman

Engineering News-Record recently introduced its 25 newsmakers for 2002 and its Award of Excellence winner, Kathi Littman, who launched Los Angeles Unified School District's massive school building program.

The newsmakers were introduced at ENR's awards luncheon. Littman was honored at the awards dinner, which was held at the New York Marriott Marquis and was attended by 1,300 members of the construction industry.

After opening only 24 schools over the past 20 years, and not a single high school, LAUSD found itself overcrowded and badly needing to create new classroom seats for 75,000 new students by 2006. The challenge to recruit a team of professionals to work with architects, engineers and construction managers and create and execute a plant, was given to Littman, then the former deputy chief executive for new construction.