Alabama

Gallet & Associates Inc. of Birmingham, Ala., recently announced that Doug Bullock has been named the program manager for the Brownsfield Service. Bullock has been with Gallet & Associates since October 2000. He previously served as senior project scientist.

Bullock graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in biology.

Jeremy M. DiPiazza has joined Hoar Construction as vice president of finance and will relocate back to Birmingham from Charlotte, N.C., where he has been executive vice president and regional credit director with Regions Financial Corp.

DiPiazza will have responsibility for all financial aspects at Hoar Construction.

DiPiazza's prior experience with Regions Financial Corp. included responsibility for loan quality, growth and profitability in the southeast and midsouth banking regions. DiPiazza is an expert in commercial real estate credit contributing his expertise to lead Region's southeast loan growth of more than $1 billion in 2005.

Following the merger announcement with Union Planters, he was appointed to serve on the merger team to co-design the Credit Business Process.

DiPiazza holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama with a degree in business administration from the Culverhouse School of Commerce. He serves on the UAB School of Finance Advisory Board and is a board member and past chairman of both the Birmingham Chapter and the Southern Regional Chapter of the Risk Management Association.

Hoar Construction also announced the promotion of Jason Bennett and Brian Cook to contract managers.

Bennett has been located in the firm's Nashville office since 2002 and has been instrumental in the development and success of the company's Tennessee Division. As contract manager, Bennett will be responsible for overseeing contract preparation and administration.

He will also have responsibility for the operations of the project management team, including organizing, directing, coordinating and training the team.

Bennett has a bachelor's degree from Auburn University and is a graduate of The Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tenn. Since joining Hoar Construction in 2000, he has specialized in healthcare construction working with clients throughout the southeast.

Cook has been with Hoar Construction more than 10 years, working in the firm's Houston office since 2002. As contract manager, Cook will be responsible for overseeing contract preparation and administration. He will also be instrumental in the development of the firm's operations with the project management team, training and coop/intern program.

Cook has a bachelor's degree in building science from Auburn University. Since joining Hoar Construction in 1995 he has worked with retail and commercial clients throughout the country and in Puerto Rico.

Arkansas

Jason Smith has been hired at EWI Inc. as vice president of construction. Smith comes to EWI Inc from CDI Contractors and will oversee all construction operations in Northwest Arkansas out of EWI's Fayetteville, Ark., office.

His experience will assist in EWI's growth as well as developing relationships to broaden EWI's negotiated work portfolio.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) installed new officers and directors at its 2006 Annual Meeting June 24-28.

William A. Harrison, president of Trane Arkansas of Little Rock, Ark., was elected as treasurer.

The American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) recently presented North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week Champion awards for individual achievements in educating their communities on how workplace safety affects everyone.

ASSE Arkansas Chapter Vice President Heather J. Earl of Rogers, Ark., was one of six recipients of the Champion Award. Earl is health and safety operations manager for Tyson Foods Inc.

Earl led a NAOSH Week effort that included company-wide and community-wide activities such as printing workplace safety and NAOSH messages on Tyson paystubs reaching 110,000 people; a corporate message and thank you in support of NAOSH and the May 3 Occupational Safety and Health Professional Day was sent to all Tyson's professional health, safety and environmental (EHS) staff from the Tyson senior vice president for EHS; ASSE NAOSH week posters were distributed to 300+ locations and ASSE/NAOSH week planning information was posted on the company's intranet.

Nationwide, each Tyson facility coordinated its own NAOSH Week activities including: vehicle safety inspection programs; safety and ergonomic quizzes; health and wellness fairs; garnered city and state NAOSH support; and plants conducted safety and health training on topics such as hot works, compressed gases, machine safety and hazardous materials safety. Several Tyson locations held team member appreciation luncheons and dinners in support of NAOSH Week.

The ASSE Arkansas Chapter also sponsored the Governor's Safety and Health Management Conference featuring more than 30 sessions on workplace safety and health including sessions on disaster preparedness, safety program development, teen workplace safety, fire prevention, security, trenching and excavation safety and roadway hazards.

Louisiana

GROUP Industries, a Baton Rouge-based industrial and commercial contractor, recently announced it has hired Bill Mackey as construction manager for its two subsidiary companies, GROUP Contractors LLC and Arrighi Simoneaux LLC. In his new role, Mackey will be responsible for overseeing the scheduling, manpower and equipment for projects and coordinating activities with field superintendents.

GROUP Industries has also hired Lynn Oehrle as chief financial officer for its subsidiaries, GROUP Contractors and Arrighi Simoneaux. Oehrle has 11 years of experience and will oversee accounting and financial reporting for the two companies.

She previously worked as an audit manager at Hannis T. Bourgeois LLP.

Group Industries owns two subsidiary companies, GROUP Contractors LLC and Arrighi Simoneaux. GROUP Contractors performs mechanical, structural steel and civil work in the petrochemical and refinery plants and is one of the largest industrial-building contractors in Louisiana.

Arrighi Simoneaux provides construction services for public and private commercial projects and has experience in renovations, health care facilities, commercial buildings, tenant build outs and sports facilities.

The Lemoine Co. LLC of Lafayette, La., recently announced the promotions of four employees and the hiring of a new employee.

Mike Lemoine has been promoted to senior project manager. Lemoine has eight years of experience with Lemoine and has held positions as project engineer and project manager.

Barrett Landry has been promoted to senior estimator. Landry has been with

Lemoine for three years and has experience in the construction industry.

Seth Lemoine has been promoted to lead estimator. Lemoine has worked as an estimator for two years and has extensive experience in the construction industry.

Anthony Dupont has been promoted to senior project engineer. Dupont has three years of experience with Lemoine and has held positions as project engineer and office engineer.

Edna Vazquez has joined The Lemoine Co. as project engineer. Vazquez earned a bachelor's degree in construction engineering and a master's degree in civil engineering from Iowa State University. While in college, she was a member and captain of the Women's NCAA Division I Tennis Team

Vazquez comes to Lemoine with three years of experience in the construction industry. She was previously employed by McCarthy Building Companies Inc..

The Lemoine Company LLC provides construction management, general contracting and design-build construction services in the southern region.

Industrial Specialty Contractors LLC (ISC) of Baton Rouge, La., has named Craig D. Messer as operations manager of its Beaumont, Texas, division.

Messer joined ISC as a project coordinator in 1997 after earning his bachelor's degree in construction engineering technology at Louisiana Tech University. Since 2001, Craig has served as business development coordinator for ISC's corporate office in Baton Rouge. His construction, estimating and project controls experience includes civil, structural, piping, electrical and instrumentation.

Messer's responsibilities will include establishing and monitoring the division's objectives and safety performance, as well as estimating, construction and financials. In addition, he will represent the firm in trade associations serving the industry.

ISC specializes in instrumentation and electrical work for industry, including chemical processing, petrochemicals, communications, power, pulp & paper and refining.

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) Secretary Johnny B. Bradberry recently named Michael Stack as district administrator for District 2, which covers a wide portion of Southeast Louisiana.

Stack has been employed at DOTD his entire career and has extensive experience in road design, flood control, hurricane protection, drainage, surveying and maintenance projects.

He joined the department in 1978, when he was hired as part of a survey crew. Since then, he has been district road design engineer, assistant district design and water resources engineer, and district design and water resources engineer. His most recent position was a district engineer for District 2.

"Mike was the right person for the job," Bradberry said. "He exemplified the leadership qualities needed for the job and he understands the area. I wish him the best and we will give him all the support he needs to be successful in the position as we lead the state to recovery in this critical area."

Stack holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and is licensed as a professional engineer and land surveyor. He replaced Thomas Payment, who retired from DOTD in April.

The Board of Directors of Stupp Bros. Inc. of Baton Rouge recently appointed Edward L. Scram as president and chief operating officer of Stupp Corp.

Scram brought 26 years of steel industry experience when he joined the management team of Stupp Corp. in July 2005.

Stupp Corp. is a North American manufacturer of custom line pipe for the transport of oil and natural gas. With its ERW pipe making facility, Stupp Corp. is well located to provide pipe for both onshore and offshore pipeline transmission projects, and to export pipe from the Port of Baton Rouge.

Mississippi

The children of highway workers killed or permanently disabled on the job will receive financial assistance in their pursuit of higher education thanks to scholarships announced by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association's Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF).

Robin Evans of Holly Springs, Miss., was one of this year's recipients. Robin's father, Robert Lee Evans, was killed in an accident in 1987 while working for the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Robin will be a first-year graphic design student.

Students from Iowa, Mississippi, Massachusetts, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana and Montana have been named 2006 recipients of the ARTBA-TDF's Highway Worker Memorial Scholarship.

Tennessee

Flintco Inc. of Memphis has appointed Don Hutcherson to vice president of operations. Hutcherson is responsible for recruitment and development of project management personnel, client relations, subcontractor and owner-related contractual matters as well as special assignment projects and additional management responsibilities in the Memphis operations.

A 24-year veteran in the construction industry, Hutcherson started his career in 1982 at the offices of HTB Inc., an architectural and engineering design firm based in Oklahoma City, Okla. In 1985, he joined Flintco as a project engineer in Flintco's Oklahoma City office. In 1988, he transferred to the growing Flintco operation in Memphis.

Previously, Hutcherson has served as project manager, senior project manager and project director and operations manager for the Federal Bureau of Prisons projects and special government project work. For the last four years, he has served as director of management operations for the Memphis office.

Hickory Hardware of Portland, Tenn., a designer, manufacturer and marketer of decorative and functional hardware, recently announced the addition of three key executives to its sales and marketing teams. The appointments are Jon Valsvik as first vice president of retail sales, and David Fields and Tina Payne Hunt as channel marketing managers.

Valsvik comes to Hickory Hardware after 21 years as the director of national accounts for Andersen Windows, where he focused on the company's Home Depot relationship. He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration - financial management from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn.

Fields joins Hickory Hardware following his position as senior research director of GfK, a global market research and consulting firm. Fields also worked for Thomas Nelson Publishing and Lifeway, where he directed strategic marketing and market research. He holds a bachelor's degree in education and a master's degree from Belmont University in Nashville.

Hunt comes to Hickory Hardware with 10 years of experience in brand management at Newell Inc. and Fruit of the Loom. Most recently, she managed marketing in data and technology businesses, Provisio, a Nashville start-up company, and Elsevier Life Sciences.

Hunt has a bachelor's degree in business administration in marketing from the University of Kentucky and a master's degree in business adminsitration from Belmont University.

Healthcare construction specialist Robins & Morton's Nashville division announced the hiring of Jeff Hawkins as senior project manager.

Hawkins has worked in the healthcare construction industry for more than 21 years and has successfully completed projects with Albuquerque Regional Medical Center and Women's Hospital in Albuquerque as well as other healthcare facilities. He received a master's degree in construction management from Texas A&M University and a bachelor's degree in building science from Auburn University. He began his career with Robins & Morton in 1984.

In his new capacity with Robins & Morton, Hawkins will serve as liaison between project owner, architect and contractor in the planning and execution phases of select construction projects.

Celebrating its 60th anniversary, Robins & Morton has completed more than 700 healthcare facilities nationwide.

Smith Seckman Reid Inc. (SSR), an engineering design and facility consulting firm based in Nashville, has hired Marc Wright as computer aided design and drafting (CADD) technician for the firm's Memphis office.

Wright is responsible for aiding and assisting engineers with heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) design by utilizing AutoCAD, a computer aided drafting program.

Wright previously worked as senior CADD designer for Spirco Manufacturing in Memphis, where he was responsible for the development of construction erection plans, structural framing details and roof plans. He has also worked as a CADD instructor for Vatterott College.

Wright earned an associate's degree in computer aided drafting technology from Vatterott College, where he also received the 2002 student of the year award.

SSR is an employee-owned engineering design and facility consulting firm with 420 employees in nine offices across the United States.

The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) installed new officers and directors at its 2006 Annual Meeting held here June 24-28.

The new president is Terry E. Townsend, president of Townsend Engineering Inc. of Chattanooga, Tenn., and Panama City, Fla. During his term, Townsend is focusing on The ASHRAE Promise: A Sustainable Future, highlighting ASHRAE's efforts in sustainability in the building environment.

Regional

David Mudrick has been named the new president and chief executive officer of Topcon America Corp. He assumed this new position as head of the management holding company for Topcon Positioning Systems (TPS) and Topcon Medical Systems (TMS).

In his new position, Mudrick is responsible for the financial, human resources and legal areas of Topcon Positioning Systems and Topcon Medical Systems. The companies employ more than 650.

Mudrick replaces Susumu "Scott" Hokari, who has rejoined the executive staff of Topcon Corporation in Japan.

With this appointment, he becomes the first person of non-Japanese descent to hold this executive position in the company's 37-year history in the United States.

Mudrick has been with Topcon since 1993 and has served as the company's executive vice president and chief financial officer for the past seven years.

MMI StrandCo recently announced that Ronald L. Mann has joined the firm as vice president. Mann will take a leading role in the expansion of MMI's PC Strand and High Carbon Wire division. He will also actively participate in the coordinated efforts of MMI's national Construction Products sales staff.

His more than 28 years of experience in the PC Strand and High Carbon Wire industry has encompassed transportation, quality assurance, customer relations, sales and technical support.

Mann, also active in numerous state and regional precast/prestressed concrete trade associations, serves on the Committee for Prestressing Steel and the Strand Bond FAST Team at the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute.