Alabama

M. J. Harris Inc. of Birmingham, Ala.. recently announced the promotions of the following employees: Robert Young - chief operating officer; Robbie Egan, chief financial officer; Robert Lambe, senior vice president of employee relations; Roy Holland, vice president of preconstruction services; and Ryan Speegle, assistant controller.

Robert Young has been promoted to chief operating officer. He will be responsible for all departments within the organization and oversee the day-to-day operations of the company. Young previously held the title of senior vice president of operations.

Robbie Egan will take on the new position of chief financial officer. As chief financial officer, Egan will handle the company’s financial affairs, accounting, insurance and legal responsibilities. He was previously the company’s vice president of corporate affairs.

Robert Lambe will be promoted to senior vice president of employee relations and will provide leadership for the human asset management department, the training program and employee development. Lambe was previously vice president of human asset management.

Roy Holland has been promoted to vice president of preconstruction services and is responsible for managing preconstruction services on all of M. J. Harris projects and all the management responsibilities of the Estimating Department.

Ryan Speegle will take on the new position of assistant controller. As the assistant controller, Speegle will increase his role in the supervision of the accounting department’s day-to-day operations and will assume more duties of the controller. He will take on greater role in banking relationships and money management for the company.

Gallet & Associates recently announced that Heather Turner has joined its team in the Birmingham Office as an Environmental Scientist II as well as Ramy Noureddini as an Environmental Scientist I.

Louisiana

The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors recently announced that Frances B. Gilson has been named as interim executive director following the retirement of Charles Marceaux.

Marceaux retired from the position of executive director following 12 years of service. The board appointed Gilson as interim director while conducting a nationwide search for a new executive director.

Gilson has served the board for two years as the board administrator and worked previously as the compliance program director for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

Mississippi

Ferguson and Associates Architects of Jackson, Miss., recently added Jason McIlwaine, Eric Saffle and Elysia Helton to its staff.

McIlwaine’s responsibilities at Ferguson & Associates Architects include project management, graphic design and marketing and project production. He specializes in small project management and environmental and corporate graphics.

A graduate of Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Mo., Saffle has several years experience in the architectural industry, as well as several years work experience in youth ministry. He specializes in project production and will head up the Information Technology Department.

Helton is a cum laude graduate from Samford University with a bachelor’s degree in interior design. She previously spent time working for the Cohen, Carnaggio and Reynolds Architecture Firm in Birmingham, Ala.

She is a member of ASID and a Chi Omega alumni. Helton is a native of Yazoo City and currently resides in the Jackson area. She will be providing clients with Interior Design services.

Tennessee

The Lewis Group Architects of Knoxville, Tenn., recently added two members to its team.

LGA recently added Matthew Rogers to its architectural staff. Orginally from Mesquite, Texas, Rogers graduated from Texas Tech University with a master’s degree in architecture. He currently resides in Knoxville.

Miriam Allen has recently been hired and will join the interior department at LGA. She is orginally from Cleveland, Ohio, but has lived in Florida and Georgia. She graduated from the American Intercontinental University in Buckhead, Ga., with a bachelor’s degree in interior design. Allen lives in Rockwood, Tenn.

Regional

Barge, Waggoner, Sumner & Cannon recently announced the following staff additions and promotions.

Christopher Ramsey has been elected vice president. He has been an architect in BWSC’s Oak Ridge office for 17 years and his new role as officer serves as recognition of his technical accomplishments with the firm.

Jeremy Westmoreland has joined as a project engineer in the firm’s Nashville office. He will focus on site design for residential and commercial properties with responsibilities including business development, project management, project design and client communications.

Edward Walker has joined in the firm’s Nashville office. He will be responsible for management of projects for the Nashville Water Services group, supervising project staff, business development and project design.

Steve Edwards has been named manager of the Nashville office’s Structural Engineering group. He has been with the firm for six years as a structural engineer. He will oversee the structural engineering staff, enhancing design and production capabilities through leadership and staff development.

Robert M. Stevens has joined as Electrical Group manager in the firm’s Dayton office. He will focus on project management and electrical engineering for commercial, institutional and governmental facilities.

Cesar Penalba and Michael Nocton have also recently joined the Knoxville office. Penalba has joined the firm as electrical utilities engineer. He will be responsible for project planning and organization, technical design, quality control, and client maintenance.

Nocton has joined BWSC as a structural engineer. He will provide structural engineering services for various commercial, industrial and institutional facilities.

Ken Zyga has joined as vice president of facilities in the firm’s Nashville office. Zyga will focus on providing services to clients, business development, resource management, strategic planning and process enhancement.

Judy Judson has been named vice president. She has 22 years of experience with the survey department at BWSC’s Nashville office and has been department manager since 2005. She manages three field crews with state-of-the-art surveying equipment such as GPS and robotics.

Doye Cox of the Chattanooga office has been named vice president. He has been an environmental engineer with BWSC for seven years and his new role as officer serves as recognition of his technical accomplishments with the firm. As project manager, he leads a variety of projects involving environmental and civil engineering tasks. He also provides technical support for other branch offices in the area of hazardous waste and materials.

Kristin Crawford has joined as a civil engineer in the firm’s Knoxville office. She will be responsible for civil site design for a variety of project types, including commercial and industrial development.

Barge Waggoner Sumner & Cannon is an employee-owned engineering, architecture, planning, landscape architecture and surveying firm with 11 offices in Tennessee, Alabama and Ohio.

R. J. Griffin & Co. President Steven A. Touchton announced recently the appointment of Jack P. Nix Jr. as chairman and chief executive officer. R. J. "Jim" Griffin, founder of the company in 1985, will become chairman emeritus of the $500 million general contracting company. The appointments are a result of Touchton’s plans to retire December 31, 2009.

Touchton, one of the original founders of R. J. Griffin & Co., has been the company’s president since 2002 and chief executive officer since 2007. As president and until he retires, Touchton and Nix will work together to transition the company to the next generation of Griffin leadership.

Nix is the former president and chief executive officer for JE Dunn Midwest in Kansas City, Mo. He joined JE Dunn Construction in 2001 as executive vice president and chief operations officer. Nix was responsible for all JE Dunn Midwest operations, which included Kansas City, Topeka, Des Moines, Arkansas and Oklahoma. From 2004 to 2007 revenues increased 50% and in 2007 over $1.3 billion of work was put in place.

Nix is a retired army lieutenant general whose military career spanned from 1969 to 2000. He is a 1970 graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology and received his MBA from Adelphi University in 1974.