Alabama

Gulf Shores, Ala., general contractor and developer Joe Raley Builders Inc. recently welcomed a minority partner to the company ownership.

George Hawthorne of Atlanta, Ga., acquired the majority ownership of the company and has assumed the role of the company’s chairman and chief executive officer. Company President and Chief Operating Officer Scott Raley says Hawthorne brings a wealth of expertise in construction management, development and commercial & corporate finance.

Raley asked Hawthorne to join the family-owned business in an effort to grow the company’s commercial construction and program management divisions regionally as a certified minority-business enterprise.

Hawthorne has more than 25 years of experience in real estate development, investment and finance services.

He has been involved in more than $600 million in real estate projects in the various capacities of general contractor, construction management, development, corporate management and real estate investment as a principal, consultant, manager and/or advisor.

Jenny Shaw has been promoted to financial risk manager at Robins & Morton of Birmingham, Ala.

In her new role, Shaw is responsible for managing and monitoring underwriting procedures for subcontractors, performing preliminary financial evaluations of subcontractors, identifying appropriate subcontractors for inclusion in the SubGuard program as well as monitoring jobsite purchase order status logs for current insurance certificates, state licenses and bonding.

Before joining Robins & Morton in 2003, Shaw served as senior financial analyst for the Southeastern Division at Ernst & Young in Atlanta, financial analyst for the engineering department at QMS/Minolta in Mobile, Ala., senior accountant for the corporate division at Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta and junior accountant in audit and tax at Habif, Arrogetti & Wynne in Atlanta.

Carol Copeland, a 15-year Robins & Morton veteran, has been promoted to director of information technology. In her new role, she directs, plans and manages technology operations, including all information systems and telecommunications services for all of Robins & Morton offices and jobsites.

As a full time IT professional for the past 12 years with Robins & Morton, Copeland has implemented and managed a variety of technology driven initiatives. She has grown the company’s IT department from one person and two servers to a dynamic, cutting-edge department that now serves over 550 users utilizing 34 servers. She joined the company in 1993 as staff accountant and benefits coordinator.

Copeland has over 750 hours of technical training and currently serves on the Paetec Customer Advisory Board and is the current Treasurer for the Alabama Society for Information Management. She has also served on the Herzing College Technology Advisory Board and is the past secretary for the Alabama Society for Information Management.

Doster Construction Co. of Birmingham, Ala., recently announced that Lawrence Whatley has joined the Birmingham office as a project director and will immediately be involved in providing overall coordination of multiple projects to ensure projects are delivered within budget and schedule.

Whatley brings more than 23 years of construction and construction management experience with emphasis on project management. He brings a strong ability to visualize and develop plans to construct on time delivery using estimating, budgeting and project management applications.

A graduate of Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, Whatley is a member of the Auburn University Building Science Industry Advisory Council. His most recent project experience includes a $135 million, 600-unit apartment complex; the $80 million student housing project for The University of Alabama and the $120 million student housing project for Oklahoma State University.

Louisiana

SJB Group LLC of Baton Rouge recently announced that Eric M. Poche’, director of planning and landscape architecture, has been recognized as a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP) by the U.S. Green Building Council.

According to the Green Building Certification Institute, Poche’ is the only landscape architect to attain the LEED AP designation in the Baton Rouge area and one of only three landscape architects in Louisiana.

Formed in 1993, the U.S. Green Building Council is a national not-for-profit organization that promotes the design, construction and operation of buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.

Tennessee

The Concrete Paving Association of Tennessee in Nashville recently welcomed Matthew Jeffers as the pavement applications director for Tennessee. He assumed the position in January with experience in concrete construction. Most recently, Jeffers worked for the Tennessee DOT as Construction Operation Specialist 2 on various bridge projects around Nashville. These projects included quality assurance tests for concrete, asphalt and general construction.

Jeffers, a native of Tennessee, earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the Tennessee Technological University.

The Concrete Paving Association of Tennessee is a trade association representing concrete paving contractors, cement companies, equipment manufacturers and material suppliers.

Region

The Board of Directors of QORE Property Sciences has selected Bill Johnson as president and CEO of the Duluth, Ga.-based engineering and consulting firm.

Johnson has gained extensive executive leadership experience in the engineering and construction industry, while having served as group president over three BE&K subsidiaries. Prior to joining QORE, he served as president and CEO of former BE&K subsidiary NorthStar Communications Group, recently acquired by American Fjikura Ltd.

Johnson is responsible for leading the nearly 500-person engineering firm, with more than 15 offices throughout the Southeast. QORE is currently working on several notable projects, including: the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication facility at the Savannah River Site; Kia’s manufacturing plant in West Point, Georgia; Volkswagen’s plant site in Chattanooga, Tenn.; and the Streets of Buckhead in Atlanta. Additionally, the firm serves a diverse client base including Progress Energy, Walgreens, Verizon Wireless and multi-state departments of transportation.

Johnson holds an engineering degree from the University of Florida and began his career in the engineering profession as a systems engineer for Los Angeles Water & Power. He then spent 11 years with Fluor Daniel working in various engineering management, sales and project management roles prior to his 10-year stay with BE&K.