Turfgrass conference set Feb. 6 at Overton
OVERTON — The East Texas Turfgrass Conference is Feb. 6 at the Texas AM AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Overton.
“Our 2014 annual conference targets professional grounds and landscape managers for local school districts, city parks and recreation departments,” said Randy Reeves, Texas AM AgriLife Extension Service agent for Harrison County.
However, Reeves said, plenty of information will be presented that private homeowners will find interesting and useful.
Registration will begin at 8 a.m. and is $30 per person, payable at the door. Attendees will be eligible for five continuing education units toward the renewal of their Texas Department of Agriculture private pesticide applicator license.
“Be sure to bring your pesticide license or pesticide number with you to ensure proper CEU credit,” Reeves said. “Your driver’s license number alone will no longer serve.”
The formal program will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m., with an all-you-can-eat catfish lunch, which will be included with registration.
Morning program topics include “Turf Weed ID and Pesticide Updates” by Casey Reynolds, AgriLife Extension state turfgrass specialist in College Station; and “Water Issues and Drought Management,” by Dotty Woodson, AgriLife Extension water specialist in Dallas.
The afternoon presentations will be “Pesticide Laws and Regulation Update,” by Mark Matocha, AgriLife Extension specialist for agriculture and environmental safety in College Station; and two demonstrations, “Pesticide Drift Demonstration,” by Shane Colston, business manager and certified crop adviser with Winfield Solutions in Tyler; and a sprayer calibration demonstration.
In addition, attendees will have the opportunity to visit with industry sponsors and view their exhibits.
For information, contact Reeves at (903) 935-8413 or dr-reeves@tamu.edu .
SFA professor lauded for mentoring
NACOGDOCHES – R. Tyler Spradley, assistant professor of communication studies at Stephen F. Austin State University, has received an endowed professorship established to reward faculty members who are excellent teachers and serve as mentors to their students.
The Jim Towns Mentoring Professorship recognizes professors who instill, foster and promote a mentoring culture at SFA.
Spradley joined the faculty of SFA’s College of Liberal and Applied Arts in 2002. He has taught graduate and undergraduate classes
Spradley holds a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and a master’s degree in communication from SFA. He also earned a master’s degree in lay ministry from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in communication from Texas AM University.
AAON Coil garners state, local awards
AAON Coil Products in Longview, a subsidiary of AAON, a leading manufacturer of heating and cooling products, has earned two awards.
The company received the Employer Award of Excellence for the Workforce Solutions East Texas at the Texas Workforce Commission’s annual conference Dec. 4-6 in San Antonio.
The award honors employers who are actively involved with their local workforce board and have made a positive impact on employers, workers and the community.
In addition, the company has been selected as the 2013 Manufacturer of the Year by the Longview Chamber of Commerce. The award will be presented Jan. 14 at the Longview Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet.
AAON employs more than 300 employees at its Longview facility and is a top 15 employer for the city of Longview. AAON has been an active participant in the WorkKeys initiative for the East Texas workforce board, working with the board’s Longview Center and the Longview Economic Development Corp. to develop redesigned work flow processes.
“The partnerships between our employers and our local workforce boards are so important in continuing to develop a skilled, well-trained workforce in Texas,” said TWC Commissioner Hope Andrade.
AAON received the Manufacturer of the Year Award for its contribution to the local economy through job creation and corporate citizenship.
Trust president joins Longview bank
Paul Mason has joined the staff of Texas Bank and Trust as vice president and portfolio manager in the trust division, according to bank Chairman Rogers Pope.
Mason has more than eight years of experience in the investment management field, and most recently worked in Northern Trust’s Houston office as an associate portfolio manager.
In his role with Texas Bank and Trust, he will be responsible for managing existing portfolios for trust, retirement plan services and investment management accounts, as well as helping to develop new business for the division.
Mason holds a bachelor of business administration degree from Abilene Christian University. He and his wife Katie, along with their two sons, moved to Longview from The Woodlands.
Law firm associated joins trial advocates
J. Ryan Fowler, lead attorney for the law firm of Sloan, Bagley, Hatcher Perry’s Houston office, has been elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates.
Membership is by invitation only.
Fowler, a native Texan and a resident of The Woodlands, also was recognized among the Texas Rising Stars in 2012 and 2013. He earned a bachelor of business administration degree, with honors, from the University of Texas in 2004 and a doctor of jurisprudence degree, cum laude, from Baylor University’s School of Law in 2007.
Fowler is a member of American Association for Justice, Texas Trial Lawyers Association, Houston Trial Lawyers Association, Houston Young Lawyers Association, College of the State Bar of Texas and Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum.
Fowler has also achieved certification by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in personal injury trial law.
The Sloan firm was established in 1980 in Longview and opened an office in Houston in 2010.
Water gardens owner earns certification
Keith Weaver, owner of Keith’s Water Gardens and Landscaping in Longview, has become a certified Aquascape contractor.
Weaver, who has been in the landscaping and mowing business for 23 years, started building water gardens nine years ago. He’s been working toward his certification for eight years, a process that involved building ponds using Aquascape products, attending seminars and other steps.
Two join staff of Tyler accounting firm
Two employees have joined the staff of Henry Peters, a certificated public accounting firm.
Denise Guanco, a certified tax accountant, joined the firm in December as a tax supervisor. She is a graduate of Texas AM University, where she completed her bachelor of business administration degree in accounting and finance in 2000 and her master of business administration degree in 2012.
During her eight years in public accounting, Guanco has worked with CPA firms in Houston and Dallas. She gained the majority of her experience while working with Stiefel, Lyles and Allen as a senior tax accountant.
Guanco left public accounting in 2007 and moved to industry accounting, where she was tax manager for Martin Resource Management for the past six years.
New staff associate Brendon Dane graduated from the University of North Texas in May with his bachelor’s degree in accounting. Brendon worked with the Dallas firm of Montgomery, Coscia, Greilich
Longview bank hires marketing manager
Casey Huntsinger has joined the staff of Texas Bank and Trust Co. as vice president and marketing research manager in the marketing division, according to bank Chairman Rogers Pope.
Huntsinger has worked as branch manager for Regions Bank and JP Morgan Chase Bank. In his role with Texas Bank and Trust, he will manage and analyze customer demographics and perform quantitative and qualitative analysis of such data as customer segmentation, retention, next best product and product/customer profitability. He will be responsible for monitoring the bank’s marketing performance, sales promotion strategies and promotional campaigns.
Originally from Seattle, Wash., Huntsinger holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration and marketing from Valley City State University.
U.S. rig count falls by 14 last week to 1,768
HOUSTON — Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. said the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. fell by 14 this past week to 1,768.
The Houston company said in its weekly report Friday that 1,395 rigs were exploring for oil and 372 for gas. One was listed as miscellaneous. A year ago there were 1,774 active rigs.
Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Louisiana and West Virginia gained two rigs and Pennsylvania gained one.
Colorado lost six rigs, Texas and Wyoming lost three, Alaska dropped by two, and California and North Dakota each fell by one. Arkansas, Kansas, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Utah were unchanged.
— Share your news: Send news of new hires, job changes, promotions, awards, training completed and other news to the Sunday Business Digest by 5 p.m. Wednesday. Submissions may be faxed to (903) 757-3742; emailed to newstip@news- journal.com; or mailed to: Business Section, Longview News-Journal, P.O. Box 1792, Longview, TX 75606. For information, call (903) 237-7744.
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