People in Business for June 29, 2008

• Advocate business staff
• Published: Jun 29, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Cathy Maher-Griffiths has been named risk manager at Baton Rouge General Medical Center. She was director of women and children’s services. 

Michael Hudson has been named president of the National Association of State Radio Networks. Hudson is vice president of sales and marketing for Louisiana Network, Louisiana Agri-News Network and Tiger Rag magazine. 

Ed Tavera has been named a principal in the Baton Rouge office of Louis J. Capozzoli and Associates and GeoEngineers Inc. He was an assistant state geotechnical engineer at the South Carolina Department of Transportation. 

YMCA of the Capital Area has named Grover Harrison as executive director of the Baranco Clark YMCA and Toni Shaw as association aquatics director for the organization. Harrison was associate director. Shaw previously worked with the YMCA of South Hampton Roads, Va. 

Michael L. Airhart has been appointed to the board of the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency. Airhart is president and founder of Louisiana Mortgage Lenders. LHFA helps people with low and moderate incomes find affordable housing. 

Charles A. Riddle III has been elected president of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association. He is district attorney of the 12th Judicial District of Louisiana in Avoyelles Parish. Also elected were: J. Phillip “Phil” Haney, district attorney of 16th Judicial District in New Iberia, first vice president; Barron C. Burmaster, executive assistant district attorney in the 24th Judicial District in Gretna, second vice president. Named a board member from the local area is Joseph L. Waitz Jr., district attorney in the 32nd Judicial District in Houma.  

William R. Finley of Lafayette has been elected vice president of national energy for the Society of Independent Professional Earth Scientists. 

Jacob Giardina Jr. of Lafayette has been elected to the board of directors of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana. Giardina is president of Honiron Corp. in Jeanerette. 

The Louisiana State Bar Association’s has elected Elizabeth Erny Foote, a partner in the Smith Foote Law Firm LLP of Alexandria, as president. Other officers are Kim M. Boyle, a partner in the New Orleans office of Phelps Dunbar, president-elect; Jack K. Whitehead Jr., of the Whitehead Law Firm in Baton Rouge, treasurer; Mark A. Cunningham, a partner in the New Orleans office of Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevant, Carrere & Denegre LLP, secretary. S. Guy deLaup, a sole practitioner in Metairie, will continue as immediate past president. Area members of the board of governors are Lawrence P. Simon Jr., of Liskow and Lewis in Lafayette, 3rd District, and James E. Boren, a sole practitioner in Baton Rouge, 5th District; Young Lawyer Section chair Valerie Briggs Bargas, of Seale, Smith, Zuber & Barnette; Darrel J. Papillon, of Moore, Walters, Thompson, Thomas, Papillon & Cullens, at-large member; and Russell L. Jones, vice chancellor for academic affairs, representing Southern University Law Center; and James J. Davidson III, of Davidson, Meaux, Sonnier & McElliot in Lafayette, representing the Louisiana State Law Institute. 

The Louisiana State Bar Association’s Young Lawyer Section has elected as chairman Valerie Briggs Bargas of Seale, Smith, Zuber & Barnette in Baton Rouge. Other officers are Melanie Mabile Mulcahy, of the Derbes Law Firm in Metairie. chair-elect; Alainna R. Mire, assistant attorney for Alexandria, secretary; and Karleen Joseph Green, of Phelps Dunbar in Baton Rouge, immediate past chair.  

Group Industries LLC, a Baton Rouge-based commercial and industrial construction company, has named Kirk Johnson as executive vice president; Lynn Oehrle as secretary-treasurer; Shane Kirkpatrick as vice president of operations; and Phil Berniard as vice president of estimating. Johnson was vice president-general manager. Oehrle was chief financial officer. Kirkpatrick was operations manager. Berniard was estimating manager. 

Lonnie Olds has been named subsea services operations manager for the Lafayette office of InterMoor Inc. He was a cased-hole operations supervisor at Expro. 

James Roques has been named director of behavioral health and primary care integration in the Capital Area Human Services District. He was administrator of the Region II Office of Public Health.