East Texas Business

ACHIEVEMENTS

Jeff Austin III, vice chairman of Austin Bank in Jacksonville, was named treasurer of the Texas Bankers Association for the 2008-2009 fiscal year.

Austin served as chairman of the TBA BankPac Committee from 1998 to 2000 and was elected to the TBA board of directors in 2005. He recently completed a one-year term as chairman of the TBA Government Relations Council.

TBA is the largest and oldest state bankers association in the nation.

The appointment was made by Gib Walton, state bar president.

Tindel was also elected as a Life Fellow to the Texas Bar Foundation. Fellows are selected for outstanding professional achievements and demonstrated commitment to the improvement of the justice system in the state.

McCrary is minister of education at First Baptist Church of Nederland. He is the son of Gary D. and Carol McCrary of Tyler. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is owned and supported by the Southern Baptist Convention.

Dr. Thorstenson, an ophthalmologist, previously served as vice chair and secretary of the board, and has been a member since 1999. He is active in TEXPAC, the TMA's political action committee, and vice chairman and delegate to the American Medical Association's House of Delegates. He served as president of the Nacogdoches-San Augustine County Medical Society.

He is employed by Maddox Air Conditioning Inc. in computerized controls. He has attended professional development seminars in Buffalo, N.Y.; Tampa, Fla.; Boston; and Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif. He holds licenses as a Texas contractor and a professional inspector, and has certification in computer and programming languages.

NEW ASSIGNMENTS

TylerPaper.com, the Web site of the Tyler Courier-Times-Telegraph, announced Erin King has been named to the position of TylerTube/Spotted supervisor.

Ms. King, a Tyler native and Robert E. Lee High School graduate who has a degree in film from the University of Oklahoma, will have responsibility for the day-to-day updating and operation of the video and photo sites.

Ms. King started work with TylerPaper.com in May 2007 as an intern. Later in the year, she was hired full time as a Web photographer/reporter, a position she held until this promotion.

TylerTube "is a place where news, feature and sports video that our staff takes can be viewed, but just as important, it's a place where our East Texas readers can share their own videos with their friends and the world," Bret McCormick, vice president of Web enterprises, said. "It's another wonderful technology addition to TylerPaper.com, and we're glad to have Erin King heading it up."

For the past three years, Robertson has served as chairman of ETBU's Department of Communications. He taught at The University of Texas at Tyler before coming to ETBU. He said although he has loved being a full-time professor, he is looking forward to working with the talented student services personnel at the university.

He replaces Dr. David Brooks, who will become a faculty member in ETBU's Biology Department.

Callahan is a 28-year decorated U.S. Navy veteran, having served in the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He began with Alstom Power in September 2006 as a senior service engineer.

Alstom is a power construction, service and consulting company. Its Southwest Service Center conducts maintenance related operations and coordinates logistics for many power-generating facilities in Texas and the Southwest.

Ms. Watson graduated in 1981 from Tyler Junior College and resides in Tyler. Ms. Montgomery, also a Tyler resident, graduated from TJC in 1997.

Exceptional Home Care provides pediatric home health care services to medically dependent children living at home in 44 North Central and East Texas counties.

Ms. Fisher earned her bachelor's degree in marketing from Louisiana State University. The company said she brings a background in business where she has gained diverse experience in managing relationships with customers and staff.

NEW BUSINESS

Henry Dennard announced he has opened Henry Dennard Personal Financial Planning at 1820 Shiloh Road, Suite 1103.

Dennard said the business provides comprehensive financial planning with a focus on middle income individuals and families. He also offers professional advice on insurance, investments, retirement, giving, credit repair, cash flow management, college planning and debt reduction.

CONVENTIONS

These conventions and sporting events are scheduled in the Tyler area, according to the Tyler Convention and Visitors Bureau information. Listed in order are the dates, organizations having the conventions, hotels/motels serving as headquarters and total room nights.

Text and photos for Business & Professional Notes can be e-mailed to Greg Junek, business editor, at business@tylerpaper.com, or hand-delivered to the newspaper at 410 W. Erwin St. E-mailed photos should be attached as JPEG files with resolution of at least 200 DPI. Items can also be mailed to P.O. Box 2030, Tyler, 75710. Text can be faxed to 903-595-0335. Correspondence should include a telephone number. Deadline for submission is noon Tuesday for the next Sunday's paper.