Names in the News: People shaping the future of Lake Area business

Published 4:47 am Sunday, July 9, 2023

Hidalgo joins Lake Area Adventures

Lake Area Adventures has hired Heather Hidalgo as the director of marketing and business development for all of its business operations, including Lake Area Adventures’ Family Entertainment Complex at 1337 Country Club Road, boat and kayak tours and rentals, lakefront operations and several future operations in construction.

In her role, Hidalgo will direct and oversee all the marketing, event and public relations efforts for Lake Area Adventures. On the business development side, she will work with businesses on corporate memberships for employees, corporate event planning and private event catering by Chef Amanda Cusey with The Terrace Restaurant at Lake Area Adventures. She will also coordinate group rates for large groups who want to enjoy their facilities.

Hidalgo comes to Lake Area Adventures from Christus Ochsner, where she has been the director of marketing and communications for 17 years. Prior to that she worked in Business Development for Christus St. Patrick.

Buller Brothers Cattle joins group

Buller Brothers Cattle Co. in Lake Charles is a new member of the American Angus Association, reports Mark McCully, CEO of the national breed organization headquartered in Saint Joseph, Mo.

The American Angus Association, with more than 22,000 active adult and junior members, is the largest beef breed association in the world. Its computerized records include detailed information on over 20 million registered Angus.

The Association records ancestral information and keeps production records and genomic data on individual animals to develop industry-leading selection tools for its members. The programs and services of the Association and its entities — Angus Genetics Inc., Angus Media, Certified Angus Beef LLC and the Angus Foundation — help members advance the beef cattle business by selecting the best animals for their herds and marketing quality genetics for the beef cattle industry and quality beef for consumers.

Johnson named to LSBA board

Adam P. Johnson, a partner in The Johnson Firm in Lake Charles, has been named to the 2023-24 Board of Governors for the Fourth District of the Louisiana State Bar Association.

He received a bachelor’s degree in business management in 2006 from Louisiana State University and his JD degree in 2009 from Southern University Law Center. He was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2009.

After clerking for Judge Robert Wyatt and Judge Ronald Ware, Johnson joined his father Terry and brother Jonathan in the practice of law. He and his brother now own The Johnson Firm in Lake Charles. The firm’s attorneys focus on family, criminal defense and personal injury law.

Johnson served in the Louisiana State Bar Association’s House of Delegates. He was a member of the 2013-14 Leadership LSBA Class and co-chaired the 2014-15 Leadership LSBA Class. He served as the LSBA Young Lawyers Division District 4 representative from 2015-19. He also assists with writing and grading the Criminal Law Section of the Louisiana Bar Exam.

He is the president of the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association and a former president of the SWLBA Young Lawyers Division.

Roach recognized by LSBA’s YLD

Brooke A. Roach, an attorney in The Roach Law Firm in Lake Charles, has been installed as a member of the 2023-24 Louisiana State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division for District 4.

Roach received a BA degree in human resources in 2016 from Louisiana State University and her JD degree, magna cum laude, in 2019 from Southern University Law Center.

She was admitted to practice in Louisiana in 2019. She clerked for Chief Judge Ulysses G. Thibodeaux, Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, from 2019-21.

Roach followed in her father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, becoming the third-generation to practice law at The Roach Law Firm. Her practice focuses on personal injury litigation and first-party bad faith property damage litigation. She is admitted in all Louisiana state courts; the U.S. District Courts for the Western, Middle and Eastern Districts of Louisiana; and the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

She is a member of the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association and its Young Lawyers Section, currently serving as treasurer of the SWLBA’s Young Lawyers Section.

Memorial, CPSB recognized

Lake Charles Memorial Health System Sports Medicine department, along with Calcasieu Parish School Board, received the “Excellence in Health and Safety Award” from the Louisiana Athletic Trainers’ Association.

This award honors the long-standing partnership between LCMHS’s Sports Medicine department in recognition of the high level of care provided daily to CPSB and other surrounding schools.

The athletic training program continues to serve the community for almost 50 years. This is the longest-standing program of its kind in the state. According to Scott Arceneaux, many programs throughout the state consider Memorial’s program as the “model” program in the state.