Bank receives 5-star rating

First Federal Bank of Louisiana has once again received a 5-star rating from BauerFinancial, the nation’s leading independent bank rating firm. This distinction, awarded for the 33rd consecutive year, reflects the bank’s strength in capital adequacy, profitability, and asset quality.

Additionally, First Federal Bank has earned the prestigious “Best of Bauer” designation, which is reserved for institutions that have consistently maintained Bauer’s highest rating for over 25 years.

“This recognition reaffirms our commitment to financial strength, compliance, and responsible management,” said Sam Wilkinson, president and CEO of First Federal Bank. “We remain focused on innovation and service while staying true to our mission and values.”

Grimes earns GRI designation

Andy Grimes, a member of the Southwest Louisiana Association of Realtors was recently awarded the Graduate, REALTOR Institute (GRI) designation by the Louisiana Association of Realtors.

Grimes was awarded the designation after completing over 96 hours of instruction and examinations. Individuals completing the program learn the fundamentals of brokerage and other areas of real estate specialization, allowing them to better serve prospective clients and customers.

The Institute is designed to educate practitioners about local, state and national real estate practices that affect them, their clients and customers. The designation indicates to the public that the individual has obtained a professional educational foundation on which to base the services they provide.

Castle named  Rising Star

Timothy S. Castle has won the Southwest Louisiana Association of Realtors Rising Star Award.

Castle obtained his Louisiana real estate license in November 2022. Upon receiving his license, he joined both the National Association of Realtors and the local Southwest Louisiana Association of Realtors. He immediately became active in many areas of the association.

In 2023 he served as the co-chairman of the YPN Committee and currently serves as the 2025 SWLAR YPN Chairman. He has assisted in the planning and has worked at all major investor events held by the SWLAR.

Castle holds two National Association of Realtors Certifications, E-Pro and Short Sales and Foreclosures.

He is a judge for the Acton Academy Children’s Business Fair and is actively re-organizing the Young Men’s Business Club of Southwest Louisiana.

He graduated from McNeese State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in management.

Stutes honored with dean’s award

BATON ROUGE — LSU Law is proud to announce the esteemed group of alumni and friends who will be honored for their contributions to the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center and legal profession at the 2025 Distinguished Alumni Awards on May 8.

Six of the seven Distinguished Alumni Awards honorees were selected by the LSU Law Alumni Board of Trustees via a nomination, review, and ranking process, and LSU Law Dean Alena M. Allen selected the Dean’s Philanthropic Award honoree.

Among those to be honored is Russell “Rusty” Stutes Jr., a tax and commercial litigation attorney and managing partner at Stutes & Lavergne in Lake Charles. As a student at LSU Law, he was named to the Chancellor’s List numerous times and received two American Jurisprudence Awards. He was also the recipient of the Tullis-Herget Scholarship, which is awarded for academic excellence, and he graduated among the top 11% of his class.

In 2012, he endowed the LSU Law Stutes-Kalinka National Tax Moot Court Competition Team in memory of the late Professor Susan Kalinka. Along with his mother, Cissy Stutes, he made a gift in excess of $500,000 in memory of his late father Russell J. Stutes Sr. in 2023. The gift established the Small Business and Community Development Clinic at LSU Law.

Wright earns CFP credential

Mackenzie Wright, senior registered client associate at Woods Brignac Wealth Management of Raymond James, has been authorized by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards to use the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certification marks. The CFP certification is the recognized standard of excellence for competent and ethical personal financial planning, and just a few dozen financial professionals in Lake Charles hold the credential.

Wright has more than a decade of experience in the financial services industry. A graduate of Sulphur High School and McNeese State University, she was named the Distinguished Senior in Finance among McNeese’s Class of 2016.

She completed the Certified Financial Planner Certification Program through LSU’s E.J. Ourso College of Business in 2024.

Visit LC team recognition

Visit Lake Charles is proud to announce that Aubrey Caldwell, sports event and volunteer coordinator, and Madison Yates, destination services specialist, have graduated from the Louisiana Tourism Leadership Academy (LTLA).

Kristen Shiver, visitor experience manager, earned her Certified Travel Specialist (CTS) certification.

The recognitions were announced during the Louisiana Travel Association’s Annual Meeting in Monroe, where Caldwell and Yates were honored as LTLA graduates. The LTLA program is designed to cultivate the next generation of tourism professionals through leadership  development and industry training.

Shiver’s CTS certification further strengthens her expertise in visitor engagement. The CTS program provided in-depth training on customer service excellence, industry best practices, and the skills to create meaningful connections.

Local pair among LTLA grads

MONROE — During its Annual Meeting, this week in Monroe, the Louisiana Travel Association introduced its 2024 LTLA graduates, who have completed LTA’s leadership program and welcomed the new class of 2025 to continue educating the next generation of tourism professionals. They are Aubrey Caldwell and Madison Yates.

Toni Chapman and Emily Treme are among the future class of the 2025 Louisiana Tourism Leadership Academy. All are of Visit Lake Charles.