Places & Faces
Movers and Shakers in Southwest Louisiana... Who’s News? You tell us! Send press releases to edit@thriveswla.com
Attorney Russell Stutes Named to Lakeside Bank Board of Directors Lakeside Bank has appointed Russell (“Rusty”) Stutes to the organization’s board of directors. Originally from Lake Charles, Stutes is the managing partner of Russell (“Rusty”) Stutes Stutes and Lavergne Law Firm. He is a graduate of St. Louis High School in Lake Charles and earned an undergraduate degree in accounting from Louisiana State University and his Juris Doctorate from the Louisiana State University Law Center, both in Baton Rouge. Stutes also attended the University of Florida College of Law in Gainesville, where he earned a LL.M (master of laws) degree. He was admitted to the Louisiana State Bar Association in 1991. After practicing with Scofield, Gerard, Veron, Singletary and Pohorelsky in Lake Charles for 13 years, Stutes co-founded Stutes and Lavergne in 2005. He maintains an extensive business, tax, estate planning, estate administration, expropriation and commercial practice. Lakeside Bank is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Since it’s opening in 2010, the bank has grown to five locations in Lake Charles, Sulphur, Westlake and an LPO (Loan Production Office) in DeRidder. Lakeside has been repeatedly recognized nationally for its growth, performance and safe, secure banking practices. For more information, visit www.mylksb.bank. Kyle Edmiston elected as Chair of Brand USA Board of Directors Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, has selected Kyle Edmiston, President and CEO of Visit Lake Charles, as Chair of Kyle Edmiston their Board of Directors for 2021 during its final meeting of the 2020 calendar year. Edmiston served as Treasurer of the organization for the past two years and previously served in the role of Vice Chair of Brand USA.
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The other officers voted in for 2021 of the Brand USA board of directors are Paul Brown, CEO of Inspire Brands, and Mark Hoplamazian, CEO of Hyatt Hotels Corporation, serving as Vice Chairs, and Alice Norsworthy, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Universal Parks & Resorts, as Treasurer. Chris Thompson, President and CEO of Brand USA, will serve another year as Executive Director and Jake Conte, General Counsel of Brand USA, as Assistant Secretary of the organization. The U.S. Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the White House, the U.S. Secretary of State and the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, appoints the 11-member board according to specific sectors of the travel and tourism industry. Edmiston serves as the sole representative of all local or regional Destination Marketing Organizations in the United States. These senior executives serve staggered three-year terms and work together to provide leadership and overall guidance to Brand USA’s mission and operations. Learn more about Brand USA at www.thebrandusa.com.
Ben Thompson, MD Achieves Mastership from American College of Physicians Memorial Medical Group Pulmonologist/Critical Care Specialists Ben Thompson, MD has been elected to Mastership by the American College Ben Thompson of Physicians. Over the past year, unknown to Dr. Thompson, a number of his colleagues and peers have been assembling a dossier outlining the impact he has had on the community, the profession of medicine, medical science and his patients. Dr. Thompson has practiced medicine at Memorial since 1982. According to the American College of Surgeons, Mastership is conferred only on a select number of worthy candidates who are deemed distinguished through a combination of achievements, including the practice of internal medicine, academic contributions to our specialty, and service to the College. In making decisions about each candidate’s suitability for Mastership, the Committee considered qualities such as strength of character, integrity, perseverance, leadership, compassion, and devotion, as well as clinical expertise and commitment to advancing the art and science of medicine.
Emphasis was placed on service as a teacher and mentor, advocacy for quality in internal medicine, a commitment to social justice, deep interest in people, and the creation of communities of medicine. Additionally, those elected to Mastership should be “citizen physicians,” educational innovators, humanists, and learner-teachers who inspire others to seek high standards and excellence in our cherished specialty of Internal Medicine. Family Medicine Specialist Kira Groves, DO Joins Memorial Medical Group Memorial Medical Group welcomes Family Medicine Specialist Kira Groves, DO to its staff. She sees patients of all ages from newborns to senior Kira Groves citizens, with a focus on women’s and mother-baby health. Dr. Groves joins fellow family medicine specialists Ben Groves, DO, Donald Higgins, MD, Carolyn Hutchinson, MD, Percival Kane, MD, Gerald Mouton, MD and Michael Seep, MD at the Memorial Medical Group clinic on Aster Street. Dr. Groves has a degree in biology and chemistry from Louisiana College in Pineville. She received her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Her post-graduate training includes a family medicine residency from Sampson Regional Medical Center in Clinton, North Carolina. Dr. Groves is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians and American Osteopathic Association. For more information or to schedule an appointment, visit www.lcmmg.com. Family Medicine Specialist Ben Groves, DO Joins Memorial Medical Group
Ben Groves
Memorial Medical Group welcomes Ben Groves, DO, a board-certified family medicine specialist to its staff. He sees patients of all ages from newborns to senior citizens.