Dwight named United Way chair

United Way of Southwest Louisiana gathered supporters and volunteers at a campaign breakfast recently to introduce Stephen Dwight as the 2021 campaign chairman. The breakfast, postponed because of COVID-19, is an annual event that celebrates those vital to the nonprofit and its success.

The Barbe High School Marching Band played the National Anthem alongside the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office Flag Corps. McNeese Baseball Coach Justin Hill led the pledge while Sister Miriam MacLean from Catholic Charities of Southwest Louisiana led the breakfast in prayer.

The theme of “Team United” was used by organizations when participating in the t-shirt contest. This year, Citgo Petroleum won the competition.

McCleary joins Korn Ferry team

The 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Lake Charles Championship is pleased to announce the newest member of its event team. Judy McCleary has been named the assistant tournament director for the inaugural PGA Tour professional golf tournament to be held at the Golden Nugget Lake Charles March 21-27, 2022.

In her new role, McCleary will serve as local contact and spokesperson for the tournament partners to include the PGA Tour, the Golden Nugget, and the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau.

A former faculty and staff member at McNeese State University and Sowela Technical College, she is experienced in community and public affairs outreach, event planning and business development. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from Northwestern State University in Natchitoches.

McCleary is a member of the Lake Area Industry Alliance Community Advisory Panel and the Board Of Commissioners of the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District.

DuPlechian named to board

Donald W. “Don” DuPlechian of Oberlin has been appointed by Gov. John Bel Edwards to the Parish Boards of Election Supervisors.

The purpose of the board in each parish is to oversee and supervise all elections within the parish to ensure the safety and accuracy of the democratic process.

The Boards of Election Supervisors oversees the preparation and conducting of each election in the parish. Each parish’s board is composed of the parish’s registrar of voters, the parish’s clerk of court, the chairman of the parish executive committee of each recognized political party, and one member appointed by the governor.

DuPlechian is the senior chaplain at Brighton Bridge Hospice. He will serve as the election supervisor of Allen Parish.

LeJeune doctoral candidate in Germany

McNeese State University engineering alumnus Daniel LeJeune, Class of 2014, is spending a semester abroad in Munich, Germany, as a guest doctoral candidate at the Technical University of Munich studying artificial intelligence and machine learning.

LeJeune, who is originally from Jennings, came to McNeese as a first-generation university student.

Before he applied, LeJeune attended McNeese’s Engineers Week, which is held each spring for high school students to visit and learn more about the engineering programs. He met with some of McNeese’s recruiters, who encouraged him to apply for Honors College based on his ACT scores.

LeJeune went on to receive his master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. After he graduated, he was hired at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory to apply machine learning to cyber security. But after a year on the job, LeJeune said he felt drawn to continue his education.

Now, he is a doctoral candidate in electrical and computer engineering at Rice University in Houston, where he specializes in research aimed at developing algorithms to solve machine learning and optimization problems and analyzing what makes successful algorithms perform well, a project that has led him to the collaboration at TUM.

LeJeune’s research has been published in the International Conference on Machine Learning, the Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems, the International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Statistics, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ International Conference on Big Data and Smart Computing and the International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing.

Sowela faculty recognized

Two faculty members from Sowela Technical Community College have been honored with prestigious awards from the Southern Business Education Association.

Marie Coleman was awarded the Distinguished Service by an Administrator or Supervisor of Business Education and Wendy Sonnier is the recipient of the Post-Secondary Business Teacher of the Year awards for Louisiana and all of the South.

Coleman, who joined Sowela full-time in 2018, is an assistant professor, and is serving as dean of Sowela’s School of Business and Applied Technology. She was nominated and chosen to receive her Distinguished Service by an Administrator or Supervisor of Business Education award due to her service in supporting life-long learning for her students and colleagues, her work with students in campus organizations and for her outstanding work ethic. The award is handed out annually.

Sonnier is part of the faculty at Sowela’s School of Business and Applied Technology and began as an adjunct instructor with Sowela in 2017 and became a full-time instructor in 2019. Sonnier teaches a variety of classes including Introduction to Spreadsheets, Office Procedures, Personal Finance, Basic Word Processing, and Business Ethics. She was awarded the Post-Secondary Business Teacher of the Year and chosen for her dedication to encourage students to reach their potential and providing them with opportunities to excel in their fields of study.

Taylor Dental opens temporary facility

Taylor Dental & Braces, one of Louisiana’s leaders in Medicaid and affordable dental care for children and their families, announced the opening of its temporary facility in Lake Charles.

The temporary facility will open today, Nov. 1, and will be outside of its existing location at 2706 Ryan St.

The Lake Charles main facility suffered extensive damage caused by Hurricane Laura in August 2020. While the permanent space is being rebuilt, the temporary facility will serve Taylor Dental patients and the Lake Charles community. Initially, patients who are experiencing pain and/or bleeding will be evaluated and treated. Afterwards, patients needing cleanings or preventative care will be able to schedule appointments as needed.

The temporary facility will be open Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

For more or to schedule an appointment, call Taylor Dental & Braces at 337-944-0300.