People

Banking & Finance

BFT Financial welcomes

director of marketing

His new job: Sam Kayem joined BFT Financial LLC as its new director of marketing. His responsibilities include marketing, business development and recruitment and training of new financial advisers.

His background: Upon graduating from Texas Tech University and serving a tour in Vietnam as a combat medic, Kayem began his career in human resources. Soon after, he delved into the financial industry and became the top-producing and asset-gathering broker for his office six years running. He later went on to join UBS Paine Webber as senior vice president. During his tenure, he received many accolades including consistently being one of the highest-producing brokers for the firm. Kayem also was a stock market commentator at WBAP Radio.

Kayem spent numerous years as a senior mediator for dispute resolution services. He completed more than 200 mediations and was recognized as Mediator of the Year in 2008. Currently, Kayem serves as a non-public arbitrator for the Dispute Resolution Board of Arbitrators.

– Staff reports

Boards & Organizations

Lena Pope Home’s Young Professional Advocates announced the chairpersons for the 2009-2010 year. They are: President Lauren  Kwedar, vice president of Paige Hendricks Public Relations Inc.; Vice-President Deirdre Goodman, interior designer for M Stone & Tile; and Social Chair Denise Semple, marketing coordinator for Tarrant Area Food Bank.

The North Texas Commission announced the election and appointment of its new officers, executive committee and directors to its board. Officers are: Chairwoman Wendy Lopez, vice president of the Texas initiative for URS Corp.; Vice Chairman Robert Pence,  president and CEO of Freese and Nichols Inc.; Secretary Holly Reed, regional vice president for AT&T; and Treasurer Tom Oppenheim, managing director for Morgan Keegan. The executive committee members are: Joe Chow, town of Addison mayor; Gretchen Bataille,  UNT President; Fran Eichorst, vice president public affairs/regional site leader Texas for Fidelity Investments; Wright Lassiter, chancellor of Dallas County Community College District; Donna Parker, senior director of Jacobs; Bill Keffler, city manager for the city of Richardson; Stan Levenson, CEO of Levenson & Brinker Public Relations; Dan S. Petty, president and CEO of the North Texas Commission; Hal Thorne, OnePrime, will serve as general counsel; and Kenneth Barr, with Barr Consulting Group and former Mayor of Fort Worth, will serve as immediate past chairman. Newly appointed board members include Kevin Bailey, HKS Inc.; Benjamin Muro, chairman of the DFW International Airport board; Ricardo Ortiz, chairman of the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; and Keith Sasich, Kiewit Construction.

The Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition announced the following board appointments for 2009-2010: Chairwoman Kathryn Wilemon, Arlington city council member; Vice-Chairwoman Mary Lib Saleh, mayor of Euless; Secretary/Treasurer Gary Fickes, Tarrant County Commissioner; and Past Chairman Ken Shetter, mayor of Burleson. In addition, TRTC appointed Steve Townsend, community outreach coordinator for Tarrant County, to the executive committee.

Engineering

Don Harrelson joined Baird, Hampton & Brown Engineering & Surveying as associate in the Grapevine office.

Honored

Whitley Penn LLP was named to Inside Public Accounting’s Best of the Best – Top 25 U.S. Firms for 2009.

Johnston Legal Group received the Family Values Award from Baylor University’s Institute for Family Business 20th

annual Texas Family Business of the Year Awards.

Scott France, senior vice president of Portfolio Management at Triad Financial, received the annual Special Achievement Award from the International Automotive Remarketers Alliance.

JoLynne Jensen was named Outstanding Fundraising Executive by the Greater Dallas Chapter of Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Nonprofit

Diane Rhodes Bergman, director of marketing & PR for the Fort Worth Opera, earned national accreditation in public relations from Public Relations Society of America.

Other

Travelocity Global announced that it has named Noreen Henry senior vice president of Global Partner Marketing, replacing Paul Nelson, who plans to leave the company at the end of the year. The company also announced that Lesley Harris, who currently leads Travelocity Business, will take over Henry’s former role as vice president of North America Hotels and Packaging. Yannis Karmis, who currently heads Sabre Travel Network’s global customer care, will take the helm of Travelocity Business.

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