Connie P. Fabre

Connie P. Fabré was recently appointed as the new executive director of the Greater Baton Rouge Industrial Managers Association.

Fabre earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and an MBA at Louisiana State University (LSU) and has 20 years of experience in production engineering, business and quality management and consulting, governmental affairs and association management.

Before joining GBRIMA, she worked for the Louisiana Chemical Association, Focused Developments, Monsanto Co., B.F. Goodrich Co. and Exxon Chemicals.

Cedric Grant

Cedric Grant of Atlanta was recently named the new deputy secretary for the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.

Grant previously worked for Parsons Corp. of Atlanta, where he oversaw road and highway projects.

"I am exceptionally pleased with the appointment of Cedric Grant, another native Louisianian we are adding to our team to move our great state ahead," Gov. Kathleen Blanco said.

Before his employment with Parsons, Grant held numerous manager and administrative positions with the City of New Orleans, including chief administrative officer.

Grant is a certified city manager and holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of New Orleans.

Thomas G. "Tommy" Christian

Thomas G. "Tommy" Christian was promoted to director of maintenance and construction services for the eastern region of Basic Industries Inc., Baton Rouge.

His duties will include all operational responsibility, including estimating, project controls and field operations for the Baton Rouge office. He was previously manager of maintenance services.

Christian has more than 16 years experience in the construction industry. He holds a business degree from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Basic Industries is an industrial specialty contractor and performs such services as insulation, coatings, refractory, abatement, fireproofing, scaffolding, and tower and vessel maintenance.

Roger Bourgeois

Roger Bourgeois, president of Bourgeois & Associates Inc. of Houma, was recently elected chairman of the board of the Automatic Fire Alarm Association at the 51st Annual Meeting in Charleston, S. C.

Bourgeois has been a member of the board for several years and served as the association's vice chairman prior to being elected chairman.

The Automatic Fire Alarm Association, founded in 1953, is headquartered in Lake Mary, Fla. The association provides training courses, code representation and other vital services to approximately 1,000 members from across the United States.

Bourgeois has more than 30 years experience in design, installation and testing of automatic fire detection and suppression systems. He is past president of the Fire Suppression Systems Association (FSSA), a member of the Society of Fire Protection Engineers (SFPE), founding president of the Louisiana Automatic Fire Alarm Association (LAFAA) and NICET certified at Level IV in special hazards and fire alarm system technology.

He also recently obtained certification as a fire protection specialist.

Darrin Drollinger, Nick Yaksich

Two Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) staff executives were recently appointed by U. S. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans and U. S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick to serve on Industry Trade Advisory Committees.

ITACs are public-private forums established by Congress to ensure industry has a voice in formulating the trade policy of the United States.

Darrin Drollinger, AEM vice president - technical and safety services, has been appointed to the ITAC on Standards and Technical Trade Barriers.

Nick Yaksich, AEM vice president - government affairs, has been appointed to the ITAC on Automotive Equipment and Capital Goods.

Their participation in the ITACs provides a voice for the equipment manufacturing industry in the development of trade policy, standards and regulations and ensures AEM access to top-level U. S. trade officials to relay priorities of the association's member companies.

ITAC members also work with government officials to identify trade barriers and to provide advice on key objectives and bargaining positions for multilateral, bilateral and regional trade negotiations and agreements.