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T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Innovator AwardsGold Award: Turbo Squid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Silver Award: Home Automation Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Benjamin Taylor and Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Coastal Environments Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9DHAC Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12East Jefferson General Hospital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13EzKee LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14G.T. Michelli Company Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15HuckaBuck.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17International House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Intradel Corporation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19IsoBreathing Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22Jones Walker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23JPMorgan Chase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24Just Scratch It! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25KB Home/The Shaw Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27LuMunn LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28Ochsner Health System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29PreSonus Audio Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30Sabre Technical Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31West Jefferson Medical Center/

Jefferson Community Health Care Centers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32West Jefferson Medical Center

Support Services Facility and Energy Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 West Jefferson Medical Center

CyberKnife Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

2 0 0 6

Educator AwardsArchbishop Rummel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36Delgado Community College . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Nonprofit AwardsKatrina Krewe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39Kingsley House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40Operation Restoration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41YOUTHanasia Foundation Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

On the BrinkDuct Saddle, Thermo Faucets, LabOpsROI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Published by the NOPG LLC 111 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Suite 1440, Metairie, La. 70005 504-834-9292; Fax: 504-837-2258.

Publisher and president: D. Mark SingletaryAssociate Publisher: Lisa BlossmanEditor: Terry O’ConnorAssociate editors: Tommy Santora, Greg LaRose andRenee Aragon DoleseArt directors: Alex Borges and Lisa Finnan

Photography: Tommy SantoraAccount Executives: Erica Northcott Adams, Liz Baldini,Cassie Foreman, Shannon Grooters, Coco JuddProduction manager: Julie Bernard

The entire contents of this publication are copyrighted by NOPG LLC, 2003, with all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without permission, of editorial or graphic content in any manner is prohibited.NOPG LLC, 111 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie LA 70005, (504) 834-9292.

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NEW ORLEANS business ownerscould probably argue that they allbecame innovators and entrepreneursafter Hurricane Katrina.

Half of their employees, and more inmany cases, were displaced states awaywith no home to return to. Capital wasprecious on the heels of long businessloss and property insurance battles.Reserve capital became primary sourceof income as businesses tried to reopenwith haste.

Their marketplace changed. If andwhen businesses did reopen, clientelewas not half of what it was before thestorm. Even if the same clients remained,the business needs or demands of thosecustomers changed.

Business owners had to think differ-ently — outside the box, more so thanthey have for any new product or ideathey have introduced in the marketplace.

William Pollard, former CEO of TheServiceMaster Company and author ofseveral books on innovation and how tobe an entrepreneur, once said:

“Without change there is no innova-tion, creativity or incentive for improve-ment. Those who initiate change willhave a better opportunity to manage thechange that is inevitable.”

The 2006 class of New OrleansCityBusiness Innovators of the Year hasmet that change head-on, taken businessrisks, introduced new ideas and devel-oped different, and at times morediverse, identities. A total of 32 innova-tions are recognized in this special“Innovator of the Year” insert, brokendown into: Innovators, Educators,Nonprofits and On the Brink.

CityBusiness also recognized two topInnovator companies with Gold andSilver awards. The Gold Award went toa New Orleans-bred technology compa-ny that has risen leaps and bounds intheir six years of existence with nationalclients such as Electronic Arts, Pixar,ABC News and The New York Times.Their concept is as unique as the prod-ucts they sell, and so is their name:Turbo Squid, started in 2000 by broth-ers Matt and Andy Wisdom.

Turbo Squid provides a global mar-ketplace and distribution outlet for 3-Dand 2-D digital products by enabling

designers and creative professionals tolist, promote and sell their content tousers around the world.

In 2005, the company surpassedmore than 100,000 different 3-D imagesavailable with more than 8,000 3-Dartists from around the globe whoupload products to the Turbo Squid site.Customers purchase and use the imagesin game development, film and video,design visualization, military, corporateand biomedical applications.

Turbo Squid projects sales will exceed$6.5 million this year, after $4 million in2005. Turbo Squid will soon bring thevideo game market to New Orleans withthe introduction of GameFlood, wherevideo gamers can purchase add-ons fortheir existing games, like new levels, char-acters and weapons.

Receiving the CityBusiness Innovatorof the Year Silver award is HomeAutomation Inc., a company founded in1985 that is one of the leaders in manu-facturing home security systems with$15 million in sales projections this year,after $10 million in 2005.

Led by Jay McLellan, HAI presidentand co-founder, the company offers con-sumers the ability to monitor and adjusthome security, temperatures and othersettings from any computer via anEthernet port on the HAI system.

The Consumer Electronic Associationawarded HAI with the 2006 CEA Markof Excellence Award in the Best HumanInterface category, and Frost & Sullivanpresented McLellan with the 2006Building Technologies CEO of the YearAward in March.

Archbishop Rummel High School isone of two Education award recipientsfor the efforts of taking in 1,300 dis-placed students after Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina Krewe is one of four nonprof-its being awarded as a group of NewOrleans women joined together to cleanthe streets after Katrina. CityBusinesscongratulates all of these Innovatorrecipients and thanks nominators forbringing their stories to our attention.

Hurricane Katrina may havechanged this city’s business climate, butit did not dampen the entrepreneurialand innovative spirits of many NewOrleans companies.•

I n t r o d u c t i o n

Tommy SantoraAssociate Editor

6A 2006 Innovator of the Year

Matt Wisdom, 34, co-founderand president of TurboSquid, was walking down

Poydras Street in New Orleans twoyears ago when an idea struck him.

“I wondered why the state’s film taxcredit was not more broadly defined toinclude video games and other interac-tive media,” he said.

Wisdom put his idea into action,leading the effort to draft and pass theLouisiana Digital Media Act, whichGov. Kathleen Babineaux Blancosigned into law in 2004. In theprocess, he wrote the definition of“digital interactive media” for the leg-islation.

While ensuring the continuedgrowth of Turbo Squid, Wisdomhopes to accomplish something morecomprehensive for the New Orleanseconomy. “This legislation shouldeventually attract members of thevideo gaming industry and other digi-tal media to New Orleans in the sameway it has already brought the filmindustry here.”

Turbo Squid began in 2000 as anoriginator of 3-D animation for televi-sion commercials. After designing 3-Dmodels of cell phone handsets for aRadiophone advertisement, Matt andhis brother Andrew noticed similar 3-D models produced by other companies and wonderedwhy there was no way for graphic artists to share theirown models.

“We were designing 3-D models for animated cellphones that played basketball in a commercial,”Wisdom said. “Our total budget was $25,000, and wespent nearly $15,000 on payroll to design the models.”

Seeing an open marketplace for 3-D model sharingon the Internet, the company extended its businessmodel, eventually becoming the largest library of 3-Dproducts available in the world with over 133,000 itemsavailable on their Web site. Their clients include Pixar,Apple, ABC News, and The New York Times.

“Other digital artists publish models on our Website, and we provide a clearinghouse for them to selltheir content to other professionals,”Matt Wisdom said.

Turbo Squid promotes each artist’s work to a world-wide audience, then processes, tracks and reports sales,taking 50 percent of each sale for its efforts.

In 2001, Turbo Squid closed on a $5.1-million fund-ing deal with Advantage Capital, Intel and Kodak. Thefunding propelled Turbo Squid to the forefront of themarket, with sales in 2005 topping $4 million and pro-

jected sales of $6 million in 2006.In July, the company plans to venture into the video

game industry with the introduction of GameFlood, aWeb site and download manager application that allowsconsumers to update or customize their favorite videogames.

“GameFlood will allow gamers to add third-party,after-market content to an existing game,” Matt Wisdomsaid. “If a gamer plays a popular game like Half-Life 2and wants to add a new level, weapon or character, for asmall cost, the gamer will be able to download the newitems into the game automatically.”

After beginning production on GameFlood in 2004,the company filed a patent for the product and helpedrewrite Louisiana’s legislation to receive tax credits fortheir expenditures. Matt Wisdom testified in front of theLouisiana Senate Committee on Revenue and FiscalAffairs and the House Ways and Means Committee.

Last summer,Turbo Squid was on the verge of bring-ing the video gaming industry to New Orleans whenHurricane Katrina struck.

“Our employees scattered to 13 different places butwe did not go down,” Matt Wisdom said. “Since our

Web site is hosted in Miami, we remained in operationand charted our best sales ever.”

Because most of Turbo Squid’s consumers live out-side Louisiana — more than half outside the UnitedStates — the location of company headquarters is irrel-evant, Matt Wisdom said. The company decided to stayin New Orleans for a combination of financial and sen-timental reasons. Their affection for the city is augment-ed by the tax credit incentive they pushed through statelegislation.

“The marketplace is wide open for this kind of gamemodification, and the expansion of the state’s digitalmedia tax credit makes New Orleans fertile ground forthis industry,” Matt Wisdom said.

Turbo Squid is poised to become a liaison between3-D model designers and game publishers while attract-ing new industry to post-Katrina New Orleans.

“Like most other businesses, we’re hoping for a safehurricane season so that other members of the digitalmedia industry will feel comfortable relocating to ourcity,” Wisdom said. “We are staying and want to bringothers here.”

— Thomas Leggett

Turbo Squid president Matt Wisdom, left, and co-founder Andy Wisdom said the company projects $6 million in 2006 sales.

Gold Award

Turbo Squid

Home Automation Inc.’s emphasis onwell-designed and technologicallyadvanced products,growing nation-

al and international markets, and plans forproduct enhancement are keys to its suc-cess as a leading manufacturer of integratedautomation and security systems.

The company was founded in 1985and has managed to distinguish itself as aninnovator in the home security market.HAI was the first company of its kind tointroduce an Internet product, said JayMcLellan,HAI president and co-founder.

The Snap-Link USB port offers con-sumers the ability to monitor and adjusthome security, temperatures, and othersettings from any computer via anEthernet port on the HAI system.

The two home systems, Lumina andOmni,give customers the choices betweennon-built in and built-in systems. Luminaprovides lighting controls, and Omni

offers a built-in system that allows for ther-mal, security and audio settings.

HAI recently released the OmniTouchwith Video,an add on option to the Omnisystem. OmniTouch provides videofootage of different areas of the home andallows consumers to adjust control settingsfrom a touch-screen panel.

Last year, HAI had $10 million inproduct sales despite challenges broughton by Hurricane Katrina, and is expect-ed to bring in $15 million in sales in2006, McLellan said.

HAI is close to returning most of its55 employees to its 51,000-square-footfacility in eastern New Orleans that wasdamaged by Katrina. The company alsoplans to retain a site in Mandeville,whichtemporarily housed the engineering andtech support crews following Katrina.

In 2005, HAI received the ContinentalAutomated Building Association

Chairman’s Pinnacle Award forOutstanding Company, and the HAILighting Control won an InnovativeHousing Technology Award at anInternational Builder’s Show.

The Consumer Electronic Associationrecently awarded HAI with the 2006 CEAMark of Excellence Award in the BestHuman Interface category for itsOmniTouch with Video, and Frost &Sullivan presented McLellan with the2006 Building Technologies CEO of theYear Award in March.

To date, roughly 500 New Orleansconsumers have HAI products, only afraction of its market, as most HAI sys-tems are sold in the Northeast, Florida,California and Texas, said McLellan.

“We’re very unique in this regionbecause we’re the only company manufac-turing consumer electronic products. Webelieve that one day every home will have a

system like this for energy savings,conven-ience and comfort,” said McLellan.

HAI patents and copyrights all of itsproducts, which are conceptualized byMcLellan and a team of in-house engi-neers. Outside manufacturers in China,Dallas, Arkansas and Mexico producethe actual products and then send themto the HAI facility.

HAI markets and sells its systems to anetwork of 300 distributors who sell theproducts to installers specializing in secu-rity, electrical and home automation.

Within the next four years, HAI plansto distribute self-installable products toretailers, and is looking at new channelsof distribution, such as electrical, heat-ing, ventilation and air conditioning.

The goal is to “have a product that’smore tailored for various market places,”said McLellan.•

— Nayita Wilson

Home Automation Inc. CEO Jay McLellan projects $15 million in 2006 company product sales.

Silver Award

Home Automation Inc.



The permanent relocation of business headquartersfrom Houston to New Orleans is a bold move post-Hurricane Katrina, but it was one that Benjamin

Taylor Sullivan made, seizing the opportunity to helprebuild the city.

“We have an unprecedented opportunity to returnthe city to the glory of its past elegance,” said Sullivan,who owns Benjaim Taylor and Associates, a full-servicedesign and build firm specializing in residential andcommercial remodeling and new construction based ona Southern contemporary casual design. “The highquality of design that exists in the fine homes of NewOrleans must be restored at all costs.”

The firm has three offices nationwide in NewOrleans, Houston and Milwaukee. Moving the head-quarters to New Orleans translates to approximately 40artisans, carpenters and craftsmen coming to the city tobegin restoration.

The company has extensive experience restoringstorm-damaged homes. Tropical Storm Allison hitsoutheast Texas in June 2001 and Sullivan’s team reno-vated many homes affected by flood and devastation.

Although the home office of his firm was in Houston,Sullivan lived in his French Quarter condo for a number

of years. After Hurricane Katrina, Sullivan moved hishome office back to New Orleans. He said he hadalways had plans to eventually move back to theCrescent City and Katrina was just the most appropriatetime. “This is my home,” Sullivan said. “I want it to getput back together the way it was.”

Sullivan’s firm handles all aspects of the design andremodeling process, from the architectural and spaceplanning to the finishing design touches. He says havingone company responsible for all phases of the remodelprocess saves time and money for the client.

Southern contemporary casual design is a blendingof older and new elements to create a functional livingspace that clients can feel comfortable living in, saidSullivan.

“Most of our clients are in their 30s and 40s,”Sullivan said. “They have a lot of contemporary artworkand family antiques from Southern living. My job is toblend these two to create a home my clients are going tolive with. I work with them in an effort to guide them totheir own style.”

Sullivan says he has always loved Southern antiques,and what he does with his firm is based on what he hasdone in his own home in Metairie.

“It’s really all about what you love to collect, andwhat you are going to live with,” Sullivan said. “It’sabout comfort living. Walking into your home and beinghappy with your domain.”

According to the firm’s Web site, www.benjamintay-lor.com, Sullivan’s interest in design led him to studyunder his mother, designer Judy Kugle. He was furthertrained in drafting, codes and building materials andafter a year in Europe, refined his design direction andstarted his firm in Houston in 1994.

Sullivan is working on 15 houses in the area with awaiting list of more clients. He markets his firm inMetairie and Lakeview but has also done some work ineastern New Orleans.

Sullivan said most clients have come through word-of-mouth.“I have had such a warm welcome back to the city.When people found out I was moving back, I receiveddozens of calls about renovations,” he said.

Sullivan said his home remodeling projects can rangefrom $50,000 to $1 million, but adds it is not about themoney, it’s about the person.

“I want to work with people to accommodate to whatthey want with what budget they have to work with.”•

— Robin Shannon

Benjamin Taylor Sullivan relocated his design and build company, Benjamin Taylor and Associates, from Houston to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

I n n o v a t o r

Benjamin Taylor and Associates


When Sherwood Gagliano discovered a corre-lation between fault lines in the Earth’s sur-face and ground subsidence in southeast

Louisiana, the outlook appeared grim.Though man can do nothing to stop the Earth’s sur-

face from fluctuating, people can avoid this natural haz-ard and protect new infrastructure by studying thearea’s geology and not building on known fault lines,he said.

“The land is cracking,” said Gagliano, who holds aPh.D. in geology and geography.

Gagliano founded Coastal Environments Inc. in1973 to study the terrain, and it became one of the firstcompanies to show Louisiana’s land loss can be tracedto faults and the poor soil zones near them.

The most recent evidence of fault lines affectinginfrastructure was seen in the breached canal leveesafter Hurricane Katrina.

“The 17th Street Canal and the London AvenueCanal are on one fault line,” Gagliano said. Poor soilquality there and along the coast are indicative of futuresubsidence and erosion, he said.

For years, experts have pointed to saltwater intru-sion on fresh-water vegetation, the dredging of canals

I n n o v a t o r

Coastal Environments Inc.

Sherwood Gagliano, founder of Coastal Environments Inc., uses maps to study land loss and fault lines in the earth’s surface, which leadto future subsidence and erosion.continued on page 10


and navigation channels, andthe building of levees along theMississippi River as the causesof coastal erosion and subsi-dence.

“And that’s part of it,”Gagliano said, adding that theproblems have not beenaddressed.

“We have excellent maps,”he said of the surface faultsalong the coast. “That’s wherethey look for oil.”

Soil has a poorer qualitywith respect to building on itwhen it lies close to faultlines, which shift frequently,he said.

For years, geologists haveused faults and salt domes tofind oil and gas. For decades, oil and gas com-panies have been taking core samples in thosespots and creating maps to show where thefaults are in order to go after the oil and gas,Gagliano said.

Those maps also show where land eventuallywill shift and sink in the future, he said.

About five years ago, Coastal Environmentssubmitted a report to the U.S. Army Corps of

Engineers giving scientific detailson the problem, but the companyhas not received much acknowl-edgement, Gagliano said.

“We’ve been in denial over theimportance of the faults,” he said.

Gagliano and his company,which has grown in 33 years tohave 60 employees and makeabout $5 million annually in rev-enue, has worked to inform thepublic about the threat toLouisiana’s terrain. CoastalEnvironments has also openedoffices in Biloxi, Miss., andCorpus Christi, Texas, in addi-tion to its main office in BatonRouge. The company’s Gulfport,Miss., office was destroyed inHurricane Katrina.

Gagliano and his companyalso support building a con-

veyance channel to divert sediment-rich waterfrom the Mississippi River to build land onLouisiana’s coast.

“The only way you can offset the effects of thefaults is to have the river dump sediment into anarea,” he said.

An obstacle Coastal Environments is trying toclear is gaining acceptance from the public andthe public officials about the gravity of the situa-

tion. Gagliano has testified before the Senate andCorps officials have said little to challenge hisstudy.

“They (faults) are quite real. They are activeand the potential for tremendous devastation isvery, very real,” said Kathy Haggar, a wetlandsconsultant and petroleum geologist who sup-ports Gagliano’s research.

Haggar said she has seen research on othercauses of subsidence and erosion, but Gagliano’sresearch has been more concrete.

“The more I’m looking into this, the moremythology I’m finding.And the only reality I findare the faults,” Haggar said.

Gagliano’s research has raised tangible redflags and has taken “the rhetoric off the coffeetable,” said Lee Gary with Strategic ManagementServices, a client of Coastal Environments.

“He has worked hard to bring quantitativeinformation to the table,” Gary said. “It’s remov-ing the wiggle room.”

But Louisiana’s future is becoming more per-ilous as little action takes place to address thethreat the fault lines pose, say Haggar, Gary andGagliano.

“Under Houma and under New Orleans, thesurface actually pulls apart. The surface of theearth is stretching,” Gagliano said. “If you map itand you understand it and you avoid the faults,you can minimize damage.”

— Elizabeth Stuart

continued from page 9

Coastal Environments Inc.

“Under Houmaand under New

Orleans, the surface actually

pulls apart. The surface of the earth

is stretching.”Sherwood Gagliano

founder,Coastal Environments Inc.

Call Becky Naquin at 504-293-9219111 Veterans Blvd. • Suite 1440 • Metairie, LA 70005 • Fax (888) 307-3644

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Dr. William Steinmann and researcher Dr.Thomas Prager invented an online assessmenttool designed to diagnose post-traumatic stress

disorder.David Crais,CEO of Digital Health Assessment Center,

is getting the business end of their invention running.Steinmann is a Tulane University Medical School

professor and chair of primary care medicine, whilePrager is a University of Texas faculty member atMemorial Health Center in Houston.

DHAC is using its timely innovation to diagnosePTSD patients among Hurricane Katrina victims andIraqi war veterans. But with the Internet as a medium,the company hopes its new tool will eventually reachpeople of different languages and abilities, who have thedisorder in common.

Steinmann developed DHAC’s clinical aspect, whilePrager collaborated on Steinmann’s clinical work andassisted engineers in software development.

Crais, owner of Crais Management Group in NewOrleans, contracted with Prager and Steinmann to cre-

ate DHAC Inc.DHAC’s program was tested at a Houston

hospital in July 2001 when 5,000 patients andemployees were asked to go online to take thescreening test.

“We wanted to be sure people can under-stand it — 85 to 90 percent of those peopledid,” Prager said.

PTSD is a psychiatric disorder that occursfollowing traumatic events such as militarycombat, natural disasters, terrorist incidents,serious assaults and rape. People experiencenightmares and flashbacks, have trouble sleeping andcan feel detached or estranged.

Symptoms can be severe enough to significantlyimpair the person’s daily life, according to medical pro-fessionals.

“Many post-Katrina (victims) feel weak or lethargic,are depressed and have less social contact and they evenquestion their faith in the almighty,” Steinmann said.

DHAC’s principals made their test available to first

responders during Katrina. The SubstanceAbuse and Mental Health Administration sentmental health specialists to New Orleans withlaptops to assess victims at ground zero.

Crais hopes Huey P. Long Medical Center,the state’s primary mental health care facility,will embrace DHAC’s product.

Social workers or psychologists normallyadminister testing. “Our goal is for anynurse, policeman or other ER staff to be ableto do the assessment, freeing them fromneeding scarce and expensive clinical per-

sonnel,” Prager said.After the screening is finished, the computer software

interprets the data and provides results ready for a med-ical professional to review.

The projected launch date for the company’s PTSDtesting is July. Spanish and Vietnamese versions willsoon be available, and Crais hopes an interactive voiceversion will be made for patients who can’t read.

— Brenda Ducote

Dr. William Steinmann, a Tulane University Medical School professor and chair of primary care medicine, helped develop the Digital Health Assessment Center software tool, to diagnose post-traumatic stressdisorder.

Dr. Thomas Prager

I n n o v a t o r

DHAC Inc.

Medical science technology is constantly chang-ing. Doctors and hospitals are always lookingfor new innovations to speed procedures and

make things more comfortable for their patients.The 3-T MRI Imaging System is one of these inno-

vations, and it has come to East Jefferson GeneralHospital.

Mary Beth Lobrano, EJGH medical director of radi-ology, said diagnostic imaging holds the key to recoveryfor most patients. The better the image, the more infor-mation that’s available to the diagnosing physician, shesaid.

The 3-T MRI has the strongest of any magnetic res-onance imaging scanner, said LoBrano. “Finer imagedetail than a standard MRI can be obtained using 3-T.”

Lobrano said a better image helps render more accuratediagnosis.

According to Dr. Susan Fuzzard of EJGH’s radiologydepartment, 3-T’s speed and power translates into betterexperiences for all concerned.

“Some patients simply can’t hold their breath for verylong. Because of the speed at which this scanner capturesimages, the physician gets better images and the patientcan spend considerably less time in discomfort,” Fuzzardsaid.

The new scanners now carry much of the diagnosticload of a modern hospital. In the past, it may have been thebest option to conduct exploratory surgery. Now, a doctorcan get a much better view of a patient with a non-invasivescan than they ever could with a knife.

Lobrano said the installation of the 3-T MRI with“Total Imaging Matrix,” gives East Jefferson GeneralHospital the most powerful imaging device in theregion.

“There are not many MRI scanners like it,” Lobranosaid. “It is the only one in the metro area. We are on thecutting edge of medical technology.”

The 3-T MRI is eight times faster than a regularopen or stand-up MRI system. It allows greater flexibil-ity in scanning hard to capture and complex zones suchas the feet and hands. East Jefferson is the first hospitalin the region and the first public hospital in the DeepSouth to install the 3-T MRI, but Lobrano says it is agrowing trend.

“As time passes, it is certain that more will be installed,”said Lobrano. “It will become the new norm.”

Lobrano said the 3-T MRI was a tremendous invest-ment for the hospital when it was installed in October.The $3 million in funding for the magnets the systemuses was allocated months in advance. Even with all theuncertainty following Hurricane Katrina, the hospitaldecided to move forward. Lobrano said there was littledisagreement on whether to proceed with the pur-chase. The hospital had the facilities and the staff tohandle it; all that was needed was the new magnets. Shesaid everyone felt it was the right move to make.

Lobrano said since installing the 3-T MRI, EastJefferson has increased the volume of MRIs and increasedpatient satisfaction. Diagnoses are determined faster andmore accurately, and patients are in and out of the hospitalin much less time.

— Robin Shannon

Above: East Jefferson General Hospital neuroradiologist Dr. John Joslyn displays the 3-T MRI Imaging System, which is eight times fasterthan a regular open or stand-up MRI system.Below: radiology technologist Donna Hannan surveys the images of the patient inside the 3-T system.


I n n o v a t o r

East Jefferson General Hospital


A fter 15 years as an electricalengineer, Doug Favalora wantedto combine his technical skills

with creativity and entrepreneurship.As early as 2002,he began investigating

the development of kiosks to deliver valu-able information and resources to touristsin New Orleans.

In 2004 Favalora and his wife,Melinda, a certified public accountant,joined to form EzKee LLC, a companythat builds and maintains the virtualconcierge.

A multimedia machine that incorpo-rates audio and visual technology withan interactive user interface, the virtualconcierge offers tourists information onhotels, restaurants and attractions.

The Favaloras funded the creation ofEzKee with approximately $200,000 inresearch and development costs. Theoriginal tabletop model of the machinewas developed in about five months andincluded the help of graphical engineersand software designers.

“I had to have an outside manufactur-er provide me with the touch-screen partbut I actually bought a 30-inch screenand built the framework so I could testeverything,” he said. “It’s very high qual-ity with DVD-quality movies, graphicsand sounds.”

The virtual concierge features a largescreen, high-quality printer, telephoneand direct Internet access linking users to company Websites. Users can navigate the system via touch-screenmenus and find more information on hotels, attractionsand events. By visiting the screen of an advertiser, theycan find more information about the attraction, productor service, print a brochure or coupon, and make adirect call to the business.

High-quality graphics, DVD commercials and pre-sentations make it an interactive experience.

“They’re not just reading a bunch of text. It’s a visu-al and audio experience,” Favalora said. “The user canmake a call, visit a Web site, print and gather informationall from one machine.”

In search of funding, Favalora approached the NewOrleans Convention and Visitors Bureau and hospitali-ty industry and tourism officials. He is in negotiationswith state tourism officials and has received positiveresponse from those who expressed interest in puttingthe machines in information centers around the state.

“If you’ve ever been in one of those centers, there are1,000 brochures that can overwhelm you. I proposed thata machine could contain information broken down byregions.The whole concept is that it’s a virtual concierge,”he said.“It’s designed to be put in hotels and target touristsand guests. It’s available 24 hours a day and it’s fast, accu-

rate and unbiased.”The Favaloras have five machines

in hotels such as the Inn on Bourbon,Marriott Springhill Suites and LaQuinta on Camp Street. HurricaneKatrina caused some setbacks toinstalling the machines in otherhotels, but he hopes to have 10 inplace by the fall when the tourism sea-son starts. Goals include installing 25machines in the city by next year andanother 25 in state tourism offices andthe rest of the city.

Virtual concierge machines cost theuser or the hotel nothing, and advertising generatesrevenues, Favalora said. The machines will be placedin high-traffic areas with concentrations of touristsand visitors.

Favalora said the approximate cost to build andmaintain a machine is about $15,000.

“Only the advertiser pays to be there,” he said. “Itplays a loop and they can place messages and advertise-ments in real time such as daily specials and schedules.Everything is networked together so advertisers will beable to go to our Web site, enter the text they want, the

background, the images and broadcast it immediately.”Because the machines are all networked together,

Favalora can also collect data and track every hit theyget. This provides valuable information to both existingand potential advertisers. Reports will indicate howmany calls were made, how many ads and brochureswere printed and which Web pages were visited.

“It’s going to be similar to magazine advertising. I liketo think of it as an interactive souped-up magazine withaudio and video,” he said.

— Craig Guillot

I n n o v a t o r

EzKee LLC

Melinda and Doug Favalora, founders of EzKee LLC, display themultimedia tourist and visitor information machine in the middleof the Inn on Bourbon hotel.


Modern electronics and self-designed software have allowedG.T. Michelli Company Inc. to

develop a cost-effective way to weigh prod-ucts — one that reduces material waste andincreases production and profit for pro-cessing plants.

G.T. Michelli Company Inc. has beenselling and servicing scales, balances andweighing systems since 1947. The compa-ny represents more than 30 manufacturerssuch as Fairbanks Scales, Water Weightsand Avery Weigh Tronics, performing allscale and weighing-related technical serv-ices, including installations, calibrationchecks, servicing and design work.

The company reported $11 million inrevenue in 2005 and has averaged between$10 and $14 million the last five years,according to President G.T. Michelli Jr.

With 50 employees, G.T. Michelliheadquarters is in Harahan with officesin Mobile, Ala.; Pearl, Miss; Texarkana,Ark.; Baton Rouge; Bossier City;Monroe and Lake Charles.

G.T. Michelli Company, led by president G.T. Michelli Jr., has sold and serviced scales, balances and weighing systems since 1947.

I n n o v a t o r

G.T. Michelli Company Inc.

continued on page 16

ISO9001:2000 Registered

G.T. Michelli Co., Inc.CORPORATE OFFICE

130 BROOKHOLLOW • HARAHAN LA 70123

Ph: 504.733.9822 Fax: 504.734.0602Email: [email protected] Web: www.michelli.com

CUSTOM SOLUTIONS

• SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING DESIGN

• DATA COLLECTION / RFID

• IN-MOTION WEIGHING

• HIGH SPEED SORTING

• BULK MATERIAL HANDLING

STANDARD PRODUCTS

• TRUCK / RAILROAD SCALES

• FLOOR / TANK / BENCH SCALES

• LABORATORY BALANCES

• FORCE MEASUREMENT EQUIPMENT


Bench, postal, hanging,railroad track and livestockscales are a few of the prod-ucts the company sells andservices. It also sells dataacquisition and control sys-tems, force testing machinesand checkweighers.

Two of the company’s mostrecent innovations are theDurasort High Speed WeightSorter and the “Michelli”designed software that oper-ates the machine.

Durasort is a multi-func-tional machine that automati-cally weighs and classifiesproducts while in motion. Itwas designed for the fish,poultry and red-meat indus-tries and can sort 150 pieces ofproduct per minute.

According to Michelli, transferring theproduct to the machine is the only laborrequired. Conveyors were built over the scaleto transport it to various bins classified byweight.

“Today, in order to compete worldwide, youhave to do things fast and less expensive. You

want to handle the product verygently, very fast and you want tohandle it very accurately,” saidMichelli.

Michelli said Durasort helpedone company save $1 million lastyear by reducing the amount ofusable product discarded at pro-cessing plants and increasing theoverall yield.

Still there are challengeswhen dealing with a product ofthis type such as identifying away to make the machines con-veniently serviceable, Michellisaid. Durasort was made of steelwhen it was introduced in 2005and has since switched to poly-ethylene, a high-density productusually found it tubing andkitchenware.

Polyethylene makes themachine easier to repair andmodify. The need for easily

replaceable or repairable products is impera-tive to processing plants, which can lose mil-lions of dollars if they become inoperable orhave to shut down for even an hour due toequipment malfunction or breakdown, saidMichelli.

Michelli’s equipment is also manufactured in

the United States with U.S.-made parts. Thesoftware is designed to provide accurate statisticsduring the weighing process. It has 10,000 linesof code and enables plant processors to knowtheir costs while filling orders, said Michelli.

The software can also tell the number ofpieces weighed and how much product wentthrough in each classification.

“It is so good that we’ve installed equipmenteven in Alaska,” said Michelli.

To date, six Durasorts have been manufac-tured. According to Dave Barnet, manager ofoperations in Mississippi and Monroe, salesfor Durasort and the software exceeded $1million.

Barnett said the company has received bidsfrom European companies and has projectspending in Canada and Jamaica, the latter ofwhich is near closing.

According to Michelli, the company doesn’tspend much on marketing because of the mar-ket’s size and uniqueness. Additionally, prod-ucts are not easy to sell and Michelli Co. has toprove its product is more profitable than theprospective buyers’ current machinery.

Michelli said his sales team spends a lot oftime researching the wants of customers, whoseneeds rally around their own clientele.

“We’re solving a problem for the processingplant,” said Michelli.•

— Nayita Wilson


G.T. Michelli Company Inc.

“Today, in order to competeworldwide,you have to

do things fast and less

expensive.”G.T. Michelli Jr.

president,G.T. Michelli Company Inc.

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Every day, millions of people around the worldsearch the Web for anything from books and toys tomortgage rates and car loans.

Each time someone clicks an ad or a link, a searchengine collects a small amount of money.

This is exactly what Chris Schultz, president of NewOrleans-based Voodoo Ventures LLC, had in mind whenhe created the new search engine HuckaBuck.com.

Huckabuck.com works like most search engines butfeatures an innovative search tuner that users can use tocustomize search results.

HuckaBuck.com is a metasearch interface that takesthe words you type into its search box and queriesGoogle, Yahoo! and MSN simultaneously to deliverresults more relevant than those from a single engine.Presets offer optimal search settings for blog searches,metasearches, shopping and research.

“The graphical equalizer makes searching analogousto music and audio,” Schultz said. “This is the back-bone of our technology and really makes us differentfrom other metasearch engines.”

HuckaBuck.com is supported by advertising and pay-per-click ads similar to those on other search engines.Each click on an advertisement can bring anywhere from5 cents a click on the smaller ones up to $20 a click on bigkey words that net results for advertisers.

Schultz added an extra mission to HuckaBuck.com— help the relief and rebuilding effort by donating 10percent of the profits to Tipitina’s Foundation and the

Backbeat Foundation. He founded HuckaBuck.com aswhat he calls a “for-profit hybrid with a social initiative.”The site gets about 10,000 visitors and 30,000 searchesper month.

“Searching the Internet is something that people doevery day and every search on HuckaBuck.com givesmoney back to New Orleans,” he said. “One of thedefining parts in our business model is to help in therebuilding of the city.”

As the former president of travel companyDestination VIP,Schultz created Voodoo Ventures LLCin December 2004. Voodoo serves as an incubator ofideas such as HuckaBuck.com, many of which willbecome companies on their own.

Creating a metasearch engine was in the works wellbefore Hurricane Katrina but Schultz says the storm fur-thered his pursuit. The site went live via a “soft launch”in February but wasn’t heavily promoted until aroundjazz fest.

“In that time, we had a street team at the festival andadvertised in some local papers,” he said. “We even hada plane that flew around Jazz Fest and a text messagecampaign where people could text message a code andget a ring tone from Rebirth Brass Band. It created a lotof local awareness and buzz.”

While Schultz is trying to build hype,HuckaBuck.com is far from just a local product. Thesearch engine field is dominated by major players suchas Google, Yahoo and MSN but he says the company

can be successful on a fraction of the traffic because ofthe small business and cost infrastructure.Huckabuck.com employs Schultz, two employees inNew Orleans and six contractors out of Russia.

“While we’d love to compete on a large level, we canstill be very successful without achieving that,” Schultzsaid. “Search has been sort of the mainstay of the post-dot-com era. It’s been a very profitable segment of theInternet business.”

Schultz said he is a strong proponent of further devel-oping the Internet and technology business in NewOrleans. The former California resident said he camehere four years ago not just because of his love for thecity but because of the low start-up costs and stronginfrastructure.

Even post-Katrina, when many companies questiontheir ability to deal with more hurricanes, Schultz saidthe city is a great place to be. As Voodoo Ventures’ CBDoffice was inaccessible through Jan. 1, much of thedevelopment for HuckaBuck.com was conducted bydevelopers scattered in New Orleans, Baton Rouge andSchultz in North Carolina.

“In this field, you can still be based here and dobusiness all over the world. Even if you do have toevacuate, you can still keep in touch and conductbusiness,” he said. “We don’t have a storefront andwhile we’re a part of the community, we don’t dependon the city itself.”

— Craig Guillot

I n n o v a t o r

HuckaBuck.com

HuckaBuck.com president Chris Schultz, left, and marketing director Blake Killian, said the Web site has received 10,000 visitors and 30,000 searches per month.


International House owner Sean Cummings is not justenforcing a new hotel policy, he is delivering what hehopes is a life-changing message: “You’re beautiful.

We care. Please don’t.”Cummings, who brought New Orleans its first bou-

tique hotel in International House and its first loft hotelin Loft 523, has enforced “No smoking” policies at hishotels and hotel bars. As of Jan. 1, guests were chargeda fee of $200 if smoke was detected in their room.

“It’s a simple idea that everything we’re working onafter the storm is making New Orleans a city of world-class excellence and there is an opportunity we have toreally become this quintessentially,great boutique city inAmerica,”Cummings said.“Smoking is poisonous,poi-sonous to people around you and does not have a placein the world-class excellence that we focus on aroundhere.”

The message has become more than a policy, withglass pieces created by New Orleans artist MitchGaudet placed around the hotel, each with messagessuch as “One-half of all smokers will die from theirhabit.”

Employees wear “no smoking” T-shirts, andCummings has also spent $25,000 with TrumpetAdvertising to release a television and Internet publicservice announcement condemning smoking.

Cummings wrote the PSA, which will air this monthfeaturing actors Harvey Keitel, Bill Harper, PatrickReynolds and national television commentator JimMcLaughlin.

“We approached Trumpet and said, ‘We’re going tobring a celebrity component to our message,’ so we canget the word out and help maybe encourage otherbusinesses to do what we’re doing,” Cummings said.“We pride ourselves on being innovative, pushing thedesign bar and being the first hotel to establish a newconcept.

“There’s a serious message here and we try to do itwith an uncommon level of excellence, bringing in somecelebrities to get the message across and help peopleapply their craft with much greater excellence than theyhave in the past.”

Since the policy went into effect, Cummings saidthere have been 10 smoking fines among hotel guests.The International House has 82 of 119 rooms availableafter Hurricane Katrina,while Loft 523,consisting of 18lofts, was scheduled to reopen June 24.

Cummings said the feedback has been mostly posi-tive among guests, including some smokers, who under-stand they have to go outside if they wish to smoke.

“Some smokers have said when they go home,their clothes don’t smell and they don’t mind taking

it outside if they need to,” he said. “Many establish-ments don’t outlaw it because they’re afraid of push-ing away business.”

Cummings said they have also introduced a specialhotel package called “Kicking Butt,” which contains agrab bag of items such as Nicorette gum or an appoint-ment with a hypnotist.

Cummings said he is unaware of any other non-smoking hotels in New Orleans, but some nationalhotels are banning smoking.

As of Jan. 1, Westin Hotels and Resorts bannedsmoking in all rooms, restaurants, bars and public areasat its 77 United States, Canadian and Caribbean prop-erties. Also, about 80 percent of the 28 lodgings inCalifornia’s Joie de Vivre boutique-hotel chain aresmoke free,and the Napa Valley Lodge in California alsobanned smoking.

“The trend is starting to come to fruition, and atthe core, our business is a boutique hotel and we takethat very seriously,” Cummings said. “We believe thatgreat companies, like great cities, have one thing incommon: They stand for something. It’s about howwe run our business and that we have a voice, andpart of that is to heighten and elevate our levels ofconduct.”

— Tommy Santora

Sean Cummings, owner of International House and Loft 523, has enforced a “No smoking” policy in his hotels and hotel bars.

I n n o v a t o r

International House


I n n o v a t o r

Intradel Corp.

ANew Orleans-based multifamilydevelopment services firm hasinvented a Web portal and market-

ing site to connect property managers withapartment seekers and existing tenants.

Intradel Corp.,founded in 1993,has intro-duced 365 Connect.com, an online resourcefor apartment managers and owners.

“We’ve seen a great deal of residents com-ing through the Internet. It’s a huge thingnow,” said Intradel CEO Kerry Kirby.

“Lots of people shop online for apart-ments. The average age of a renter is about31, so they’re generally Internet and tech-savvy people and we’ve created a new wayfor them to do business.”

In multifamily developments such as gar-den apartments, urban lofts and mixed-usehousing communities, Intradel providesacquisition/disposition, construction man-agement, structured finance and technologysystems applications from the time of marketidentification to project completion.

Market research is implemented prior to

continued on page 20 Intradel Corp. employees, bottom row from left: Ryan Kirby, president/CEO Kerry Kirby and Chief Information Officer Jack Reiner. Back row: JacqueleneSteele, Billy George and Ashley Cook.

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the entrance of any market toevaluate the need for addition-al housing in the community.Once the market is identified,site analysis is conducted toidentify the optimum locationfor the project.

Once the property andlocation are determined,Intradel finds the best avail-able method of financing toavoid liabilities and maximizereturns. While development isunder way, Intradel marketsthe project through interactivecommunications with poten-tial residents to maximize theproject’s occupancy andreduce financial exposure.

The 365 Connect conceptwas first used at White Rock Apartment Homesin San Antonio, Texas. Built in 2002 by Intradel,the property features 336 units. When the com-munity began taking leases, they found that forevery phone call they received, 20 people visitedthe Web site. White Rock received more than200 reservations through the Web site alone.Prospective tenants can view floor plans and fileapplications online. The easy format allowsproperty managers to access the back end of the

site and change things like rentalrates and office hours.

“We knew we were onto some-thing and we wanted to find a wayto service these people throughthe Internet after they becameresidents,” Kirby said. “We hadalready been slowly providingmore services online throughIntradel and expanded it.”

While the 365 Connect portaloffers a variety of services forproperty managers, it is a goldmine of amenities and conven-iences for tenants. They can payrent and utility bills, post com-munity notes, request mainte-nance and reserve amenities.Direct feeds provide local newsand weather and communitynewsletters can be viewed on thesite. There is even a game zone,

homework help for school children, communi-ty polls, a search box and more than 200resources including where to get a driver’slicense. It is a virtual self-service center thatoffers access to the office and communityaround the clock, Kirby said.

“It’s huge and brings so many services andamenities to residents,” he said. “We originallystarted it as a system where we could interactwith the residents a little more.”

365 Connect is now in its fourth version andnew technologies, ideas and concepts ensure thatthe portal will be in a constant state of growth andevolution, Kirby said. The company now serves10,000 units in more than 40 properties aroundthe United States. Through a reseller relation-ship with Alliance Data — a company that pro-vides utility services to more than 200,000 units— Kirby expects to see a significant increase inusers of the portal.

“It’s a great tool,” said White Rock propertymanager Donna Carraghan. “For the residents, itmeans having access to the office 24 hours a day.For the property, it gives us the ability to do masse-mails, post alerts and keep in touch with theresidents.” White Rock has been using the serv-ice for three years.

The Resident Services Portal is so loaded withresources that it was recently approved by aTexas housing authority as a resident serviceprovider for affordable housing communities. Itis the first online service to appear on a housingagency’s compliance form in the U.S.

Kirby said the service could be a strong tool inthe maintenance and rebirth of affordable rentalhousing in the New Orleans area.

“Think about when a hurricane is coming andyou’ve got 700 residents,” he said. “It’s a greatcommunication tool and in an unfortunate envi-ronment as well as everyday business, it’s a vitalresource.”

— Craig Guillot


Intradel Corp.

“It’s huge

and brings

so many

services and

amenities

to residents.”Kerry Kirby

CEO,Intradel Corp.

GOOD NEWS IS WORTH REPEATING!A S S E E N I N

T H E B U S I N E S S N E W S PA P E R O F M E T R O N E W O R L E A N S J U N E 2 0 , 2 0 0 5

ByTerry O’Connor

Editor

NINETEEN OF THE 22 publicly

traded New Orleans-area businesses

turned a profit in 2004, including a

tidy double-digit percentage net

income increase in 10 cases.

On the surface, the overall per-

formance is even more

impressive than in 2003

when 16 of 22 public

companies were in the

black.But one publicly

held New Orleans com-

pany has already been

sold and the possibility

exists that four more could lose their

financial footing as a New Orleans

business in 2005.

At least three New Orleans-area

public companies could be lost to

bankruptcy this year. Torch Offshore

Inc. of Gretna has already filed, OCA

of Metairie has been unable to recon-

cile its books and analysts say it may

be forced to file soon and Trico

Marine Services of Houma is emerg-

ing from bankruptcy.

A solid performer, Sizeler

Property Investors Inc. of Kenner, is

embroiled in a bitter proxy fight with

First Union Real Estate Equity and

Mortgage Investments of Boston.

Sizeler’s $16.36 million in 2004 net

income apparently isn’t enough for

the Boston investors.

There are many success stories,

too. Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. of

Houma posted its 17th consecutive

profitable year. McMoRan

Exploration of New Orleans, Globe

Bancorp Inc. of Metairie and Bayou

Steel Corp. of LaPlace all increased

company revenues 60 percent or

more. Entergy, the lone Fortune 500

company headquartered in New

Orleans, remains the top per-

former by far in the business sec-

tor. Its revenues totaled $10.1

billion in 2004, up 10.1 percent

from $9.2 billion in 2003. But

net income dipped 1.9 percent

to $909,524 from $950.5 mil-

lion in 2003.

Details of these stories are con-

tained in the 20-page CityBusiness

report on the Top Public Companies

in the New Orleans area beginning

on page 26.•

special focus

Precarious finances afflict top N.O. interests

Top five revenue gains

Company Percentage

McMoRan Exploration 85.2

Globe Bancorp Inc. 71.5

Bayou Steel Corp. 60.2

Energy Partners Ltd. 28.2

Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. 19.4

Top five revenue declines

Company Percentage

Torch Offshore Inc. 21.4

McDermott International Inc. 17.7

Gulf Island Fabrication Inc. 14.6

Trico Marine Services Inc. 8.9

GS Financial Corp. 4.2

T o p P u b l i c C o m p a n i e s

Roger Johnson operates the

furnace for Bayou Steel Corp.

Wayne Bollinger

reviews projects for

Newpark Resources.

PH

OT

OS

BY

CH

ER

YL

GE

RB

ER

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IsoBreathing is a fitness program that combines iso-metrics, a muscle contraction in which the tensionincreases but the muscle length stays the same, with

slow rhythmic breathing.“The program teaches people how to work out while

brushing teeth, sitting in a car or sitting at a desk,” saidEllen Miller, a teacher of fitness and lifestyle changes for20 years, and creator of the IsoBreathing technique in2004. “It shows people you can be dressed in a businesssuit and still get a workout.”

Miller said IsoBreathing is different than any otherprogram because the movements are simple and theresults are almost instant. There is no breath holdingand the breathing portion of IsoBreathing deliversoxygen to every part of the body being exercised.

“Within one week, you start to feel energized, youbuild strength, you lose weight and reduce stress,” saidMiller.

In the IsoBreathing program, exercises and stretchesare done once a day and take between 10 and 15 min-utes. The breathing portion is practiced five times a dayand can be done when reading, shopping, cleaning,watching television or sitting down to relax.

Miller said 75 percent of her clients need to lose any-where from 35 pounds on up, and from that group,

more than half need to lose more than 100 pounds.Miller said she first tried the program out herself, and

lost 4.5 inches off her waist in the first week. She thentried it on her family and clients she was already work-ing with and got the same results.

“I have not had a client yet that has not obtainedresults,” said Miller. “Consistency makes the productwork.”

Miller said the basic premise of the program came toher while teaching aerobics. She found her clients wereoften getting into a faster rhythm while working out, andshe wanted to get them back to a slow-moving exerciseprogram. So she decided to begin teaching the slower,more basic isometric exercises. She also said many ofher clients were not breathing properly during exerciseand not getting enough oxygen to the working muscles.She said rhythmic breathing — slower inhaling andexhaling — helps fuel muscles with oxygen so the work-out is more efficient.

Miller said the program is also good for people whosuffer from various ailments such as bad knees,fibromyalgia and arthritis, and helps people goingthrough chemotherapy. She said it is valuable to asthmapatients as a way to keep the affliction under control.

“I have one client who has dramatically reduced her

dependence on her inhaler because of the program,”said Miller.

After finding success with clients, Miller decided toproduce a DVD about the program, which she hassold across the country. She was in the middle of work-ing on a second DVD when Hurricane Katrina struck.Hampered by the storm but not totally out of luck,Miller received help from an unexpected place.

“My son actually came to me and explained thatone of his high school classes was looking for a proj-ect,” said Miller. “He pitched the idea of producingmy second DVD to his teacher and they decided togo with it.”

Miller said her son’s class at Fontainebleau HighSchool produced the second DVD and three more afterthat with a portion of the proceeds going back to thehigh school. She is also working with a vendor to dis-tribute the DVDs and produce them nationally.

Miller said the program is appealing because it is sosimple and just about anyone can do it anywhere. Shesaid there is no equipment involved and you don’t haveto work out regularly.

“If you can breathe and you can sit,” said Miller.“IsoBreathing will get you fit.”

— Robin Shannon

IsoBreathing founder Ellen Miller helps Ann Moisant with an exercise. Miller has sold more than 800 versions of her IsoBreathing DVD, which went on sale two years ago. She released her second DVD in March,which sold 100 versions.

I n n o v a t o r

IsoBreathing Inc.


After Hurricane Katrina created a flood of

problems for clients, the Jones Walker law

firm Disaster Recovery Client Team did its

best to meet their needs as quickly as possible in a

time of chaos.

Less than a week after the flooding, a group at

Jones Walker came up with taking a team approach to

assisting clients with the environment’s unique chal-

lenges.

“We knew our clients had different issues popping

up in areas that were within our traditional strengths,”

said Marshall Page, Jones Walker Disaster Recovery

Client Team leader.

With offices in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Houston,

Miami and Washington, D.C., Jones Walker remained

operational despite the devastation in New Orleans.

Members of the team quickly began researching areas of

law relating to Katrina issues such as distribution of

Federal Emergency Management Agency funds.

“This group tried to outline what our clients would

encounter before they had a problem. Answering the

question before the question arises,” said Page.

One of the team’s primary efforts was to send out e-

mails, sometimes several in a week, to its client list

about Katrina-related issues. Topics ranged from tax

relief and mold remediation to hiring contractors and

disaster aid deadlines. “Whenever we ran into an issue

with one client, we sent an e-mail to our other clients

about that topic, thinking they might have similar

issues,” said Page.

In doing so, Jones Walker preemptively solved many

problems for clients pro bono since they were not billed

for the e-bulletins.

Jones Walker’s business clients had employees scat-

tered all over during September, and the Disaster

Recovery Client Team conducted seminars on issues

such as how to file for insurance claims, what FEMA

and Small Business Administration assistance was avail-

able, and how to file for personal bankruptcy.

Now that many of the initial storm issues have been

addressed, the team is focusing primarily on insurance

work on behalf of the insured. A Gulf Opportunity

Zone Client Team has been formed to help businesses

work with recent tax incentives.

Page was part of the group that conceived the

Disaster Recovery Client Team, but he is quick to

emphasize it was — and still is — a massive collaborative

effort.

“What makes the client team a little unusual is that

there was a terrific group of lawyers, a terrific marketing

group and a terrific technology group all working

together. To be able to get the e-bulletins out required a

lot of work from a lot of people,” said Page.

The team included lawyers working around the

country from Houston to Nashville to Washington,

D.C.,who were influential in getting recovery legislation

passed to aid citizens and businesses.

Chris Johnson, a partner in Jones Walker’s

Washington office and a firm board member, credits the

Livingston Group lobbying firm and Louisiana’s con-

gressional delegation with ushering measures through

the House and Senate.

According to Johnson, the team’s D.C. role was as

an intermediary between Louisiana businesses that

needed assistance and Congress. “We helped

Louisiana groups shape their message and put them

in touch with the right people to hear their message,”

said Johnson.

— Fritz Esker

The Jones Walker Disaster Client Recovery Team includes, from left: Allen E. Frederic III, Edward H. Bergin, Vanessa W. Servat, J. MarshallPage III, Shelley L. Poore, Christopher S. Mann, Jennifer L. Anderson and Covert J. Geary.

I n n o v a t o r

Jones Walker

JPMorgan Chase, a New York-based full-service provider ofcash management, trade finance and treasury solutions,introduced a technological advancement to speed up elec-

tronic check deposits for businesses, and the innovation isbranching out to help New Orleans business owners.

Image Deposit Direct uses image-capture technology to elec-tronically reproduce any check delivered through the mail,dropped off or presented in person, and it deposits the checkselectronically with the bank.

“Image Deposit Direct allows our clients to significantlyimprove their revenue stream by having faster availability of theirfunds, while minimizing costs associated with traditional paper-based check deposit processes,” said Craig Vaream, vice presidentand domestic check deposits senior product manager for the treas-ury services unit. “As the nation’s second-largest check processorand the largest U.S. dollar clearer in the world, JPMorgan Chaseremains committed to being at the forefront of image-capture tech-nology, so we can meet our clients’ evolving business needs.”

Diane Luccia, vice president of treasury management servicesfor JPMorgan Chase’s New Orleans branch, said the technologyuses windows-based PC software and compact check scannerequipment that allows clients to scan checks from any geographic

location and transmit the images to one central account or multipleaccounts for electronic deposit.

“The captured images are then stored in an Internet-basedimage archive that makes source documents available online,” saidLuccia. “Images can be searched and retrieved through a secureWeb browser, streamlining the account research and customerservice process.”

Luccia said the key benefits of Image Deposit Direct are that ithas streamlined the check deposit process with desktop image cap-ture, and it has reduced administrative expenses and trips to thebank and eliminated the costs of couriers transporting checks.

Clients avoid fees associated with maintaining accounts at mul-tiple banks, and their availability to funds has been greatly acceler-ated.

Luccia said balance reports can now show funds have arrived inclients’ accounts the same day they were deposited. JPMorganChase has invested more than $100 million nationwide in imagecheck technology, and deployed check scanners at more than1,800 branches, said Luccia.

JPMorgan Chase has assets of $1.3 trillion and operations inmore than 50 countries.

— Robin Shannon

Anne Kratzer, vice president and senior relationship manager in small business banking at JPMorgan Chase, advises Quality Wholesale and Supply distribution manager Garrett Monti on the Image Direct Depositsoftware.


I n n o v a t o r

JPMorgan Chase

“Images can be

searched and

retrieved through

a secure Web

browser.”Diane Luccia

Vice president of treasury management services,

JPMorgan Chase/New Orleans branch


Just Scratch It! is a company thatdoes exactly that. The trademarkedbusiness designs and creates ultra-

violet-based, scratch-off tickets for cor-porations looking to give away promo-tional items.

Brian Mirich, a veteran of sportinggoods retail sales, started the businessafter coming across a “scratcher”developed by his longtime friend anddesigner for one of his sporting goodsclients.

“The scratcher was amazing both indesign and feel,” said Mirich’s NewOrleans partner Mark Bloom. “At thatmoment Brian knew it would be a greatbusiness concept, and a week later hehad coined the new business ‘JustScratch It!’ and designed a logo.”

Bloom said Mirich sold his sportinggoods business after 15 years in order toobtain the capital needed to start JustScratch It!

Bloom said every scratch-off item iscustomized and designed specificallyfor clients, and take about six weeks toproduce.

“For years people just scratched ablank silver circle. Now they scratch ashape with the clients’ logo, symbol orimage to help promote their message.”

Just Scratch It! uses an ultraviolet-based, scratch-off process, whichincludes printing a UV-black layer ontop of scratch-off areas. It is an expen-sive process that uses four-color andUV printing equipment costing wellinto six figures.

Bloom said the company recentlypartnered with a printer and coater tohelp reduce its initial investment andoverhead. The company plans to investin its own state-of-the-art UV coater soproduction and operations can be doneunder one roof.

Bloom said Mirich brought the com-pany to the New Orleans area afterHurricane Katrina as a way to help theeconomy regain its footing.

“(Brian) called me post-Katrina to askhow he could contribute to the reliefefforts,” said Bloom. “I explained the

Just Scratch It! partner Mark Bloom said the company has produced scratch-off tickets for 15New Orleans companies since bringing the product to the city post-Katrina.

I n n o v a t o r

Just Scratch It!

continued on page 26

For more information email: [email protected]

www.neworleanscitybusiness.com

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physical devastation but even moreso the economic setback suffered bymany of the businesses in NewOrleans. I explained that JustScratch It! could not only help busi-nesses post-Katrina bring customersback, but also make them feel likethey won.

“I felt it was a great way to forgetabout day-to-day issues of credi-tors, insurance companies, con-tractors and all the stresses associ-ated with post-Katrina NewOrleans. Brian agreed, and we bothset out to revive the communityand lift some spirits.”

Bloom says the Just Scratch It!concept has been successful withhundreds of clients throughoutthe United States, includingStaples, Chevron, Cold StoneCreamery and Sneakers Pub andGrill. Since moving to New Orleans, JustScratch It! has served about 15 companies inthe metro area, including Planet Beach. TheMarrero-based tanning salon is using ascratch-off ticket to give away promotionalprizes as part of gift bags for the Manning

Passing Academy.Bloom says there is no challenge to keep

Just Scratch It! in the market. “It has massiveappeal and unlimited value. The trick, howev-er, is getting businesses to understand thatvalue,” he said.

“The main purpose of the scratcher is toincrease revenue and business, not just givingaway free stuff,” said Bloom. “Once they havesuccess, the re-orders are automatic because thescratchers pay for themselves.”

— Robin Shannon


Chevron is among the nationwide clients of Just Scratch It!

Just Scratch It!

Visit the online store at www.bcbsla.com

to shop for Our Home, Louisiana gear.

Net proceeds go to fund disaster relief.

SHOW YOUR LOUISIANA PRIDE and benefit disaster relief efforts.

01MK2607 6/06

A fter looking over the damage in the New Orleansarea caused by Hurricane Katrina, officials withKB Home and The Shaw Group decided to

bring people back to the area and to spur growth.Their 50-50 joint venture, KB Home/Shaw

Louisiana LLC, is building between 9,000 and 12,000homes in the area over the next five to 10 years, saidSteve Davis, division president of KB Home Gulf Coast.

In March, the partners signed a contract with HRIProperties Inc. of New Orleans to build 15 residencesfor HRI in River Garden, a residential community nearthe Garden District in the former St. Thomas HousingProject neighborhood.

They will construct homes on lots owned by HRI tobe marketed by the Housing Authority of New Orleansand HRI to buyers who meet strict criteria, with prefer-ence given to former residents of the St. Thomas hous-ing facility and first-time homeowners. The homes areexpected to cost approximately $130,000 to $140,000.

In a separate agreement, KB Home and The ShawGroup will buy approximately 60 residential lots fromHRI in the same River Garden area. These residenceswill be priced at the market rate, approximately$280,000 to $450,000.

Founded in 1957, Los Angeles-based KB Home is aFortune 500 public company with $1.64 billion inannual revenue. KB Home has built homes across thecountry and has a publicly traded French subsidiary.

The Shaw Group is a global provider of technology,engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance,

fabrication, manufacturing, consulting, remediation,and facilities management services for government andprivate sector clients in the infrastructure and emer-gency response markets. The company has more than$3 billion in annual revenue and is headquartered inBaton Rouge. It is also a publicly traded company andoperates in North America, South America, the MiddleEast, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.

“We’re a Louisiana company, Louisiana born,Louisiana bred,” said David Landers, president of ShawHome Louisiana. “We just felt like we needed to do ourpart to rebuild our state.”

By working with the Shaw Group to build housing,Davis said the joint venture will help revive the city andboost morale by providing tangible development andgrowth. He said New Orleans-area residents are con-fronted daily by the environmental stress of destructionand slow recovery. New houses and developments willhelp provide hope for the future, he said.

“New Orleans people have a zeal when it comesdown to a love of life,” Davis said.

The company is also looking to build homes wherepeople can have 15-minute commutes to work in thecity, Davis said.

“I’d like to offer a house at all price points and not justat the highest level,” Davis said.

Davis, a New Orleans native, said he lived out of townfor more than 20 years but decided to move back to theNew Orleans area to live.

“I bought a house here and moved in January to Old

Metairie,” Davis said, adding that all of his senior-levelteam members have established their homes in thegreater New Orleans area.

Landers said after The Shaw Group pumped thewater out of New Orleans after the storm, company offi-cials began to look for other ways to help.

“It’s just heartfelt for us. Many Shaw employees wereaffected by the storm,” Landers said.

The joint venture will also develop land on the WestBank, the North Shore and LaPlace, as well as buildhomes on available land in New Orleans, Davis said.

“That’s the quickest way I think we can help the peo-ple in New Orleans,” Davis said. “We believe in the city.Not only are we creating employment. We’re buildinghouses and putting people to work.”

Davis said he hopes building new housing will alsoinspire more businesses to come back to the area anddraw new businesses to come to the New Orleans area.

Steve Dwyer, an attorney with Dwyer & Cambre,represents the land seller, Churchill Farms Inc.

“What has really impressed me is the fact that KBHome and Shaw have brought a huge number of pro-fessional builders and planners into the area toensure it would be a model development,” Dwyersaid. “It will be a force in this community for yearsand years to come.

“We’ve always thought the redevelopment of NewOrleans is a chicken-and-egg situation. The workerscan’t come back without housing.”

— Elizabeth Stuart

I n n o v a t o r

KB Home/The Shaw Group

KB Home Gulf Coast Region President Steve Davis, left, and New Orleans Executive Vice President David Buck in front of a model home being constructed on St. Andrew Street in the River Garden.


I n n o v a t o r

LuMunn LLC

F ounders of LuMunn LLC started up their compa-ny after following the saying, “Give a lazy person ahard job and they will find the easiest way to get it

done.”About eight years ago, John R. Munn II grew tired of

chasing his sons around to get them to hold open bagsfor yard debris on their half acre of land in BatonRouge. He saw a device in a hardware store that helpedhold bags open but it was not easy to handle and wouldtear the bag.

After experimenting with a few different models,Munn finished his first prototype using PVC sheets andcalled it the KwicKan.

Munn said LuMunn, based in New Orleans, pro-duces KwicKan and has sold between 10,000 and15,000 in the past eight years. The suggested retailprice of each KwicKan is $14.95, Munn said. The firstKwicKan cost $30 to produce, he said.

KwicKans are made of ABS, a durable plastic, and canhold open most 33- to 55-gallon bags, Munn said. Thecompany, run by Munn and his business partner BaladTebo II, purchases the plastic out of Ohio and has it diecut and printed.

“There are other products like ours out there butthey’re flimsy, hard to use or have clips,” Munn said.

Now a North Shore resident, Munn said he uses hisinvention every time he must fill a garbage bag.

“It’s truly user friendly,” Munn said.John Ellinghausen, Munn’s customer and attorney,

said once he started using Munn’s creation, yard workbecame easier.

“All my neighbors have them now. This thing is justperfect. It has handles on it that you squeeze and then slipit in the bag,” Ellinghausen said.

The KwicKan has also been used in hurricane debriscleanup. LuMunn donated 100 KwicKans to KatrinaKrewe, a nonprofit dedicated to cleaning major thor-oughfares and to immediate storm relief cleaning inOrleans Parish in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

“The KwicKan saved us that one step (holding bagsopen), and it makes the cleanup easier. They’re extreme-ly helpful in any type of cleanup,” said Becky Zaheri,founder and president of Katrina Krewe.

With the KwicKan, volunteers could share one bagand more efficiently clear debris, she said.

“Everybody loved them. A lot of the volunteers askedwhere they could get one for their personal use,”Zaheri said.The organization continues to use the device.

Munn said the biggest challenge he and his businesspartner face is improving the product’s marketing.LuMunn markets the KwicKan primarily by using word-of-mouth and through Internet sales. In the New Orleansmetro area, Jefferson Feed, Pet and Garden Center andsome other stores sell the KwicKan.

The city of Marianna,Fla.,and the University of SouthCarolina have ordered KwicKans, Munn said. StokesSeed Catalog has also ordered, he said. LuMunn is fol-lowing up on leads in Germany, the United Kingdom andin Canada, he said.

Munn said he recently attended a national hardwareshow in Los Angeles to show his product and is workingon producing a show to advertise the KwicKan on theQVC television shopping network.

— Elizabeth Stuart28A 2006 Innovator of the Year

John Munn, left, and Balad Tebo, founders of LuMunn LLC, showcase their KwicKan product. They have sold approximately 15,000 units in thepast eight years.


Ochsner Health System is at the forefront of med-ical technology advances with its daVinciRobotic System, which allows physicians to

perform intricate operations through smaller incisions,improving patient recovery times with less pain.

In robotic surgery, the surgeon is seated at a console afew feet away from the patient. The surgeon sees a 3-Dimage of the surgical field while operating through tinyincisions made with small diameter instruments. Theinstruments replicate the exact movements of the sur-geon’s hands and wrists.

In laproscopic surgery, tiny incisions are made in thepatient’s body and instruments are inserted to performthe operation. Previously, such surgeries would involvetwo-dimensional images broadcast to the surgeon on theequivalent of a television screen and the surgeon operat-ing with an 18-inch stick.

The daVinci Robotic System has a much stronger cam-era system that allows 10 times the image magnification.Two cameras are used to give the surgeon a 3-D image.

“You get normal vision. You can tell when some-thing’s far away and when something’s close,” said Dr.Stephen Bardot, Ochsner Department of Urology chair-man. “It’s a vast improvement over the old one, whichprovided no sense of real depth.”

The surgeon’s hands are strapped to an armature,and instruments inside the patient duplicate the sur-geon’s hand movements to an exact degree. “It’s likea ‘Mini-Me’ version of yourself,” said Bardot. There isno time delay between a surgeon’s movements andthe corresponding movement of the instrumentsinside the patient. After a while, “you forget that it’snot you.”

The only challenge the system poses is the surgeoncannot use his sense of touch and mechanical instru-ments are actually making physical contact with thepatient. “What is challenging to learn is that you don’thave your normal sense of touch. There’s no tactile feed-back and you have to use your eyes more,” said Bardot.

A huge advantage the daVinci Robotic System hasover previous devices is the smaller incisions, saidBardot. The surgical wrists/hands are 8 millimeterswide, which “allows for very delicate surgery withoutputting your hand in.”

Because of smaller incisions, there is less blood, scar-ring and recovery time in the hospital.

“You go home faster and resume your normal lifemore rapidly,” said Bardot.

Ochsner Health System has been using thedaVinci Robotic System since January 2005. One

device is at the main campus in Jefferson Parish andanother at facility in Baton Rouge. It is used for anumber of purposes, including hysterectomies andother gynecological work and fixing congenitallyobstructed kidneys.

Its primary purpose is to remove tumors frompatients with prostate cancer. According to Bardot,approximately 80 percent of the daVinci’s use is onprostate cancer patients.

For these patients, the quick recovery the daVincienables is a godsend. “You’re glad the cancer is out, butyou want to see them get back to their normal life quick-er,” said Bardot. He said prostate cancer patients are ableto go home, back to work and recover quicker.

Ochsner is also the first hospital in the region toobtain the “fourth arm” of the daVinci Robotic System.The original system had three arms — one for the cam-era and two for the surgeon’s hands. The fourth armgives the surgeons three hands to work with. “You canassist yourself,” said Bardot.

Bardot said eventually an additional daVinci will beneeded at Ochsner’s main campus. “Five more surgeonsare starting to use it and within two years, we may needa second one.”

— Fritz Esker

Dr. Stephen Bardot, Ochsner Health System Department of Urology chairman, demonstrates the daVinci Robotic System, which allows physicians to perform operations through smaller incisions and also reduces patientrecovery times.

I n n o v a t o r

Ochsner Health System


PreSonus Audio Electronics CEO JimOdom said the best innovations comefrom knowing your products and mar-

ket and using your products in your marketto see what needs to be developed next.

“If I was a video game maker CEO, Iwould want a bunch of 17-year-olds comingup with my next product idea,” Odom said.

“They’re involved and they know what’sgoing on. ...

“That’s why we have had so much successhere. We’re all musicians and we’re all avid,recording musicians, so we use all of ourproducts, and therefore the innovations neverstop.”

Baton Rouge-based PreSonus AudioElectronics, founded by Odom in 1995, hasdesigned, manufactured and introduced 20audio products into the music recording mar-ketplace for recording and live sound.

Their innovations helped steer the compa-ny to $17 million in revenue in 2005, a 100percent jump from 2004. Odom said he proj-ects 35 percent growth in revenue in 2006.

PreSonus, which has 65 employees andoffices in Baton Rouge and Los Angeles, sellsto 800 dealers across the United States likeGuitar Center, Best Buy and Apple, and to 44different countries, including France,Germany, Canada and Australia. The compa-ny manufactures more than 80 percent of itsproducts in southern China.

Odom founded PreSonus after spendingmore than 10 years as a musician, producerand engineer and also earning a doubledegree in electrical engineering and comput-er engineering at Louisiana State University.

Odom is credited with two Recording IndustryAssociation of America — certified gold records, onecertified platinum record, along with two AmpexGolden Reel Awards.

Odom worked on the soundtrack for “DirtyDancing” and “National Lampoon’s EuropeanVacation” and co-produced and played guitar on thesong, “Where Were You Tonight,” by Tom Johnson.

Odom received his first electric guitar at age 10 andwhen he was 17, Downbeat Magazine named him “BestUp and Coming Jazz Guitarist in America.”

The recognition earned Odom a scholarship toBerklee School of Music in Boston. Odom finished hisguitar studies at Loyola University New Orleans, and inthe mid-1980s, moved back to Baton Rouge to build hisfirst recording studio in a barn behind his parents’house.

In 1982, Odom became lead guitarist for LouisianaLeRoux, a band he still plays in. The band has openedfor Journey, The Doobie Brothers, Ozzy Osborne andREO Speedwagon.

“It’s rare you have a CEO of a company who is that

in tune with the market that he actually is a main part ofthe market,” said Brad Zell, director of marketing forPreSonus.

PreSonus audio products include firewire computerinterfaces, preamplifiers, compressors and equalizers.

The first product for PreSonus was a revolution-ary digitally controlled stereo compressor called theDCP8, which won a patent for digital control of ana-log circuits.

The company’s two best-selling products are theirmost recent.

The $600 Firepod, a PreSonus product introducedin 2004, has surpassed the 50,000-sold mark, while the$300 Firebox, released in 2005, has reached the sameselling plateau.

The Firepod is a 10-channel, computer-recordinginterface that includes eight microphone preamplifiers.Odom said the product was developed to solve theproblem of getting multiple audio channels into a com-puter, which takes all the inputs from the microphones,records them and allows the user to make a CD of themixed music.

The companion product, Firebox, has the same con-cept, only smaller and more portable “to put in your

backpack and record your kids’ show or theater per-formance.”

“You don’t have to open up the computer or connecta card to different external boxes,” Odom said. “Withthese products, you just hook one box up to the com-puter.”

Odom thought of the Firepod product when he waslooking for a studio solution for his high school-agedson, Jordan, who also plays in a band. The productsOdom was going to buy cost more than $2,000.

“So I came up with a portable device to collect all thevarious channels of a live performance and translatethem into a computer,” Odom said.

PreSonus’ competitors include major companiessuch as Avid Technology, Harman Music Group andYamaha, and Odom said to stay competitive in themusic recording business, a firm has to be multi-dimensional.

“You got to have the technical side down then under-stand the customer better. Your marketing of the newtechnology has to be perfect and the pricing has to becompetitive,” Odom said. “You can never rest on yourlast innovation. If you’re stagnant, you get run over.”

— Tommy Santora

PreSonus Audio Electronics CEO Jim Odom, standing, consults with employees Elizabeth Beard and Vu Nguyen.

I n n o v a t o r

PreSonus Audio Electronics


When anthrax was discovered on Capitol Hillin 2001, Sabre Technical Services PresidentJohn Mason was called in to find a way to

remove the threat and sterilize all affected areas.At that point, the sterilization of an entire building

seemed like an impossible challenge. In order for it to beeffective, not a single spore of the acute infectious dis-ease could be left.

“Chlorine dioxide was the only real choice. It hadn’tbeen used as a gas before but we needed an effectivesporicide and biocide that would kill in porous sur-faces,” said Sabre spokeswoman Karen Cavanaugh.“And of course, it had to be something that wouldn’tmake the building any more toxic than it already was.”

Sabre’s work with the government included the fumi-gation and sterilization of multiple buildings on CapitolHill and postal facilities in Washington, D.C., and NewJersey. By the conclusion of the fumigation, Sabre hadbecome the Capitol Hill emergency response team andturned to buildings with mold infestations.

Mold fumigation and drills kept Sabre busy through2005. But when Hurricane Katrina struck, the companyused its unique chlorine dioxide treatment in reliefefforts on the Gulf Coast. Since the storm it has fumi-gated a number of government and commercial build-ings including a post office, the Job Corps building onAirline Drive, a bank, restaurant on Decatur Street, achurch and a plantation home in St. Bernard Parish.

“Every meeting we went to, people would pull usaside and ask if we could do their house,” Cavanaughsaid. “It was never on the horizon for a person to gettheir house fumigated but as we’ve got more teams onthe ground, we’ve been able to make it more efficient.”

Since receiving Environmental Protection Agencyauthorization to use the process on residences, Sabrehas fumigated about 100 homes in the area but antici-pates a surge in business as more people discover theservice. Prices are fairly standard and run about $6.50 asquare foot for a gutted structure to $8 a square footwithout contents and $9 a square foot with contents.

Many buildings contaminated by mold requireextensive renovations and in many cases, it’s cheaperjust to demolish and rebuild. The fumigation andremoval of mold by chlorine dioxide can often be donewithout gutting or removing contents.

“When we sterilize for mold, we treat at the samelevel for anthrax.The mold, the smell, the filth is all gonein one day. When you fumigate like this, you don’t evenhave to gut or remove materials,” Cavanaugh said.

A typical Sabre fumigation involves a six- to eight-person team. The entire house or building is coveredwith a massive tent and the chlorine dioxide gas is madeon-site with a special generator. The gas is circulatedthrough the building for three to four hours and kept atthe correct consistent levels by taking measurementsand samples every 30 minutes. Homeowners are essen-tially getting the same service the company providesresponding to a federal emergency.

“It’s not like termite fumigation where we just put gasin and wait. There’s a steady state it needs to hit andthat’s how it penetrates into all the inside spaces. We put

spore strips everywhere — in the furniture, in the walls,in the insulation — and make sure that not a single sporeis left,” Cavanaugh said. During the process, the DNAand cell wall of the mold is penetrated and even thethickest coat of mold is vaporized.

Sabre is officially headquartered in Albany, N.Y., butits extensive operations in New Orleans have led thecompany to move more operations to the Crescent City.

Sabre is now working out of trailers in the Elmwoodarea and performs about four or five fumigations perweek. The company isn’t used to being visible so itsservices have not been made publicized much yet,

Cavanaugh said. Like many local businesses, it faces alabor shortage and is in search of microbiologists,chemists and operators.

Cavanaugh said Sabre’s mold remediation serviceisn’t just another post-Katrina business concept — it isvital to the recovery of New Orleans.

“Even in the flooded areas, structurally most placesare OK. But on the inside, it’s not safe to live in there.The rebuild issue is first and foremost a contaminationissue. If you could blink and get rid of the mold andmildew, it would be a whole new story.”

— Craig Guillot

John Mason, founder of Sabre Technical Services, and company spokeswoman Karen Cavanaugh, in front of a restaurant on Decatur Streetthey are preparing for fumigation.

I n n o v a t o r

Sabre Technical Services


I n n o v a t o r

West Jefferson Medical Center/ Jefferson Community Health Care Centers

Overcrowding in hospital emergency roomswas a major problem post-Hurricane Katrinaas physicians were displaced and several

hospitals inoperable.Hospitals that stayed open or could reopen had to

find a solution to deal with increased patient popula-tions.

West Jefferson Medical Center did so by partneringwith a nearby urgent care facility in the JeffersonCommunity Health Care Centers Inc.

The two entities formed a partnership inNovember 2005 to put a trailer adjacent to the hospi-tal where Jefferson Community Health Care Centerswould provide urgent care services, in hopes of allevi-ating some of the West Jefferson emergency roomovercrowding and reduce the wait time for healthcare.

“A lot of people were receiving health care servicesfrom the Disaster Medical Assistance Team and whenthe Department of Homeland Security moved thatgroup out in November, people had no place to go,” saidRickey Vaughn, chief financial officer for JeffersonCommunity Health Care Centers. “So they went to theWest Jeff emergency room, and in many cases they werefor non-emergencies.”

“We worked to remedy that problem and also pro-vide health care to the low-income and indigent.”

The partnership actually dates to 2004 whenJefferson Community Health Care Centers was formedat an Avondale facility on U.S. Highway 90. WestJefferson leased the facility to Jefferson CommunityHealth Care Centers, which was built to provide afford-able health care, treat the indigent and be a facility forpeople who don’t go to the doctor until they becomevery sick.

Vaughn said the facility works on a $1.8 millionannual budget from Jefferson Parish funds and revenuegenerated by the center. With seven physicians, the cen-ter provides routine primary medical care like vision andhearing screenings, disease management, gynecologicalexams, medication management and physicals.

Vaughn said people pay for services based on a slid-ing fee scale. Regular doctor visits are usually $65, butcould drop as low as $20 if people qualify.

The center received Federally Qualified HealthCenter status in March, enabling it to discount ratesbecause of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

Vaughn said patient counts at Avondale went from 17pre-Katrina to 35 post-Katrina, and when the urgentcare trailer opened at West Jeff, they saw 20 a day withtwo full-time physicians and two nurse practitioners.

The success of the center encouraged JeffersonCommunity Health Center to move from the trailerwithin the next 90 days to occupy 16,000 square feet ofa 36,000-square-foot facility on Ames Boulevard inMarrero. The center will provide urgent care services inaddition to the primary care services offered inAvondale.

“This will help set what the evolution of health carepost-Katrina is going to become,” said Louis Thomas,

chairman of the Jefferson Community Health CareCenters board of directors and also member of theWJMC board. “This will help with Charity system’sdemise, and a lot of people come in a hospital emer-gency room without insurance, and hospitals are strug-gling for compensation in caring for the indigent.”

Vaughn estimates they will treat 40 patients a day atthe new facility, which is a welcome sign for WestJefferson as the hospital works to reduce emergencyroom overcrowding and wait time.

Anna Kokes, West Jefferson senior director of nurs-ing, said post-Katrina emergency room wait timespeaked at three hours, a wait now reduced to one hour.

“A lot of people identified that urgent care resourcewas there and they did not show back up routinely at theemergency department,”Kokes said.“It gives our peoplea place to go before they need emergency care,and hope-

fully, the new center will also help more people out.”Kokes and Vaughn said emergency room overcrowd-

ing is also an issue because people often don’t understandthe difference between emergency care and urgent care.

Urgent care is for medical conditions that aren’tlife-threatening, such as ear infections, insect bites,minor burns and cuts, skin infections, flu and fever,while the emergency room is for after-hours prob-lems or life-threatening conditions like major trau-mas, uncontrolled bleeding, loss of consciousness,chest pains and seizures.

“To a lay person, emergency and urgent care are onein the same, so we do a lot of community outreach toeducate people,” Vaughn said. “We want people tounderstand what an emergency is and where they haveto go when something is wrong.”

— Tommy Santora

From left: Louis Thomas, chairman of the Jefferson Community Health Care Centers board of directors, Rickey Vaughn, Jefferson CommunityCFO, and Anna Kokes, West Jefferson Medical Center’s senior director of nursing, were all instrumental in building an urgent care facilityat the hospital.


I n n o v a t o r

West Jefferson Medical CenterSupport Services Facility and Energy Center

Generators, chillers, boilers, diesel tanks, oxygentanks and critical medical supplies are lockedand loaded for hurricane season at West

Jefferson Medical Center.In June, the hospital completed construction of its

$20-million, 70,000-square-foot, Support ServicesFacility and Energy Center. The on-campus hurricanecommand station is a two-story, concrete structure,designed to resist 150-mph winds and is 19.4 feetabove sea level. It is connected to the rear of the hos-pital on the 1000 block of Avenue B.

The center houses four emergency generatorscapable of powering the hospital with air conditioningwithin an hour of power being shut down on the mainhospital campus.

The center also stores three chillers, two steamboilers, three 12,000-gallon diesel tanks, electricalsubstations and a medical gas delivery systemincluding air, vacuum pumps and a 60,000-gallonoxygen tank.

The windows on the center are reinforced lami-nate, with a sheet of high-impact plastic between twopieces of glass. Gary Fitzjarrell, WJMC constructionproject manager, said if a projectile strikes the window,the glass might shatter but the plastic will remainintact.

The center was planned in 2001 when WestJefferson implemented its master facility plan.

“We have taken all of our critical support servicesand combined them into a building that can withstandhurricane damage,” said Fitzjarrell. “It went throughHurricane Katrina without a scratch.”

The West Jefferson Medical Center never closedthrough Katrina, but the hospital lost outside powerand water service, meaning toilets wouldn’t flush.

In April, West Jefferson’s board of directorsapproved an emergency no-bid contract with LayneChristensen Co. of Mission Woods, Kan., to drilltwo wells in time for hurricane season. The 700-and 900-feet-deep wells will provide about575,000 gallons a day.

West Jefferson also has a 50,000-gallon fuel tank,which would run the hospital’s normal lighting, airconditioning and other equipment for at least a weekcompared to the pre-Katrina, 20,000-gallon tank witha three-day capacity.

“What makes this concept of the Support ServicesFacility and Energy Center innovative is the consoli-dation of all of the essential services serving the medicalcenter in one hurricane resistive structure at an elevationabove potential floodwaters,” Fitzjarrell said. “In doingthis, we assure that the hospital will have the servicesnecessary to continue to serve the community, especial-ly in the event of a disaster.”

Walton Construction Co. of Kansas City, Mo., wasthe lead contractor on the center as groundbreaking

began in August 2004 and is the first of its kind in thesoutheastern United states.

The support services facility portion, which is 4.7feet above sea level, was just three months from comple-tion when Katrina struck.

The hospital suffered $2 million in damage fromKatrina but did not flood. The hospital’s backup gener-ators kept everything except the air conditioning run-ning, and Entergy Corp. restored the hospital’s electric-

ity three and a half days after the storm.Fitzjarrell said the hospital’s next challenge will be

adapting to the newest generation of equipment avail-able.

“We took that into account in the construction of thefacility by creating expansion space and making surethat the systems installed today could adapt to theequipment of tomorrow.”

— Brenda Ducote

A. Gary Muller, CEO of West Jefferson Medical Center, showcases one of two steam boilers housed in the hospital’s new 70,000-square-foot,two-story Support Services Facility and Energy Center.


I n n o v a t o r

West Jefferson Medical CenterCyberKnife Center

After two brain surgeries, 61-year-old MarvellLaCoste was told she had eight months to live.That was two years ago. Now her tumor is

shrinking thanks to a new surgical technique for treatingtumors that is now available at West Jefferson MedicalCenter’s Neuroscience Institute in Marrero.

In January, West Jefferson began using a new technol-ogy called CyberKnife, and Lacoste was only the thirdpatient to receive the treatment. Nothing happened atfirst, then, in February, one month after the initial treat-ment, an MRI showed her tumor beginning to shrink.LaCoste gets a monthly MRI and each time it shows thather tumor continues to downsize, she said.

CyberKnife is a robotic cancer treatment that attackstumors with computer-precision blasts of radiation.The painless method does not require surgery or hos-pitalization.

West Jefferson is one of only three U.S. hospitals withthe CyberKnife technology and the only one in the NewOrleans region. CyberKnife can eliminate tumors inmost parts of the body though West Jefferson is primari-ly using it to treat brain and spinal cord cancers. Tumorstreated with CyberKnife gradually die over the course ofdays as the radiation takes effect.

“Under normal circumstances, the acquisition ofCyberKnife is quite an achievement but to have been

able to forge ahead with CyberKnife post-Katrina is amomentous occasion and speaks volumes about theexpertise and dedication of our physicians and staff,”said West Jefferson Medical Center CEO Gary Muller.

Doctors started using CyberKnife in January and thehospital has treated 41 patients in just the last fourmonths.

“We anticipated treating four patients per month forthe first six months and have treated more than twice thatprojection,” said Jennifer Steel, hospital spokeswoman.

CyberKnife employs only stereotactic radiosurgery, acombination of robotics and computer technology todeliver the high dose of radiation to the tumor, said Steel.

The patient lays on a table similar to an X-ray tableand a robotic arm extends out from behind or from theside and emits a beam of radiation in varying doses. Themachine can adjust in 1,200 different ways to get to thetumor and aim the radiation precisely where it needs togo, even if the patient moves, the beam can still adjustitself, thus eliminating the need for head frames tradi-tionally used in brain surgery.

No scalpel or anesthetics are used and no recoverytime is needed. Patients generally eat and go home afterthe procedure.

After her two-hour procedure, Lacoste said she hadno side effects.

“I went to the grocery store and did my shopping andthen came home and babysat my grandchildren, likenothing happened,” she said.

LaCoste said she only lost hair in the one small spotwhere the radiation was administered, instead of losingall over her head as she did after getting traditional radi-ation in the past. “I didn’t need a wig,” she said.

A $1-million vault weighing 285 tons, constructed byarchitect Anthony Gendusa and general contractorMickey O’Connor, houses the $3.5-million CyberKniferobot.

CyberKnife is made by Accuray, a company inCalifornia, and is the only radiosurgical system in theworld incorporating robotics and image guidance totreat tumors. Similar technology called the Gammaknife, which has been around since 1968, treats onlycranial tumors. Also, a patient cannot undergoGamma knife treatment more than once, whereasCyberKnife treatments can be repeated up to fivetimes in a lifetime.

Dr. Alfred Abaunza, chief medical officer at WestJefferson, said insurance companies generally will payfor the treatments because it saves them money. “It’scheaper than traditional surgery and there’s no hospitalstay required in most cases.”

— Brenda Ducote

West Jefferson Medical Center chief medical officer Dr. Alfred Abaunza, forefront, and CEO A. Gary Muller, study images provided by the hospital’s new CyberKnife machine, a robotic cancer treatment.


C E N T E RTreatment Is Now Within Our Reach.

W E S T J E F F E R S O N S T A Y E D T H E C O U R S E A N D I S B U I L D I N G S T R O N G E R .

Now TreatingMore Tumors The same accuracy that’s been used to target

tumors of the brain and spine is now being used

to treat cancers elsewhere in the body.

The revolutionary Cyberknife Radiosurgery

System is now treating tumors non-surgically in

the lung, liver and pancreas.

CyberKnife delivers a high-powered dose of

radiation to the precise site of the tumor from a

thousand different angles, leaving surrounding

tissues untouched.

No incisions.

No anesthesia.

No overnight stay.

CyberKnife represents our continued commitment to

providing the highest quality of care to our patients

as we rebuild our community.

CyberKnife treatment is not for all patients. Ask your doctor.

For more information on CyberKnife® please contactDebra Thibodeaux at (504) 349-1480. 1101 Medical Center Boulevard, Marrero, LA 70072 www.wjmc.org


Educator

Archbishop RummelHigh School

Before Hurricane Katrina, girls andskirts were an unusual sight at a tra-ditional, Catholic all-boys high

school. But after Hurricane Katrina, itbecame the norm for about five months.

In September, the future of many NewOrleans Catholic schools was uncertainand parents of students of the schoolshad no idea when they could return.From early on Archbishop RummelHigh School in Metairie provided such ahaven for students.

From Oct. 5 to Jan. 15, ArchbishopRummel taught students from 6:50 a.m.to 12:30 p.m., and created a transitionalschool for approximately 1,300 studentsfrom Dominican, Mount Carmel,Ursuline and Brother Martin from 1:30p.m. to 6 p.m.

Immediately after Katrina, ArchbishopRummel President Michael Begg deter-

mined the school sustained some dam-age,the worst of which was flooding of thegym that caused the floor to buckle. Butmuch of the school was spared.“We knewwe could open up as soon as the parishgave us the green light,” said Begg.

Because of storm-related relocations,Begg expected Archbishop Rummel tolose between 400 and 500 students. Theschool’s Web site was one of the few aca-demic sites in the New Orleans area thatdid not go down after the storm, so amessage was placed on the site offeringto take in displaced students. Soon afterthis notice went up, ArchbishopRummel received approximately 4,000e-mails from interested parents.

While Rummel was happy to accom-modate the new students, a logisticalproblem surfaced when Begg learned theschool would only lose close to 100 of its

Rep. Bobby Jindal, R-Kenner, speaks to the Archbishop Rummel transitional school student body in theRaider gym, while below, a Rummel student directs girls to a class.

Archbishop Rummel High School1901 Severn Avenue • Metairie • LA 70001

www.rummelraiders.com


original student body of 1,350 students.To avoid overcrowding, the transitionalschool was created.

The transitional school had a separateadministration and faculty taken fromthe displaced students’ schools. “Wethought it would be good for the kids tosee familiar faces,” said Begg. More than75 teachers displaced from their jobs as aresult from Katrina were able to findwork at the transitional school.

Within a week,hiring was complete andthe transitional school had to set schedulesfor students.“What normally takes monthstook about a week,” said Begg.

Like a normal school would, the tran-sitional school featured extra-curricularactivities and athletic teams. For the firsttime in its history, Archbishop Rummelhad girls volleyball and basketball teams.The Archbishop Rummel T volleyballteam qualified for the state tournamentand advanced to the semifinals.

Rummel students and their familiesresponded positively to the new sched-ule, said Begg. The 12:30 p.m. dismissaltime allowed students time to go to theirpart-time jobs after school. “We have somany kids right now who are out in the

workforce and are providing for theirfamilies because one or both parents losttheir jobs,” said Begg.

Once the transitional school closedon Jan. 15, Archbishop Rummel keptits morning schedule to accommodateworking students. It will return to thestandard school day for its 2006-07school year, although Begg said stu-dents wanted to keep the transitionalschedule.

Because the school was such a success,the Rummel and transitional school’sadministrations were invited to make apresentation at the National CatholicEducators Association Conference inAtlanta.

Begg, who was starting his first year asArchbishop Rummel president whenKatrina struck, says the transitionalschool was a team effort. “The adminis-tration and faculty bent over backward tomake sure the transitional students wereaccommodated,” he said.

“It was the first time anyone sawCatholic education become a collabora-tive effort between rival schools. It wasamazing to watch.”

— Fritz Esker

Archbishop Rummel created a transitional school for 1,300 displaced students after Hurricane Katrina.

Pick up a copy at the following locations:Trey Yuen 600 N. Causeway Blvd. Mandeville

New Orleans Publishing Group Northshore Office 1305 W. Causeway Blvd. Mandeville

Morton's Seafood Restaurant 702 Water St. Madisonville

Franco's Athletic Club 100 Bon Temps Roule Mandeville

CC's Coffee 4350 Hwy 22 Mandeville

Town Crier 4350 Hwy 22 Mandeville

Hugh's Wine Cellar 4250 Hwy 22 Mandeville

Caffe Caffe 3900 Hwy 22 Mandeville

Benedict’s Restaurant 1144 Lovers Lane Mandeville

Parish National Bank 735 N. Causeway Blvd. Mandeville

Save A Center 3450 Hwy 190 Mandeville

Coffee Rani 3510 Hwy 190 Mandeville

Pelican Athletic Club 1170 Meadow Brooke Blvd. Mandeville

Town Crier 3001 E. Causeway Approach Mandeville

Going Postal Hwy 59 Mandeville

St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce Hollycrest Covington

The Dakota Restaurant 629 N. Hwy 190 Covington

Books-a-Million 305 Holiday Drive Covington

PJ's Coffee 1600 N. Hwy 190 Covington

Zoe's Bakery 2891 Hwy 190 Covington

Parish National Bank 805 Collins Covington

St. John's Coffee House E. Boston Street & Columbia Street Covington

Acme Oyster House 519 E. Boston St. Covington

Coffee Rani Boston & Lee Lane Covington

Abita Brew Pub 72011 Holly St. Abita Springs

Louisiana Heart Hospital 64030 Hwy 434 Lacombe

Save A Center 110 Gause Blvd. Slidell

Slidell Athletic Club 550 Gause Blvd. Slidell

Double M Feed Garden & Pet 1121 Gause Blvd. Slidell

Crossgates Athletic Club 200 Military Road Slidell

Save A Center 101 N Military Road Slidell

Parish National Bank E Gause Blvd. Slidell

The Rummel T volleyball team qualified for the state semifinals.


EducatorDelgado Community College

After floodwaters fromHurricane Katrina submergedthe main and some satellite

campuses of Delgado CommunityCollege, administrators needed todevelop a strategy to track studentsand faculty.

“Many of Delgado’s buildings wereflooded,” said Donna Alley, provost ofDelgado’s West Bank campus. “Thelibrary at the City Park campus wasdestroyed, and campus police had toleave in boats.”

The first step was to compress cours-es and relocate clinical nursing classesfrom the damaged facilities at TulaneUniversity, Charity and the VeteransAdministration hospitals to WestJefferson Medical Center. Then came thetask of continuing coursework for stu-dents who had evacuated across thecountry.

According to Alley, the most dramaticchange was adding 108 online courses toaccommodate the scattered student pop-ulation, increasing the total number of“distance learning” courses from 67 to175.

“The innovation by Delgado came indetermining how to continue businessand allow students to complete theircourses,” Alley said.

In an aggressive move, Delgado’s

administration formed an agreementwith the Sloan Consortium to offer itsonline courses free to students as well asclasses for instructors to learn how toadminister them. The Needham, Mass.-based Sloan Consortium assists learningorganizations to improve the quality oftheir online programs.

In September and October, 2,500Delgado students enrolled in onlineclasses. By December, administratorshad developed an interim programthat allowed each student to take asmany as nine credit hours through dis-tance learning or attend classes at theWest Bank campus, which reopenedOct. 3.

“The faculty who taught distancelearning courses did so voluntarily,”said Cathy Gorvine, chair of Delgado’sEnglish department. “A number of fac-ulty stepped up to the challenge ofkeeping students on track throughonline courses.”

According to Gorvine, there was nogap or stoppage in faculty pay.

Wendy Rhiner, a faculty member inthe English department,was one of theinstructors who began teaching onlinecourses for the first time.

To complete coursework, each stu-dent submitted work into a digitaldrop box. The instructor then

returned graded material for the stu-dent’s review.

“It has gone quite well,” Rhiner said.“Of the 16 students I taught online lastsemester,14 passed the proficiency examfor the course.”

Considering many departments cut40 percent or more of their course offer-ings, online classes have helped limit thenumber of credit hours forfeited by stu-

dents to Hurricane Katrina.“The efforts to increase the number of

online courses after the storm signifyDelgado’s commitment to their stu-dents,” Gorvine said. “Such a long gapin coursework would have discouragedsome students,and many would not havereturned.”

According to Alley, the crowningachievement of these efforts was the

spring graduation of 695 students,oneof the largest classes in school history.Delgado held its graduation ceremonyat the Morial Convention Center,where thousands huddled in the daysfollowing Hurricane Katrina.

“We wanted to hold the graduationin the Convention Center to show thecommunity that we can turn negativesinto positives,” Alley said.

Approximately 10,000 students,60 percent of the student body,returned for the spring semester,down from 17,000 before the storm.By the fall, the administration expectsan 80 percent return, roughly 13,500students.

To expand course offerings,Delgado is now linking with area tech-nical colleges, including West JeffersonTechnical College and campuses ofSydney Collier Technical College.

—Thomas Leggett

Students work in the network computer lab on Delgado’s West Bank campus on General Meyer Avenue. In September and October 2005, approximately 2,500 students enrolled in online classes.

Donna Alley is provost of Delgado’s West Bank campus.


Katrina KreweNonprofit

Even before Hurricane Katrina, NewOrleans had a trash problem.

While the city has often ranked as oneof the nation’s favorite travel destina-tions, it has also been labeled one of thenation’s dirtiest cities.

Litter scattered about at intersections,mountains of trash and rotting food fes-tering in the French Quarter and furni-ture dumped about in FaubourgMarigny and Bywater was a commonsight long before the big storm.

Metairie resident Becky Zaheri neverenjoyed looking at trash but she said theproblem increased exponentially afterHurricane Katrina.

Taking matters into her own hands inNovember 2005, she wrote an e-mail toeveryone in her address book and asked ifthey would spend a day with her pickingup trash. Little did Zaheri know her sim-ple desire to pick up trash would turn intoa citywide campaign propelled into thenational spotlight.

“At first, my goal was just to go outthere and do it every Wednesday whilethe kids were in school. It wasn’t going toget better overnight and I thought I couldget a large group,” Zaheri said.

Zaheri, a graphic designer before sheleft the industry to raise her children, cre-ated the concept and the Katrina Krewelogo. She was just using e-mail as a wayto contact people, but one day while lis-tening to WWL radio, she made a call toGarland Robinette, who publicized herefforts on the air. Just after she hung upthe phone, someone called offering to set

up a Web site for her.Two of Zaheri’s friends got the public

relations machine rolling and before sheknew it, Katrina Krewe was a regular

subject on WDSU-TV Channel 6.“Once the word got out, news net-

works just started calling us. People hadbeen e-mailing me saying they weregoing to write letters to Oprah andother people and it just sort of hap-pened,” she said. Since then, Zaheri andher Katrina Krewe have appeared justabout everywhere including the EllenDeGeneres Show, CBS Early Show, FoxNews Live, CNN, Chicago Tribune,Los Angeles Times and Newsweek.Media coverage only helped fuel thecampaign, attracting volunteers not justfrom all around the area but around thecountry, Zaheri said.

“We have plenty of regulars in all agegroups, from their teens to their 80s.There is a huge number from out of statetoo. We’ve had people from over 45states and a few different countries,” shesaid. “My list of people who have comeand participated is in the thousands.”

From November through mid-May,Katrina Krewe was canvassing the streetstwice a week but recently cut back for thesummer to once a month. A typical

cleanup attracts a group of about 200volunteers but Zaheri said she’s hadgroups with as many as 850.

When she’s not caring for her kids,Zaheri cruises different areas of the cityin need of a good cleaning. Zaheri willalso soon embark on a cold-callingcampaign to get local businesses to joinin on the effort. It will incorporate theuse of “Keep it Klean” calendars withchecklists and the basics that need tobe done in their areas.

“Once you clean an area, you have tomaintain it. We’ve been trying to get theword out to businesses. We clean com-mon thoroughfares and give the area anoverhaul but we really need their help tomaintain it afterwards,” she said.

“It’s all about education and aware-ness. I don’t know if you can changepeople who have been littering theirwhole lives but you can change theirkids,” she said. “My goal is for everyoneto assume responsibility. I think we’reall tired of looking at it. Don’t add to it,let’s get rid of it.”•

— Craig Guillot

Katrina Krewe officers, from left: Caroline Calhoun, Nicole Provosty, Danielle Heuer, Becky Zaheri, Vaughn Downing, Claire Gisclair and Jill Nalty. Not shown:Barbara Fitzhugh, Dana Hansel, Patricia Lacoste and Jennifer Fallon.

Katrina Krewe members clean up Esplanade Avenue.


Kingsley House Nonprofit

Since it was founded in 1896 tohelp German and Irish immigrantssettle in the New Orleans area,

Kingsley House has provided housingassistance and more to the residents ofthe Crescent City.

In the wake of the devastation fromlevee failures following HurricaneKatrina, affordable and inhabitable hous-ing is more important than ever to NewOrleanians. After the storm, the nonprof-it Kingsley House was the first resettle-ment and recovery center in the area.

Aside from assisting residents in find-ing housing,Kingsley House is also help-ing with other necessities.

“Even folks that have housing, wehelp find furniture and help pay utilitiesand phone bills,” said Dr. KeithLiederman, Kingsley House executivedirector. In addition, the foundationhelps people enroll for Medicaid andfood stamps.

Kingsley House is also aiding resi-dents with day care programs for chil-dren, disabled adults and senior citizens.

“A large part of that job sector waswiped out, like every other job sector,”says Liederman.

Kingsley House will put on a summercamp for approximately 250 kids, one ofonly 19 in the New Orleans area thatusually offers around 50 camps.

On the first day Kingsley House’schild care center reopened, there were 40kids with close to 10 teachers. Now thereare 35 teachers and 192 children. On theadult care center’s first day, there was onestaff member for three adults. Now, thereare six staff members for 45 adults.

Located in the Lower GardenDistrict, Kingsley House avoided thefloodwaters that inundated 80 percent ofNew Orleans, but suffered severe windsleading to $3 million in water damage atthe site. It required 45,000 square feet,roughly half of Kingsley House’s operat-ing space, to be gutted. KemperConstruction Co. began work on Sept.30 and six months later, Kingsley Househad full use of its facilities once again.

Kingsley House originally had a staffof 135 workers, all of whom were paid infull through October. Because of reloca-

tions and layoffs, the number dropped to32 requiring remaining employees toadd new responsibilities on top of theirexisting jobs.

Liederman praises his staff.“That staff stepped up huge, they

multi-tasked like I have never seenbefore.”

Now that they have regained use oftheir full facilities, the number of staff hasrisen again to 95.

A key element of Kingsley House’spost-Katrina recovery work has been pro-viding counseling and therapy to residentssuffering from Katrina-related stress.

Since the storm, Kingsley House’sResettlement and Recovery Center hasprovided individual and family counsel-ing to dozens of individuals and families,enrolled over 400 children and adults inMedicaid and Louisiana Children’sHealth Insurance Program, and hasreplaced lost documents for more than1,200 individuals. The center has alsobeen certified as a food stamp applica-tion center.

“Everyone is going through some sortof stress or anxiety,” said Liederman.

People seeking help can either cometo Kingsley House’s facilities to visit acounselor, or call and have a counselorcome visit them. According toLiederman, this service initially startedslowly with people focusing on theirmore basic needs such as housing andemployment.

“As those needs were met, peoplestarted to recognize that there were a lotof personal issues,” he said.

Liederman estimates the office typi-cally sees between 60 to 100 walk-inseach week seeking counseling.

Kingsley House is sponsored by theUnited Way, which contributes 12 per-cent of its budget. In addition, it receivesgrants from organizations such as theDepartment of Social Services, HeadStart and Title 19. It is the only agencyin the New Orleans area to receive theLouisiana Association of NonprofitOrganizations Seal of Excellence.

“If we don’t have a service to meetyour needs, we’ll put you in touch withsomeone who can,” said Liederman.

— Fritz Esker

Teacher Elois Coleman Ross directs a hand puppet, alphabet exercise with her 3-to 5-year-old class. Bottom left: Emelda Burns reads a book to children atthe Kingsley House. Keith Liederman, bottom right, is executive director of the organization.


Operation RestorationNonprofit

For 10 years, the OperationRestoration Foundation has beenempowering and educating children

and adults in New Orleans’ less privi-leged neighborhoods.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I wantedto help people,” said Cherrie Holton,Operation Restoration founder andowner.

The mother of a child conceivedthrough rape, Holton sought to help oth-ers even before starting her foundation.When she was down on her luck, shewould give her own food stamps to othermothers with larger households.

After studying counseling and sociol-ogy at University of New Orleans andOur Lady of Holy Cross, Holton starteda foundation “to see people maximizetheir potential in different areas in theirlives despite what they’ve gone through.”

As a result, Operation Restorationwas born. “The vision is to educate thewhole person,” said Holton.

Holton began the program, writingher own grants for assistance from vari-ous sources. One of her biggest effortsinvolved the Toys for Tots program,which serviced more than 3,000 familiesfrom 2000 to 2004.

Due to Hurricane Katrina, the Toysfor Tots program did not take place in2005 but Holton is determined to resur-rect it for the 2006 holiday season. Citingthe joy it brings to children, Holton said,“It’s something I have to do because it’snot something I can just let fall by thewayside.”

However, Toys for Tots is far fromOperation Restoration’s only endeavorfor local children. Holton started ayouth economic development programfor children ages 8 to 18. The programfirst teaches children how to managemoney, open a savings account andbalance a checkbook. Gradually, theprogram becomes more complex andstudents learn to start businesses based

on their own interests.For example, Holton taught a child

who was an aspiring artist how to starthis own art gallery.

Operation Restoration works witharea schools in after-school tutoring pro-grams.What sets its program apart is thatit focuses on parents as well as children.“We found that the majority of our (chil-dren’s) parents are dropouts.”

Operation Restoration assists parentsin getting GED’s and reviews the child’shomework with the parents in an effort toshow the parents how to help their chil-dren. “If parents can’t help, it holds thechildren back,” said Holton.

Operation Restoration also features aliteracy program that teaches childrenand adults how to read and runs a youthsummer program in conjunction withthe Glory of Christ Christian Center,where Holton is a minister.

Hurricane Katrina hit OperationRestoration hard.

The foundation’s office space onGeneral Meyer in Algiers receivedwater damage. At Holton’s home inHarvey, her patio collapsed onto awater line, causing it to burst and floodher home. Holton still lives in theHouston area and frequently drivesback and forth between Houston andNew Orleans to run OperationRestoration business.

It’s not an easy task for Holton, a dia-betic and cancer survivor who has a heartcondition, but she does it out of love forher community.

Holton is doing cleanup work andhas applied for federal grants to assistwith repairs on the office space.Despite the heartache caused byKatrina, Holton remains hopeful forthe future of Operation Restoration.Above all else, her family keeps hergoing. “What keeps me driving is mythree boys.”

—Fritz Esker

Cherrie Holton, founder and owner of Operation Restoration, had her nonprofit office space on General Meyer Avenue in Algiers damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Holton has applied for federal grants to repair thebuilding.


Youthanasia Foundation Inc.Nonprofit

In September 1997, Kimberly Byas-Dilosa said the high murder and crimerate among teens on the streets of New

Orleans made her scared for her teenagecousins’ safety.

Dilosa came up with a plan to keepteens off the street by replacing bore-dom with community service activities.In the process, it would boost the NewOrleans economy by keeping teens inNew Orleans after graduation.

Using her own funds, Dilosa startedtaking her cousins on trips every week-end. They went to places like the GulfCoast beach and Oak Alley. They paint-ed murals on the walls of the NewOrleans Adolescents House and cleanedgreen space at Algiers Point.

It was the first time some had ever leftthe city or stayed in a hotel, Dilosa said.Her cousins told their friends, and theytold their friends. As the word spread thegroup grew.

“The group got too big for my car so Igot a bus,” Dilosa said.

That’s how Youthanasia FoundationInc. began. Dilosa’s mission is to keepteens away from trouble “by raising lead-ers to kill the factors that are killing theirpeers.”Youthanasia became a major non-profit organization with private and cor-porate supporters. An architect by trade,Dilosa knew nothing about leading anonprofit organization.

She started by attending seminarson grant writing and how to apply fornonprofit status. Working for herfather’s construction company, shewould sneak out to attend the work-shops. It all paid off in 2000 after shefilled out her first 501c form — anextensive 20-page Internal RevenueService application for nonprofit status— in less than eight hours. Youthanasiabecame a nonprofit organization thatyear, the same year she received herfirst grant for $500 from Entergy.

Dilosa writes grants for other commu-nity agencies and churches, and she hassince given up architecture to run herorganization full-time.

Dilosa held Youthanasia’s first pub-lic meeting at Xavier Prep HighSchool, her alma matter, and gainedthe immediate support of New OrleansCity Councilman-at-large OliverThomas, who she considers her“biggest cheerleader.”

The Jefferson Community ActionProgram gave her organization officespace at the Marrero Community Center.

Hurricane Katrina put 6 feet of water

in Dilosa’s office space, destroying thenonprofit’s computers, files and furni-ture. “The office was reduced to my cellphone and laptop, Dilosa said. “We stilldon’t have an actual headquarters. Kidscome to my house (in Harvey). I run amentoring program here with my hus-band because I won’t release them intothe streets,” she said.

A $75,000 contract with theDepartment of Education was also lost.The Jefferson Parish Work ForceConnection will not pay for staffing untilthe organization returns to its pre-Katrina status, Dilosa said.

As for funding, “We are currently atzero,” she said, but she is waiting for herSmall Business Administration loan.

Before Katrina, the organizationserved about 150 children; now there are30 to 35, Dilosa said.

“I have mentored over 1,500 kidsthrough this program. They never leaveme. They come back to be a mentor ora counselor in our summer programs,”she said.

Dilosa’s 2-year-old daughter, Kaja,is already “in the mix.” Her husband

John, “Uncle John” to the children, is afather figure to most of the kids, espe-cially those with no paternal guidanceat home.

At the end of June, Dilosa said a galafor family and friends will raise moneyfor a black tie event in September. It willinclude attendees from the political andcorporate arena and feature a “Salute toTeen Heroes” award for teenagers whohave overcome major obstacles.

Youthanasia’s clients were ninth-through 12th-grade students untilrecently when an eighth-graderapproached Dilosa. She accepted herbecause “when I heard her sing, I could-n’t turn her away.”

Dilosa invented the Greater NewOrleans Restoration Project in 2005 andthrough it she founded Teenzmatter tohelp Youthanasia get back on its feet byputting on citywide events for teenagers.The goal is one major event a month,Dilosa said.

Since Katrina, TeenzmatterProductions has put on two talentshows and is gearing up for a Serve ItUp dance. Dilosa is hoping the New

Orleans Department of Tourism willhelp promote these events.

Dilosa said if the model for this pro-gram is successful, she plans on taking itto other cities facing similar issues.

Ninety-eight percent of all teens thatpassed through Youthanasia have gradu-ated from high school, gone to college, tosuccessful employment or into the mili-tary, said Dilosa.

“The secret is we listen, we ask ques-tions, we don’t tell them what will be, welet them tell us and we hold them to it,”Dilosa said. “Thus we develop individ-ual talents, leadership skills and commu-nity prowess.”

President Bush named YouthanasiaPoint of Light No. 2,381 in 2002, andDilosa received a Golden Hammeraward from former New Orleans MayorMarc Morial for Excellence inCommunity Leadership.

Dilosa was one of eight finalists select-ed for the 2005 Blue Cross/Blue Shieldof Louisiana Angel Award, and shereceived $10,000 to continue her workwith New Orleans youth.

— Brenda Ducote

Kimberly Byas-Dilosa, founder of Youthanasia Foundation, looks over song notes with O. Perry Walker High student Deshawn Dabney.


On the BrinkDuct Saddle LLCFrank Caminita, who has been in the air conditioning

business for 35 years, said air conditioning systems are

only as good as their duct work — and he has the inven-

tion to back up his claim.

Caminita invented the Duct Saddle, a simple

sheet metal device used in attics to elevate air condi-

tioning and heating ducts, which reduces condensa-

tion that is usually caused by the duct sitting direct-

ly on attic insulation.

“You screw the saddle down to the joint on a piece

of plywood and then lay the duct in the saddle, as

opposed to tying the suspended duct with a nylon

strap which chokes the air flow,” said Camanita. “The

saddles eliminate kinking and keep the ducts straight

and even. This reduces the areas where condensation

can collect even if there was some.”

Caminita invented the product in 2003 when he

was installing the duct work in his daughter’s home.

The product has been patent pending since 2004,

and Camanita said he hopes to receive his patent

within the next year.

Joval Manufacturing in Jefferson constructs

Caminita’s product, and he sells the duct saddle to air

conditioning supply companies such as Coburns

Supply, Baker Brothers and Solar Air Conditioning.

Caminita estimates the duct saddle is in approximately

100 homes and costs the companies about $100 to

install the duct work with the saddle.

In January, Louisiana adopted the International

Council Code standards for the construction industry.

The code calls for new duct work to be suspended

every 5 feet and cannot have a half-inch sag per foot in

homes.Before the code, the typical duct work would lay

on top of the insulation or Sheetrock, said Camanita.

“That causes condensation and moisture,” he said.

“Elevating the duct reduces condensation that is

caused by the duct sitting directly on attic insulation.”

Caminita said his product is nearing ICC certifica-

tion, and he is working with state energy conservation

offices in Louisiana and Texas to show his product.•

Crais ManagementGroup – Thermo FaucetsDavid Crais, president of Madisonville-based busi-ness development firm Crais Management Group,has applied for a patent on a Thermo Faucets prod-uct, a screw-on adapter for pipes that will automati-cally create a water flow proportional to the tempera-ture freezing point and prohibit pipes from rupturing.

“When temperatures reach freezing or below, waterfreezes, expands and any standing water in pipes will

turn to ice and potentially cause the pipes to rupturethus creating the need for costly repairs,” Crais said. “Itwill prevent, if not completely eliminate, the risk ofpipes freezing in temperatures as low as 10 degreesFarenheit.”

Crais Management Group has offices inMadisonville, Chicago and Los Angeles, and providesstrategic planning or investor relations services forstart-up products, entrepreneurs and companies.

Crais said the problem of rupturing pipes mayincrease as post-Hurricane Katrina flood elevationsand building codes mandate raised structures along

the Gulf Coast exposing plumbing to environmentalair temperatures. The thermo faucet process is doneby internal electronic and mechanical thermostats thatwhen a certain temperature is reached, will trigger amechanical valve and release water flow from existingpressure within the plumbing fixture ranging from athread-like trickle to that of an open tap.

“The standard reaction will be a pencil-thickwater stream,” Crais said. “Future versions of thedevice will have internal sensors for humidity levelsand water type factors which can influence the freez-ing point of water.”•

Crais ManagementGroup – LabOpsROICrais has copyrighted a new cost accounting softwaresolution,LabOpsROI,to be used in clinical laboratories.

In the software, the CapEX (capital expenditure) andOpEx (operational expenditure) are quantified, cata-

logued and compared, and future costs are projectedover a five-year period. Capital expenditures refers tothe cost of acquiring or upgrading physical assets suchas machinery, while operational expenditures are ongo-ing costs for running a product, business or system.

Crais said the finished software solution will beoffered over an Application Service Provider model.

“The financial measurements and mechanism cur-

rently used are inadequate to fully capture and analyzethe total operating costs of the lab delivery process,”Crais said. “LabOpsROI quantifies the direct, indirect,tangible and intangible costs associated with the clini-cal laboratory process.

“A process that can cost fewer than $10,000 per yearin a physician’s office setting to millions of dollars peryear in hospital or reference lab.”•

Frank Caminita, who has been in the air conditioning business for 35 years, invented the Duct Saddle, a sheet metal device used in atticsto elevate air conditioning and heating ducts.

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