Freeport native Melvin R. Haught has been appointed president and chief executive officer of Pella Corporation, Pella, Iowa, effective Dec. 31. In the interim he will serve as president and chief operating officer. A graduate of Freeport Area High School and a 1968 graduate of Youngstown State University, he graduated from the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 2002. He has served as the company's executive vice president and chief operating officer of the Pella Division. He previously worked at General Motors and Molex Incorporated. He joined Pella in 1991 as vice president of manufacturing and was named to the board of directors in 1999.
Jackie Lucas was named respiratory therapy director at Sugar Creek Rest, Worthington. She will be responsible for the management and improvement of their Sub-Acute ventilator unit. She is a former CPR instructor, pulmonary rehabilitation supervisor and was a clinical instructor at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. She resides near Greenfield with her husband and two children.
The Health and Welfare Council of Westmoreland County celebrated its 45th year in existence in September with a reception at Stone Villa Winery. The council provides residents of the county with communication systems directing them to appropriate community services. It also promotes interaction between the different agencies. The agency is in the process of developing "Find Westmoreland" which will enable anyone to access a directory of community services in Westmoreland County through the internet.
Jody M. Erdos, MSPT, has joined the Butler office staff of Eagle Physical Therapy. A 1995 graduate of Allegheny College, she received a degree in physical therapy from the University of Mobile, Mobile, Ala. in 1998. She is certified in the areas of Physical Work Performance Evaluations and Quantitative Job Demands Analyses.
West Penn Service Group, a full-service materials testing facility, has announced that its company, Spectrochemical Laboratories, has obtained National Aerospace and Defense Contractor accreditation. Two of WPSG's companies now have NADCAP accreditation.
Marge Walker received the Heritage Award from the Pennsylvania State Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. The award recognizes trailblazing women in athletics. A graduate of Bell-Avon High School, she is a Professor Emeritus at Westminster College. She previously served as a physical education teacher at Dayton and Kiski Area School Districts. She has received the Virginia Napoli Award and was named to the Westminster College Sports Hall of Fame. A recreation center at the college will be dedicated in her honor.
Matthew E. Chobanian, formerly of New Kensington, accepted a position as vineyard operational manager for Nascar personality Richard Childress in Lexington, N.C., slated to open in late 2003. A 1982 graduate of Valley High School, he received a bachelors degree in plant and soil sciences from West Virginia University in 1987. He previously served as assistant manager at Westmoreland Berry Farm and as vineyard manager at Ingleside Plantation, both in Oak Grove, Virginia.
