Matacha Saul has been elected to the Montgomery County Society of Human Resource Management Board of Directors.

Saul joined MC-SHRM in 2007 and has been an active participant since that time. She will serve as a director-at-large with emphasis in 2011 on special projects. In her new role, she will focus primarily on membership prospecting.

At Stibbs & Co. P.C., Saul is the office administrator, marketing coordinator and legal assistant. She has 26 years of legal experience and is a member of the Association of Legal Administrators.

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Ann McAlpin has been appointed executive director of CASA Child Advocates of Montgomery County. The Board of Directors announced that McAlpin succeeds Nancy Harris, who recently retired.

“Ann brings with her a great combination of experiences,”said Kathryn Staph,board chair. “In her professional life, she managed staff and increased business revenue at multiple companies. In her personal life she was one of our child advocates. She understands the serious issue of child abuse and neglect in our community and how critical it is for responsible adults to stand up for children who cannot speak for themselves.”

CASA Child Advocates’ mission and primary goal is to recruit, train and support enough volunteers to have one advocate for every case of abused and neglected children who have been removed from their parents and are under the Court’s jurisdiction. “Today we can only cover 59 percent of the cases in care in Montgomery County, which means the remaining children have to rely on an imperfect and overworked system to meet their needs,” said McAlpin. “My plan is to engage the support of our community to raise awareness of the issue and increase our fundraising and volunteer efforts to achieve our goal.”

For more information about the nonprofit organization or to contact McAlpin, visit www.CASASpeaks4kids.com. _________________________________________________________________________________

Research Hotel Partners, L.P., has purchased a 4.3-acre site at the intersection of Research Forest Drive and Grogan’s Mill Road for construction of a Hyatt Place Hotel. The hotel will be developed by New Horizons Hospitality.

The new hotel will include 150 guestrooms and suites along with 6,000 square feet of banquet and meeting space. Hyatt Place hotels cater to business travelers as well as families, and are also well suited to serve small corporate meetings.

Construction is expected to begin later this year, with opening planned for mid-2013. New Horizons Hospitality also developed and owns the Hilton Garden Inn in The Woodlands Town Center, as well as several other hotels in Houston.

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The Johnson Development Corp. won Best of Category in the Real Estate: Residential Builders/Developers category in the American Marketing Association – Houston’s 2010 Marketer of the Year competition. The win was for marketing efforts in two of the developer’s master-planned communities, Woodforest and Riverstone.

Selected by a vote of AMA Houston members combined with voting by a local panel of marketing professionals and educators, winners had to achieve objectives and overcome obstacles to address marketing challenges during 2010.

“As a newly introduced community in a still-struggling housing market and economy, Woodforest certainly faced challenges in 2010,” said Virgil Yoakum, general manager of Woodforest. “But we ended the year with nearly 100 homes sold, 140 homes started by our builders and 249 residents.”

Riverstone also ended the year strong despite market trials, with more than 200 home sales and an average sales price of $450,000.

Special events helped both communities increase exposure and entice buyers. Woodforest hosted two large events — the American Dream Showcase of Homes and the 2010 Pumpkin Patch and Parade of Homes, which drew thousands into the community. Riverstone also welcomed thousands and received significant media exposure during a visit by acclaimed street artist Tracy Lee Stum, who painted a reality-challenging 3-D masterpiece in a custom home in Riverstone.

“We are very proud of the success of both Riverstone and Woodforest,” said Larry Johnson, CEO of The Johnson Development Corp. “Their staff worked extremely hard during the year and they deserve this recognition from their marketing peers.”

The Johnson Development Corp. is one of Houston’s largest residential developers, with other active projects including Sienna Plantation, Fall Creek, Tuscan Lakes, Edgewater and Imperial.

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Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Breast & Bone Center has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence by the American College of Radiology.

By awarding facilities the status of a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence, the ACR recognizes breast imaging centers that have earned accreditation in all of its voluntary breast-imaging accreditation programs and modules, in addition to the mandatory Mammography Accreditation Program.

Memorial Hermann The Woodlands Breast & Bone Center is fully accredited in mammography, stereotactic breast biopsy, breast ultrasound and ultrasound-guided breast biopsy. Peer-review evaluations conducted
in each breast imaging modality by board-certified physicians and medical physicists have determined that the Center has achieved high practice standards in image quality, personnel qualifications, facility equipment, quality control procedures, and quality assurance programs.

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Hodges Collision Center was named in the Top 10 of 26 repair shops in the Houston area in the Customer Service Index by Nationwide Insurance for the 2010 final quarter. Chris Guinn at Hodges’ Rayford Road location took the No. 1 spot, and Chuck Parlour took the No. 6 spot for Hodges’ Lane location.

“We are excited to have been named to the Top 10 in the Customer Service Index by Nationwide,” said Steve Guinn, owner of both Hodges Collision Centers. “Hodges continually strives to provide the highest in customer satisfaction, and I am very proud of Chris, Chuck and the rest of our team for their hard work and commitment to that goal and to our clients.”

In addition to their placement in the Top 10 of the Customer Service Index, Hodges Collision Center continues to be recognized as a Blue Ribbon Repair Shop by Nationwide Insurance. Nationwide Blue Ribbon repair shops have met a comprehensive pre-qualified screening process and are pre-qualified for the highest level of convenient, professional service. _________________________________________________________________________________

Coventry Homes, a division of MHI Partnership, Ltd., is now offering new patio homes in Timarron Lakes, the newest neighborhood situated in the 240-acre area of Timarron, located west of Kuykendahl Road in The Woodlands’ Village of Creekside Park. Coventry Homes features 10 unique designs with varied elevations in Timarron Lakes.

Homes are priced from the $240s to the $290s. These one- and two-story homes range in size from approximately 2,008 to 3,048 square feet and include two to three bedrooms with some homes featuring a separate casita, two to three-and-a-half baths and two- to three-car garages.

The model home, Design 5863, is currently under construction with an anticipated May completion date. Currently, the builder is selling homes from a sales office located in Timarron Lakes.

Timarron features six scenic lakes within the neighborhood. The centerpiece of Timarron is seven-acre Timarron Park, which includes a Craftsman-style Pavilion, separate playgrounds for older and younger children, lighted tennis and basketball courts and a picnic area. TWDC, in conjunction with The Woodlands Township, will soon begin construction of a sports playfield and a sprayground in Timarron Park. A June completion date is expected.

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The Woodlands Development Company, in conjunction with The Woodlands Township, will soon begin construction of two spraygrounds in the new neighborhoods of May Valley in the Village of Sterling Ridge and Timarron in the Village of Creekside Park. The Woodlands Township will operate and maintain the facilities once they are open. A sports playfield is also being added in Timarron Park.

The spraygrounds will be located within May Valley Park and Timarron Park, and have been carefully integrated into the design and theme of each park by Clark Condon Associates Inc., landscape architect for the project. Each will be about 2,000 square feet in size and contain environmentally-friendly recirculating water systems. The bases will be made from colorful, sun-deck coated concrete. The themed features will offer a variety of fun for toddlers and children as well as teenagers. There will be 12-13 play elements within each sprayground.

In the spirit of the Pioneer theme in May Valley Park, the sprayground to be built there depicts two wagon wheels. Inspired by the natural surroundings in the Village of Creekside Park, a water garden theme was chosen for the design of the new sprayground in Timarron Park. Openings are planned in June. _________________________________________________________________________________

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. has expanded its presence in The Woodlands with a move to 8,559-square-foot offices at 4 Waterway Square, a new Class A office building in The Waterway Square District of Town Center.

Oppenheimer is a leading investment bank and full-service investment firm that provides financial services and advice to high net worth investors. The firm has had a branch in The Woodlands since 2006.