‹Matt Odom was promoted to manager at Karlins & Ramey, LLC, Certified Public Accountants. As manager, Odom will be responsible for corporate financial statement audits and tax returns and will take on more client responsibility.

Odom received his Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from Southwestern University and his Master of Business Administration in professional accounting from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Certified Public Accountant and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Matt is also a finance committee member at Redeemer Church in Tomball.

_________________________________________________________________________________

‹The H-E-B Central Market at Market Street – The Woodlands, located at 9595 Six Pines Drive, has a new look after three months of renovations including an expanded wine department, a new cheese island, expanded sushi bar, and even a fresh fruit and juice bar.

The 76,000-square-foot store, built in 2004, remained opened during the transformation and H-E-B Woodlands Market Unit Director Zach Yeglin couldn’t be more pleased with the results. Nearly every department of the store received some sort of update or expansion. “The new additions have allowed us to provide a better product and shopping experience for our customers,” says Yeglin.

_________________________________________________________________________________

‹St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital has been named one of the top 25 hospitals in the Houston metro, ranking in U.S. News & World Report’s 2011-12 Best Hospitals list. In addition, the hospital was designated a high-performing hospital in gynecology.

“The ranking recognizes our clinical excellence and the dedication of the physicians, nurses and support staff at St. Luke’s The Woodlands Hospital. This achievement encourages us to continue developing innovative services to deliver the highest standards of quality care for our patients and their families,” said Debra F. Sukin, group vice president, St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System, and chief executive officer, SLWH and St. Luke’s Lakeside Hospital.

_________________________________________________________________________________

‹The Woodlands Convention & Visitors Bureau is now on Twitter, providing both vacationing families and business travelers with up-to-the-minute information on things to do, local events, hotel deals, and the latest from dining, shopping and entertainment spots in the area.

Sign up to follow The Woodlands CVB at Twitter.com/TheWoodlandsCVB for updates in The Woodlands. Individuals can also follow The Woodlands CVB on Facebook at facebook.com/VisitTheWoodlands and YouTube at YouTube.com/TheWoodlandsCVB.

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

‹Entergy Is First Sponsor For Website Re-Launch. Entergy donated $1,000 to help sponsor the re-launch of a website, HelpOurCounty.org, that connects area volunteers and citizens wishing to donate goods to area nonprofit organizations in Montgomery and Liberty counties. The website was developed by the Leadership Montgomery Class of 2007.

Montgomery County United Way has re-launched and upgraded the site to be very interactive for its users. Area nonprofit organizations post available volunteer opportunities. Visitors to the site can enter their volunteer wish lists, interests and time available. A match occurs within the site and the visitor is contacted via e-mail to the nonprofit. The site also features a portal for entering goods to be donated.

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

‹Service King Collision Repair Centers Donates to AVANCE. Service King Collision Repair Centers hosted its first annual Charity Golf Tournament in Houston, and donated $35,000 to benefit families assisted by Houston’s AVANCE parent and child education programs.

“We were ready to extend our reach to the Houston community,” said Chris Abraham, vice president of Service King’s Houston market. “After touring an AVANCE center earlier this year and learning more about the organization’s early childhood and adult literacy services, we knew it was a perfect fit for our company.”

Tournament dollars supported several local charities, but primarily the AVANCE parent and child education programs. Additional funds were raised from raffles and a live auction that included autographed sports collectables showcased by the Houston Texans cheerleaders.

_________________________________________________________________________________

‹Norton Ditto, the iconic fashion retailer at Market Street – The Woodlands, has been named one of only 10 specialty retailers in the nation to win the prestigious Uptown Downtown Award from MR Magazine, the industry’s largest menswear trade publication.

Now in its 103rd year of business, Norton Ditto was the only Texas retailer to receive the award, presented annually to a small number of clothiers throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Retailers are nominated by industry executives for setting themselves apart from their peers in exceptional, innovative ways.

“You have to keep evolving — we didn’t want to become your dad’s old store,” says Norton Ditto CEO Dick Hite. “We’re now much more of a ‘lifestyle’ store.”

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

‹Milstead Collision Repairs Cavities for Children’s Museum Dental Exhibit. Milstead Collision is cleaning up the cavities and other nicks to The Woodlands Children’s Museum Dental Exhibit after being in storage. The teeth, made of wood and fiberglass, were transported to Milstead Collision for some expert body work and paint.

“These teeth, as big and bulky as they are, have been just about everywhere it seems,” said Angela Colton, executive director for The Woodlands Children’s Museum. “We are now ready to get them back into shape and to set up our ‘Open Wide’ Dental Exhibit that children have loved in the past.”

“This has to be one of the most interesting projects we’ve done here at Milstead Collision and we are happy to do this for the Museum,” Amy Milstead said.

Kristine McCool of McCool Designs will supply the mural that goes along with the exhibit.

_________________________________________________________________________________

‹Market Street is accepting applicants for the 2012 Change For Charity Program.  Montgomery County charities have the opportunity to benefit from the thousands of dollars in coins inserted in Market Street’s voluntary parking meters as the shopping and entertainment destination begins to accept applications for its 2012 Change for Charity program. Each year, four Montgomery County organizations are selected to receive a percentage of the funds collected from Market Street’s 68 parking meters during a three-month period.

At the end of each quarter, a check presentation is scheduled to bestow the donation to one of the four charities. Since the program’s inception, Market Street patrons have raised more than $50,000 for local Montgomery County charities, providing funds for organizations benefiting the health and welfare of children, adults and families in need.

Nonprofits interested in applying for the 2012 program should visit the Market Street website at marketstreet-thewoodlands.com to download the application or request an application by emailing chamberguest­services@gmail.com. All forms must be submitted by Oct. 31. Those applying must furnish proof of tax-exempt status. .

_________________________________________________________________________________

‹Kristy Jonas from New Braunfels was the winner of the online contest “Where’s Puffy?” featuring The Woodlands’ lovable mascot, Puffy Pine Cone® , on the newly designed website, according to Susan Vreeland-Wendt,director of marketing for The Woodlands Development Company.

Jonas won a Deluxe Weekend Package at The Woodlands Resort including access to The Forest Oasis Waterscape™, a round of golf at the Panther Trail Golf Course and dinner for two at The Woodlands Dining Room. During the month of July, contestants tracked Puffy Pine Cone’s whereabouts from page to page, following the clues. Puffy was hidden on the Greenspace map in the Nature section of TheWoodlands.com. The names of those who found Puffy on the site were entered into a drawing to win the Deluxe Weekend Package at The Woodlands Resort.

In an odd coincidence, when Jonas was notified that she was the winner, she had just planned an upcoming weekend stay for her husband and herself at The Resort. Jonas, who says she enjoys visiting The Woodlands, was excited to plan another getaway to The Resort.