Alabama

Hoar Construction of Birmingham, Ala., recently announced that Douglas E. Eckert has joined the firm as vice president of business operations. Eckert will be responsible for contracts, insurance and the management of other business operations.

Prior to joining Hoar, Eckert was a partner in Bradley, Arant, Rose & White's Construction and Procurement Group, chairman of the firm's International Practice Group and a member of the firm's Executive Committee. He has worked with more than a dozen of Engineering News-Record Top 400 general contractors, including several based in Birmingham.

He has worked on projects across the United States and in several foreign countries. His experience ranges from retail and condominium developments to large industrial facilities, theme parks, hotels, healthcare and program management.

Eckert holds a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law and a bachelor's degree in international relations from the University of Virginia.

Hoar Construction is based in Birmingham and has offices in Nashville, Orlando and Houston.

Claudia Escobar, an industrial and systems engineering graduate at Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., will receive the Region IV - Edwin P. Granberry Scholarship from the American Society of Safety Engineers.

The scholarship is presented to a student residing in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Through the support of corporations, members and individuals, the ASSE Foundation is awarding more than $80,000 in scholarships this year for undergraduates and graduates.

The scholarships were presented during ASSE's annual Professional Development Conference and Exposition in June.

Arkansas

Jason Greiner has joined Enco Materials Inc.'s Little Rock, Ark., division as an outside sales representative.

Prior to joining Enco, Greiner performed outside business sales for a major communication company. He attended Oklahoma State University and majored in construction management.

Mississippi

Peter H. Barrett, a former assistant U.S. district attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, has joined the Gulfport office of Butler, Snow, O'Mara, Stevens & Cannada.

During his 22-year stint with the U.S. Department of Justice, he served as an AUSA in the Southern District, as a special assistant U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Louisiana and as assistant director of the Office of Legal Education of the Department of Justice.

Tennessee

A group of senior healthcare construction executives has launched the healthcare headquarters of BE&K Building Group in Nashville, Tenn., officials announced recently.

The following executives comprise the Nashville office:

• Burk Waugh, executive vice president, former long-time head of the Nashville office for McDevitt & Street and later Bovis, has been responsible for more than $1 billion in healthcare projects
• Red Hyde, senior superintendent, an experienced healthcare superintendent, has been responsible for more than $500 million in healthcare projects, including Skyline Hospital and Centennial Medical Center in Nashville
• Jim Paron, senior superintendent, an experienced healthcare superintendent in the Southeast, has been responsible for more than $375M in healthcare projects
• Ed Smith, vice president and operations manager, responsible for more than $1 billion in healthcare projects over his 20 years in the industry, formerly with Bovis
• Cris Bryant, vice president of business development, 11-year veteran, formerly with Bovis
• Randy Patterson, senior project manager, formerly with Bovis
• Wes Hunt, project manager, formerly with Doster Construction Company of Franklin, Tenn.
• Brad Thomas, project manager, more than nine years experience in the industry, formerly with Bovis
• Jason Adams, project manager, formerly with Bovis

Together with these Nashville executives, BE&K Building Group was formed under the guidance of Luther Cochrane, former chairman & CEO of Bovis Lend Lease and current chairman & CEO of BE&K Building Group, and Larry Beasley, former head of operations for Bovis Lend Lease and current president of BE&K Building Group. Cochrane works out of the Charlotte office, while Larry is stationed in Atlanta.

BE&K Building Group is a subsidiary of Birmingham-based BE&K Inc., one of the largest privately held companies in the Southeast.

Phil Garner was recently appointed as field sales manager for eastern Tennessee and North Carolina for G-P Gypsum of Atlanta, Ga., a wholly owned subsidiary of Georgia-Pacific Corp.

He began his career as a business development manager covering the eastern U.S. for Louisiana Pacific. He most recently served as building materials consultant for builders, architects and contractors in North Carolina and South Carolina.

Garner will be based in Charlotte, N. C., and will report to Tim Mazur, Southeast District sales manager - gypsum.

Ed Kearney, Wirtgen America of Antioch, Tenn., has been elected to serve as chairman of the Committee on Recycling Education, the Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association's technical committee.

Kearney was elected during ARRA's 29th Annual Meeting in Bal Harbour, Fla.

Walt Massey of Centex Construction has been promoted from vice president of operations to senior vice president over the Healthcare Center of Excellence and will be relocating to Dallas from Charlotte, N.C.

The Healthcare Center of Excellence headquarters relocated from Nashville, Tenn., to Dallas. The Nashville office will remain open, pursuing healthcare work in the mid south region, led by longtime Centex veteran Rocky Wooten.