[ Business Briefs

• At its November board meeting, the Louisiana Community and Technical College System Board of Supervisors approved the recommendation of Dr. Rick Bateman Jr. as the interim chancellor of Bossier Parish Community College, effective Jan. 1. Bateman serves as interim director of Northwest Louisiana Technical College. He  will serve in both roles until a permanent chancellor is selected. In the coming weeks, the LCTCS Board of Supervisors will conduct a comprehensive national search  to find the next chancellor of BPCC. This search process will include the selection of a search committee, stakeholder meetings, campus meetings and public forums. Faculty, staff and students will be included the process. The chancellor position at BPCC will be vacated Dec. 31. BPCC Chancellor Jim Henderson is the  president-elect at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches. He will become president of NSU effective Jan.1.

• Each year the Bossier Chamber of Commerce honors top business leaders at the annual gala. Nominations for these awards are now being accepted. Nominees will be scored by the leadership committee, based on the written applications. The winners will be kept confidential and will be announced at the annual banquet Jan. 27 during which the winners and finalists will be recognized. All applicants must be member in good standing to be considered. Go to www.bossierchamber.com/nomination-forms/ to nominate a leader.

• SMS Distributions, founded in 2009 by Randy and Henrietta Bowers, celebrated its fifth anniversary with a gala awards banquet at East Ridge Country Club. The  company honored the following employees: Phyllis Koglin, office manager, Most Valuable; Joe Matheny, account manager, Account Manager of the Year; Chris Bowers, operations manager, Greatest Impact Award; John Baker, warehouse manager, Excellence in Support Award; Chad Brawley, Gator Detail Supply manager, Excellence in Support Award. Other awards presented included Chevyland’s Jerry Montgomery, Client of the Year and Quest/ Vapco’ Bill Eldridge and Bruce Brazzell, Vendors of the Year. SMS Distributions is a full-service, multi-line business supply distributor with clients nationwide.

• Business First Bank has been named one of the Best Banks to Work For in the nation in 2014 by American Banker. Forty banks across the country were chosen as  Best Banks to Work For based on workplace policies, practices and the experiences and attitudes shared by individual employees. American Banker highlighted three specific areas that played a role in Business First Bank being named as one of the 2014 Best Banks to Work For. These included Business First’s “Dollar for Dollar”  program that provides matching donations to charities supported by employees; a program that allows employees at each bank location to select people or groups  from their communities, whether clients or not, and reward them with thank-you gifts and donations; and annual employee bonuses based on the profitability of each location and the bank. Spot bonuses are also given to employees who go above and beyond on projects.