Chanda D. Horne, CPA, has been promoted to a manager in the tax and consulting practice in Moore Beauston & Woodham L.L.P.'s West Columbia office. Douglas S. Ryan, CPA, has been promoted to a Manager in the audit and assurance services practice in the West Columbia office. Steven E. Hicks, CPA, a senior auditor in the audit and assurance services practice in the West Columbia office has recently received his Certified Public Accounting License for South Carolina.

Chanda Horne Don Weaver has been appointed to the South Carolina Tax Realignment Commission (TRAC).

George Zara, president and CEO of Providence Hospitals, is chairing the American Heart Association's 2010 Start! Midlands Heart Walk.

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins) has 117 of the firm's attorneys in the 2010

edition of The Best Lawyers in

America, which will be published at the end of this year. Of the Ogletree Deakins attorneys featured in the new edition of Best Lawyers, the following four attorneys from the firm's Columbia office were renamed to the list: Katherine Dudley Helms (Labor and Employment Law), Leigh M. Nason (Labor and Employment Law), Elizabeth B. Partlow (Environmental Law), and Charles T. Speth II (Labor and Employment Law).

Doug Ryan Carol Douis has been named the new president and broker- in- charge of Lake Carolina Properties, LLC.

Curves of Columbia is under new ownership. Janis Whisenant took possession of the club on June 8, 2009.

Thirty- eight Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP Columbia attorneys have been selected for inclusion in

the 2010 edition of The Best

Lawyers in America. In addition, the legal reference guide ranks the firm as among the top law firms in the nation for its product liability litigation, as among the top law firms for 12 practice areas in South Carolina, and in Columbia for 12 practice areas as well. The 12 practice areas noted for Columbia are administrative law, bankruptcy and creditor- debtor rights, bet- the- company litigation, commercial litigation, franchise law, government relations, insurance law, intellectual

George Zara property law, mass tort litigation, personal injury litigation, product liability litigation,

and technology law. The Columbia attorneys listed

on The Best Lawyers in

America are Stuart M. Andrews Jr., health care law; George S. Bailey, tax law, trusts and estates; Linda Barr, bankruptcy and creditor- debtor rights law; C. Mitchell Brown, appellate law, commercial litigation; George B. Cauthen, bankruptcy and creditor- debtor rights law; Karen Aldridge Crawford, environmental law; Christopher J. Daniels, personal injury litigation, product liability litigation; William S. Davies Jr., product liability litigation, workers' compensation law; Gus M. Dixon, corporate law, mergers & acquisitions law, securities law; Dwight F. Drake, government relations law; David E. Dukes, bet- the- company litigation, commercial litigation, personal injury litigation, product liability litigation; Mark C. Dukes, intellectual property law, technology law; Carl B. Epps III, personal injury litigation; Robert W. Foster Jr., personal injury litigation, product liability litigation; Daniel J. Fritze, corporate law, mergers & acquisitions law, securities law; James C. Gray Jr., administrative law, insurance law; Sue Erwin Harper, labor and lmployment law; Bernard F. Hawkins Jr., environmental law; P. Mason Hogue Jr., corporate law, mergers & acquisitions law, securities law; William C. Hubbard, commercial litigation; S. Keith Hutto, commercial litigation, franchise litigation; Kenneth Allan Janik, employee benefits law, tax law; Frank B.B. Knowlton, product liability litigation; D. Larry Kristinik III, commercial litigation; John F. Kuppens, commercial litigation, product liability litigation; James K. Lehman, commercial litigation; Steven A. McKelvey Jr., franchise law; John T. Moore, banking law; Stephen G. Morrison, bet- the company litigation, commercial litigation, product liability litigation; Edward W. Mullins Jr., bet- the- company litigation, commercial litigation, personal injury litigation; Pamela J. Roberts, Alternative Dispute Resolution; R. Bruce Shaw, mass tort litigation, personal injury litigation, product liability litigation; B. Rush Smith III, bet- the- company litigation, commercial litigation; Joel H. Smith, bet- the- company litigation, commercial litigation, personal injury litigation, product liability litigation; David G. Traylor Jr., mass tort litigation, personal injury litigation, product liability litigation; Ralston B. Vanzant II, real estate law; Daniel J. Westbrook, health care law; and George B. Wolfe, government relations law.

Carol Douis For the third year in a row, more than half of the shareholders of Ellis, Lawhorne & Sims, P.A., have been selected to Best Lawyers in America®. Thirteen of the firm's 21 shareholders will be included in the 2010 edition of the legal profession's most respected peer- review publication. All of the firm's practice groups are included in Best Lawyers. All five of the Firm's shareholders in the Workers' Compensation Practice Group were honored for their work: F. Earl Ellis Jr., William R. Harbison, Ernest G. Lawhorne, Mary Sowell League, and Lana H. Sims Jr. All three of the Firm's Trusts and Estates Practice Group shareholders were selected: Rita Bragg Cullum, David C. Sojourner, and Karen Hudson Thomas. In the Business, Real Estate and Finance Practice Group, William O. Higgins and William P. McElveen Jr., were honored for their work in real estate law. In the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Practice Group, John L. McCants was recognized for his work in construction law; W. Cliff Moore III, commercial litigation; and John T. Lay Jr., bet- the- company litigation, commercial litigation, and product liability litigation. Five candidates have been selected to interview for the Richland County Recreation Commission executive director position. They are David E. Carter, Fuquay- Varina, N.C.; James R. Dunwiddie, Belle Mead, N.J.; Brian DeVost, Suffolk, Va.; Robert Harris, Hamilton, Ohio; and Daniel Wells, Chapin, S.C.

Victoria L. Eslinger Victor ia L. Esl inger has been named the 2009 Advocate of the Year by the South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center. Eslinger is a member (partner) of Nexsen Pruet and practices in the Employment and Labor Law and Business Litigation Groups in Columbia.