Michael Wiechart has been named president and CEO of Capella Healthcare, effective January 1.

The appointment was announced by Dan Slipkovich, co-founder, board chairman and current CEO, who said the move was designed to position the company for long-term success and strategic growth. Slipkovich will continue as executive board chairman, with the transition allowing him to dedicate more of his time to strategic market development and growth along with continued responsibilities in the areas of investor and government relations.

Based in Franklin, Capella owns and/or operates 14 acute care and specialty hospital facilities in six states.

As senior VP and COO for Capella since 2009, he has overseen hospital operations, physician services, quality improvement, supply chain, revenue cycle, managed care, strategic planning, business development, and labor productivity initiatives.

Wiechart began his career in health care 25 years ago with the role of controller for a hospital in Statesville, NC. Later, he served as CFO at various HCA hospitals, which culminated in his being named CFO for the Chattanooga market and then the Cumberland Division.

In 1998, Wiechart became vice president of operations for Province Healthcare, where he oversaw financial operations for 11 hospitals before moving to LifePoint in 1999 as a founding member. As senior vice president & group president for LifePoint, he led two operating divisions with 24 hospitals.

Robinson named 2013 Young Leader of the Year

Jill Robinson, director of executive learning and marketing for the Center for Executive Education at Belmont University, has been named the 2013 Young Leader of the Year by Young Leaders Council, a Nashville-based nonprofit organization that has trained more than 2,000 men and women to effectively participate on the boards of nonprofit agencies.

The Young Leader of the Year award is presented annually to a graduate of the YLC training program from the past 28 years who has made significant contributions to the fulfillment of the YLC mission, as well as demonstrated a commitment to ongoing community service and board leadership to local nonprofit organizations.

In addition to her role at Center for Executive Education at Belmont University supplying the keynote speakers for the past six YLC Fall Leadership Luncheons, Robinson was key to the expansion of the YLC nonprofit board training program into Williamson County in 2013 due to the partnership created with Williamson County Young Professionals.

A graduate of YLC Class 26, she serves as the chair of the YLC board of directors and is a member of the advisory boards for Tennessee Repertory Theatre and OZ Nashville, a contemporary art space and event venue. She is active in both the Williamson County and Nashville Chambers of Commerce, including serving on the Nashville Chamber’s Midtown Leadership Team and previously as chair for YP Nashville, which connects young professionals to networking, professional development, and community involvement.

Plorin named president of Lovell Communications

Rosemary Plorin has been named president of Lovell Communications, succeeding firm founder Paula Lovell, who remains with the 25-year old public relations and marketing communications firm as chairman and chief executive officer.

Plorin will share responsibility for the firm’s strategic direction, operations management and business development while continuing to serve her growing base of clients throughout the country.

Plorin joined Lovell in 2000 and has been a senior vice president and partner in the firm since 2005. She leads Lovell’s Healthcare Division, a team of senior strategists specializing in healthcare regulation communications, issues management, M&A communications and healthcare marketing. Working in other industries as well, Plorin is an expert in regulatory communications, bankruptcy communications, labor relations communications and litigation support.

A native Nashvillian who returned to her hometown 10 years after college, Plorin is a graduate of Denison University in Granville, Ohio.

Bigelow honored by Nashville Bar Association

Robb Bigelow, an attorney with Dickinson Wright PLLC, has been honored with the President’s Award from the Nashville Bar Association.

The award is bestowed in recognition of his service, leadership and dedication to the Nashville Bar Association and to the city and people of Nashville, and is considered one of the highest honors given to a member of the Nashville Bar Association.

He also received an award from the Young Lawyers Division of the Nashville Bar Association for his leadership and dedication as the past president of the organization.

Bigelow is a member in the firm’s Nashville office where he focuses his practice on commercial & business litigation, labor & employment litigation, class actions, and music, sports & entertainment litigation.

Waller hires Habermann to boost franchise practice

Waller has hired attorney Ted R. Habermann, who has worked with franchisors ranging from start-up systems to national franchise companies for more than 20 years.

Before joining Waller, Habermann was vice president, secretary and general counsel for Shoney’s, Inc., working closely with both the Shoney’s and Captain D’s restaurant chains. Habermann also served as general counsel and secretary for Servpro Industries, Inc., a national provider of fire and water restoration and mold mitigation and remediation services which currently has a network of more than 1,600 franchises.

Habermann earned his J.D. at Valparaiso University School of Law and his B.S. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Waller also has added 22 new associates since June 2013. The latest additions to the firm’s roster of approximately 200 attorneys are as follows:

Corporate:

• Lindsey R. Arnold is a 2007 cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law. Prior to joining Waller, Arnold was an associate with Burr & Forman LLP in Atlanta and Nashville.

• W. Wells Beckett is a 2013 cum laude graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law. He earned his B.B.A., cum laude, in 2010 from Belmont University.

• Lindsay E. Jacques is a 2013 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, where she earned a Law & Business Certificate and was symposium editor of the Vanderbilt Law Review.

• Kathleen Roth is a 2009 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Baltimore School of Law. She also holds an M.B.A. from the University of Baltimore Merrick School of Business. Prior to joining Waller, Roth was an associate with Duane Morris LLP in Philadelphia.

• Lanta Wang is a 2011 graduate of Duke University School of Law where she also earned an LL.M. in international and comparative law. Wang was a legal fellow with Duke University and the Duke University Health System Office of Counsel.

Finance & Restructuring:

• Eleanor G. McCulty is a 2010 graduate of the Columbia University School of Law, where she served as notes editor for the Columbia Law Review. Prior to joining Waller, McCulty was an associate with Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP in New York.

• Jade M. Preis is a 2013 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School and a member of the Phi Delta Phi legal honor society.

Health Care:

• Amanda Brown is a 2008 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Mississippi School of Law. Prior to joining Waller, Brown was an associate with Phelps Dunbar LLP in Tupelo, Miss.

• Catherine Rolen is a 2013 graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Law, where she was executive editor of Transactions: The Tennessee Journal of Business Law and served as vice president of the Health Law Society.

Intellectual Property:

• Eric B. Fugett is a 2009 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School. Prior to joining Waller, he was an associate with Connolly Bove Lodge & Hutz in Wilmington, Del.

• William F. Wilson is a 2012 cum laude graduate of Washington University in St. Louis School of Law where he also earned an LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law. Prior to joining Waller, Wilson was a Post-Graduate Legal Fellow at the Washington University Office of Technology Management in St. Louis.

Labor & Employment:

• Aron Z. Karabel is a 2005 cum laude graduate of Albany Law School. Prior to joining Waller, Karabel was an associate with Thomas Drohan Waxman Petigrow & Mayle, LLP in Hopewell Junction, N.Y.

• C. Hunter Kitchens is a 2011 cum laude graduate of Mississippi College School of Law. Prior to joining Waller, Kitchens was an associate with King & Ballow in Nashville.

• Chen G. Ni is a 2013 graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School. Prior to joining Waller, Chen interned with King & Wood in Shanghai where he researched and drafted memos on U.S. and Chinese corporate and labor laws.

• Brian A. Pierce graduated Order of the Coif in 2011 from Vanderbilt University Law School. Prior to joining Waller, Pierce was an associate with Vinson & Elkins, LLP in Houston.

• P. Maxwell Smith is a 2007 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Alabama School of Law. Prior to joining Waller, Smith was an associate with Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP in Nashville.

Litigation & Dispute Resolution:

• Gilbert Dickey graduated in 2012 from the University of Chicago Law School. Prior to joining Waller, Dickey was clerk to the Hon. William H. Pryor Jr., United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.

• Michael A. Fant is a 2012 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Florida Levin College of Law.

• Joseph L. Watson graduated with honors and Order of the Coif in 2011 from the University of Tennessee College of Law. Prior to joining Waller, Watson was clerk to the Hon. Justice Gary Wade, Tenn. Supreme Court.

Real Estate:

• Evan L. Clark is a 2012 cum laude graduate of Samford University, Cumberland School of Law. Prior to joining Waller, Clark served as clerk to the Hon. Thomas W. Brothers, Sixth Circuit Court, Twentieth Judicial District of Tennessee

• Casey N. Miley is a 2011 graduate of the Nashville School of Law. Prior to joining Waller, Miley served as assistant attorney general, Office of the Tennessee Attorney General and Reporter, Real Property and Transportation Division.

• Jessica R. Reeves is a 2013 graduate of the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, while also completing a semester at the Japan campus of Temple University School of Law. Reeves holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management and earned her A.B. in 2004 from Dartmouth College.

Barge Waggoner adds information group leader

Barge Waggoner Sumner and Cannon has hired Justin Graham, GISP, as Information Management Practice leader to oversee a new service line, information management, that includes application development, asset management, geographic information systems (GIS), technology consulting, remote sensing and mobile data collection.

With more than 10 years of technology consulting experience, Graham was previously information management project manager in AMEC’s Environment & Infrastructure division. The University of Tennessee graduate serves on the board of directors for the Tennessee Geographic Information Council, most recently as president.

He is a Geographic Information Systems Professional (GISP) and also a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM).

Churchill Mortgage hires 6 for Brentwood office

Churchill Mortgage continues to expand its local presence with eight new employees.

They are Austin Heithcock (loan partner), Kathy Mendenhall and Shannon Kaiser (underwriters), Cindy Moore (home loan specialist), Christina Forster (customer care specialist) and Teresa Maiser (administrative coordinator).