Bill Ray has been named regional director-corporate and community affairs for BellSouths West Tennessee operation Bill Ray has been named regional director-corporate and community affairs for BellSouths West Tennessee operation. He joined the company in 1968 and has served as assistant vice president of sales for BellSouth Business in Louisville, Ky. Thompson & Co. has announced two new employees. Sharon Threlkeld has joined the firm as senior media buyer. She previously was a broadcast media negotiator for Western International Media. Katherine Holland has joined the company as account supervisor. She previously worked as a manager for Embassy Suites Brand Marketing with Promus Hotel Corp. She is a graduate of the University of Memphis. Scott Livingston has been named a graphic artist at Walker & Associates Inc. Katie Dalzell has been named an account coordinator at Walker & Associates Inc. Ted Showalter has been named director of finance for the Church Health Center. He previously was controller. Monica Hinkle has joined the center as a development associate, and Jennifer Larson has joined the center as associate director for public relations. Rick Thompson has joined the centers Hope and Healing ministry as community development coordinator, Kelly Garrett has joined the ministry as director of the preschool for the Caldwell School Initiative and Richard Bryant has joined the ministry as coordinator of exercise and movement. Joseph Webb has been named administrator of Methodist Healthcare-South Hospital. Webb formerly was vice president of operations at Methodist-Central. He has an undergraduate degree from Tennessee State University and masters degrees from TSU and the University of Alabama. Michael Demster has been appointed vice president of operations at Methodist Healthcare-Central Hospital. Demster formerly was vice president of the regional division. He has a bachelors degree from the University of Knoxville and a masters degree from the University of Memphis. Betty Nichols has joined Methodist Healthcare as director of physician services for its ambulatory division. She formerly was vice president of operations at Physician Health Corp. of MidSouth Inc. She is a graduate of the University of Memphis. Baker, Donelson, Bearman & Caldwell has announced several new laterals. Angela Merideth Jones has joined the firm as an associate. She will concentrate her practice in workers compensation, premises liability and general tort litigation. Jones received a bachelors degree from the University of Mississippi and a law degree from the University of Arkansas. Martin F. Shea Jr. has joined the firm as an associate. He will concentrate his practice in securities and mergers and acquisitions. He formerly worked for Glankler Brown PLLC. Shea received bachelors and law degrees from Vanderbilt University. Lang Wiseman has joined the firm as an associate. He will concentrate his practice in commercial litigation. Wiseman received a bachelors degree from the University of Tennessee and a law degree from Harvard University. James "Tom" Watson, president of Armstrong Relocation, was elected to the board of directors of United Van Lines Inc. and its parent company UniGroup Inc. The National Society of Fund Raising Executives awarded its Crystal Awards to Jim and Carol Prentiss for individual philanthropy, Rose Jackson Flenorl of International Paper for corporate philanthropy and Bro. Patrick OBrien of Christian Brothers University for fund-raising executive. Dr. V. Lane Rawlins, president of the University of Memphis, has been named 1998 Communicator of the Year by the Tennessee Speech Communication Association. Philip Satre, chairman of Harrahs Entertainment, has been named Casino Journal magazines Gaming Executive of the Year. LaTonya Young has been named administrative assistant at Crichton College. Young is a graduate of State Technical Institute. Judy Hillen has been named admissions secretary at Crichton College. She has an undergraduate degree from Crichton and a masters degree from Mississippi College. Mid-South Gastroenterology Group and Bowden Multi-Specialty Surgery Center have announced several new employees: Tracy Scribner, registered nurse; Olivia K. Hardnett, clinical resource nurse; DeJuna Matthews, patient account representative; and Jacqueline Towns, receptionist. Marge VanVleet, pediatric nurse practitioner at Hope Health Center for the Homeless, won the Tennessee Nurses Associations 1998 Council Parent/Child Nursing Award. Bill Caldwell, director of metro human resources for Baptist Memorial Health Care, has been named president of the Mississippi Hospital Association Society for Human Resources. Melvin Walker, administrator at Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto, has been installed as chairman of the Mississippi Hospital Association Board of Governors. Dr. David L. Sigsbee of The University of Memphis has been awarded the Tennessee Foreign Language Teaching Associations Jacqueline Elliott Award.