Riverwalk announces 3 management hires

Riverwalk Casino and Hotel has announced management hires in the front office, food and beverage and housekeeping/EVS.

Cassandra M. Watkins has been named front office manager, a position she has held at another casino. She will perform monthly inventory, conduct meetings within the department and handle customer service issues. Before coming to Riverwalk, Watkins was assistant manager for Advance America.

Richard Hernandez has been named food and beverage manager. He began his career with Macy’s in San Francisco as general manager. He was also general manager of California Café in Palo Alto, Calif., and Atlanta. His casino experience includes food and beverage general manager with Caesar’s Entertainment in Biloxi and manager of C & G Grill at Island View Casino in Biloxi.

Odell Garland has been named housekeeping/EVS manager. He was in the U.S. Air Force for about 20 years and received an honorable discharge. His has been a front desk supervisor, guest services manager and hotel manager at Harrah’s in Vicksburg — now called Horizon Casino. While there, he was named Supervisor of the Month four times. Garland was also night manager/auditor for the Clarion Hotel in Jackson.

Riverwalk, Vicksburg’s fifth casino, is being built off Warrenton Road and is set to open in the fall.

Jackson State to host environmental forum

Jackson State University will host the fifth International Symposium on Recent Advances in Environmental Health Research. The event is set for Sept. 14-17 at the Jackson Marriott, 200 E. Amite St.

The symposium aims to encourage research and education in the fields of environmental science, biomedical science and public health. It is sponsored by Jackson State’s College of Science, Engineering and Technology.

Topics will include new frontiers in environmental health research; nanoscience; nanotechnology and nanotoxicology; environmental toxicology and health risk assessment; emerging topics in computational biology and environmental modeling; health disparities and environmental security; medical geology; and human health and natural resources damage assessment and management.

For information, call 601-979-3473, e-mail phyllis.martin@jsums.edu or paul.b.tchounwou@jsums.edu or visit ehr.cset.jsums.edu.