HispanicBusiness

Jim Albritton of Mineola has been sworn-in as the new chairman of the East Texas Chapter of SCORE, a nonprofit association of business counselors who provide free and confidential business counseling to local East Texas area small business owners or start-ups.

The change was announced during the chapter's annual banquet at the Hollytree Country Club on Tuesday.

Albritton, an active counselor with the local SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) chapter since 2008, was also active in the greater Dallas area SCORE chapter for more than two years, and was chairman-elect in Dallas before moving to Mineola. He spent most of his work in sales and marketing, including Makita Power Tools, VP Hitachi and VP Nikota USA.

SCORE is a nonprofit association of business counselors who provide free and confidential business mentoring to East Texas area small business owners or start-ups. The local SCORE office is located within the Small Business Development Center, Tyler Junior College West Campus, School of Continuing Studies. SCORE is a partner of the U.S. Small Business Association. For information, call 903-510-2975 or visit www.EastTexasScore.org.

AWARD

The Lindale Economic Development Corp. received a Gold Excellence in Economic Development Award for its New Primary Website in the category of General Purpose Website for communities with populations of less than 25,000 people from the International Economic Development Council. The award was presented Oct. 2 at an annual conference in Houston.

Lindale Economic Development Corp. President John Clary said in 2011, they sought to create a new website that catered to site consultants, real estate professionals and lay people looking for data. ED Suite of Kilgore designed the site, which went active in March.

The Excellence in Economic Development Awards recognize the world's best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials and the year's most influential leaders. The awards honor organizations and individuals for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban and rural communities.

The Lindale organization also received an Award of Merit for its website entry, www.lindaletexas.com, at the Communications Awards Ceremony during the 2012 Southern Economic Development Council Annual Conference in South Carolina.

FINANCIAL ADVISERS

Merrill Lynch announced that financial advisers Vicki Sorrell and Anna Malone joined together to form Sorrell, Malone & Associates in the Merrill Lynch Tyler branch office.

"We are excited to have Vicki and Anna join together to form Sorrell, Malone & Associates as Merrill Lynch Wealth Management continues to deliver highly personalized, comprehensive wealth management and holistic advice to individuals, families and businesses of East Tex­as," Gregg Davis, resident director of weal­th management, said in a statement. "Their combined experience enhances our ability to provide integrated solutions to help clients with all aspects of their financial lives."

Ms. Sorrell joined Merrill Lynch in 2008 and has worked in the financial services industry for more than 30 years. She received a bachelor's degree in accounting from The University of Texas at Tyler.

Ms. Malone joined Merrill Lynch in 2011 and has five years experience in the financial services industry. She received a bachelor's degree in finance from Texas Christian University.