PINEVILLE, La., - Cleco is renaming two power station facilities and two generating units in honor of past and present leadership and is working to establish an endowed chair at Louisiana State University at Alexandria (LSUA) as a part of the company's 75th anniversary celebration.

On Friday, June 11, the corporation's board of directors voted to honor former chief executive officers Scott O. Brame, F. Hugh Coughlin and Gregory L. Nesbitt. They also voted to honor Cleco's current president and CEO Michael H. Madison.

"These visionaries helped position Cleco for growth and success," said J. Patrick Garrett, Cleco's chairman of the board. "Without their dedication and hard work, this company and our communities would not be what they are today."

Rodemacher Power Station will be renamed the Brame Energy Center in honor of Brame, former chairman of the board and CEO who retired in 1993 after over 40 years of service. Brame's history with the company dates back to 1949. He served in positions ranging from "trainee - unclassified" to president, chief executive officer, director and ultimately chairman of the board. "Scott's integrity is unmatched," said Garrett. "He not only left a permanent imprint on the company and its culture, but on those both within and outside the company with whom he came into contact. I am one of those."

Unit 1 at the Brame Energy Center will become Nesbitt Unit 1. Nesbitt retired from Cleco in 2000 after 20 years with the company. He was active in the central Louisiana community serving on the committee which constructed the Alexandria Museum of Art. Unit 3 at the Brame Energy Center, Cleco's new circulating fluidized-bed plant, will be called Madison Unit 3 in honor of Madison, who conceptualized the company's most ambitious construction project and saw it come to fruition. Madison joined Cleco Power LLC in 2003 as president and chief operating officer. He has been active on the Committee of 100, the Council for a Better Louisiana, Cenla Advantage Partnership and other state and local community service organizations.

Unit 2 at the Brame Energy Center will remain Rodemacher Unit 2, and the lake will continue to be known as Rodemacher Lake.

In addition, Cleco is working with the administration of LSUA to establish the Scott O. Brame/Cleco Endowed Chair in Finance. Housed in the Department of Business Administration and subject to approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors, the chair will be established with a $600,000 gift from Cleco to LSUA. The intent is to submit the chair proposal to the Louisiana Board of Regents for a matching grant of $400,000 from the Endowed Chairs for Eminent Scholars Program. Brame was and still is involved in community service, especially in the area of education. He is currently a member of the Louisiana Board of Regents and served as past chair of the LSUA Foundation.

Evangeline Power Station in Evangeline Parish will return to its original name, Coughlin Power Station, honoring Coughlin, president and CEO who retired from Cleco in 1967 but remained chairman of the board until 1972. Coughlin helped develop the basic idea of a complete outdoor steam-electric generating plant from which his namesake was constructed. Among his many accomplishments, Coughlin co-founded the Coughlin Saunders Foundation as a charitable institution in central Louisiana and developed the Coughlin Industrial Park in Pineville.

"There is a recurring theme in Cleco's history - leaders who build the company and serve the community to leave a lasting impression for future generations," said Garrett. "It is an honor to recognize these leaders and their achievements."