stagfe2/app/Models/Account.php

<?php

namespace App\Models;

# use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class Account extends Model
{
    protected $table = 'account';

    public function displayName($_flat = true)
    {
        $result = '';
        if($_flat) {
            $result = $this->name_first . ' ' . $this->name_last;
        }
        else {
            $result = $this->name_last . ', ' . $this->name_first;
        }
        return $result;
    }

}