IN SHORT

New hires

The Rowley Agency Inc., an insurance agency in Portland, hired Kirk Mullen as a commercial insurance account executive.

Maine Savings Federal Credit Union in Hampden hired Danielle Hewes as branch manager of its Bangor branch at 868 Hammond St.

S&B Financial Services in Saco hired James Carter as a Cetera Investment Services financial advisor.

Maine Quality Counts, an independent, multi-stakeholder alliance in Manchester working to transform health and health care, hired Larry Clifford as executive director. Clifford was previously chief planning and development officer for Penobscot Community Health Care.

Skowhegan Savings Bank hired Tim Michalak as a vice president of commercial lending in Augusta. Michalak has more than 20 years of experience in commercial banking.

Clark Insurance in Portland hired Tim McCarty as director of loss control services. McCarty has decades of national experience in the safety field and has twice been recognized by his peers as the Maine Chapter Safety Professional of the Year of the American Society of Safety Engineers.

Mercy Hospital in Portland hired Ed Gilman as director of communications. Gilman most recently served in the Obama Administration directing external affairs activities for an agency at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Tri County Literacy in Bath hired Cyndy Carney as executive director and Donald Lader as program coordinator of its Literacy Volunteers Program.

OTT Communications in New Gloucester hired David Allen as senior director of telecom operations. Allen was with GWI, where he was the vice president of technology.

Hobbs Funeral Homes in South Portland hired Gail Murphy as office manager and administrative specialist.

Penobscot Community Health Care in Bangor announced Kevin DeLeonardo, Minh Hoang, Elaina Rosario, Kristene Welch and Kristopher Ravin became residents in its accredited Postgraduate Year One Community Pharmacy Residency Program and that Isatu Bah, Christopher Ford and Matthew Janda became general practice dental residents at PCHC Dental Center.

The Michelle Raber State Farm Insurance Agency in Scarborough hired Hayley Clavette as an account representative. Clavette was previously with State Farm in Alaska.

Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce in Waterville hired Kelly Smith as programs assistant. Smith was previously development director with Family Violence Project.

Diversified Communications, a media company based in Portland, hired Shannon Dobbins as a registration coordinator. Dobbins was previously with Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Westbrook.

BerryDunn, an accounting and consulting firm in Portland, hired Danielle Bergner, Laura Bong and Danielle Hay as consultants, Emily Carbonara as staff consultant and Clark Lathrum, Fred Turnier and Carolyn Weber as senior consultants in its Government Consulting Group; Donald Landry as applications administrator II in its Information Systems Group; and Andrew Hutchins as staff analyst and Katherine Whitehead as senior analyst in its Valuation Group.

Rinck, a marketing agency in Lewiston, hired Brock Naylor and Andrea LaBonte as account executives and Carolyn Kennison as an administrative professional. Naylor was most recently a marketing and creative media coordinator at Thomas P. Miller & Associates in Indianapolis. LaBonte worked as the marketing communications coordinator at Johnny's Selected Seeds. Kennison was an administrative assistant in the Office of Accessible Education/Student Affairs at Bates College. The firm also hired Kristan Vermeulen as a content producer based in its Annapolis, Md., office.

Promotions

Macpage LLC, Maine's third-largest accounting firm, promoted Ralph Hendrix, an employee of 35 years,to CEO. Macpage is based in South Portland and has other offices in Augusta and Marlborough, Mass. As CEO he will oversee HR and marketing for the firm. He has published several articles and authored a chapter in the Management of an Accounting Practice Handbook for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He had been COO. The CEO role is a newly created position. Graham M. Smith is the firm's longtime president.

SIS Bank in Sanford promoted Michelle Sheppard to senior vice president and chief risk officer and Brenda Keene to senior vice president. The bank also announced that Anthony Cataldi, executive vice president, will oversee residential lending, commercial lending and marketing in addition to his existing responsibilities and Karyn Morin, vice president and senior retail banker, will add loan servicing to her list of responsibilities.

Macpage also said it promoted Michael Leclerc to COO and Nicholas Norton to principal. Leclerc joined the firm in 2013 and Norton leads the firm's client accounting services team.

The Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, a regional agency in Auburn serving the tri-county area of Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties, promoted Amy Landry to executive director and CEO. Landry has worked in various capacities for the organization for more than 20 years.

BerryDunn, an accounting and consulting firm in Portland, promoted Bill Enck to a principal of the firm. Enck is a member of the firm's Tax Group.

Appointments

The South Portland/Cape Elizabeth Rotary Club elected Sue Sturtevant as president for 2017-18. Club officers include Fran Bagdasarian, president-elect; David Lourie, vice president; Nancy Irving, treasurer; Kathy Cotter, secretary; Bill Anderson, immediate past president; Doug Schauf, club administrator; Catherine Callahan, international programs; Bob Knupp, community service; Rich Daniels, youth service; and Laurenz Schmidt, membership.

The Maine Community Foundation appointed Peter Lamb as chair and Karen Stanley as vice chair of its board of directors. Lamb is an independent philanthropic advisor and a traditional craftsman while Stanley, a former co-owner of Stanley Subaru in Ellsworth, is chair of Camden National Bank.

The Maine Real Estate & Development Association in Portland elected Bruce Jones, Creative Office Pavilion, and Brian Curley, PDT Architects, as vice presidents of its board and Bill Shanahan, Northern New England Housing Investment Fund, as treasurer.

Achievements

OUT Maine, a rural LGBTQ youth support organization in Rockland, was selected by USA Today's “Faces of Pride” to represent Maine. The recognition highlights the organization's work as a model for rural youth.

Patricia Cook of Lincoln Medical Partners Pediatrics was selected for a “Childhood Immunization Champion Award” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the CDC Foundation.

Littler, a Portland employment and labor law practice representing management, said that Jonathan Shapiro was recognized in “Band 1 for Maine” in the 2017 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business. Shapiro is a shareholder in the firm's Portland and New York offices.

The Appalachian Mountain Club and economist David Vail were honored by CEI Capital Management for commitment to the economic and environmental sustainability of rural communities. The club received the “Rural Pacesetter Award” for its use of the New Markets Tax Credit program to pursue its Maine Woods Initiative, an approach to land conservation and nature-based recreation in Maine's 100-Mile-Wilderness region that combines outdoor recreation, resource protection, sustainable forestry and community partnerships. Vail won the “Rural Prosperity Award” for dedicating his career to studying and advocating for sustainable rural development.

The Maine Small Business Development Centers, a state-wide program that helps entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, selected Joshua Nadeau as the “2017 State Star.” Nadeau is a center director and certified business advisor at the Maine SBDC at Northern Maine Development Commission in Caribou.

TripAdvisor awarded its “Certificate of Excellence” to Meadowmere Resort in Ogunquit and The Cod Cove Inn in Edgecomb. Recipients include accommodations, eateries and attractions located all over the world that have continually delivered a quality customer experience.

Lois Latour, a critical care social worker at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, was named the “2017 Maine Hospital Association Caregiver of the Year.”

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree was chosen as one of six recipients for the 7th annual “James Beard Foundation Leadership Award” for her support of national policies that promote healthy food, local and regional food systems and organic agriculture. Separately, she received the first-ever “Environmental Champion Award” from Environment Maine for her efforts to protect public health and the environment in Congress.

Patricia Vampatella was honored with the “2017 Margaret Ross Award” for 16 years of volunteerism at SeniorsPlus in Lewiston. Vampatella has served on the organization's board of directors for eight years and also served on the Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee and its Advisory Council.

Carolyn Mitchell, a personal insurance account assistant at Allen Insurance and Financial in Camden, achieved the designation of Accredited Customer Service Representative in personal lines from the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America.

Franklin Community Health Network in Farmington said that Jodi Cordes, director of provider recruitment and volunteer services, was awarded the 2017 Director of Volunteer Excellence Award from the Maine Society Directors of Healthcare Volunteer Services. In addition, the health care organization announced Cole Teague, director of facilities management, was awarded the 2017 Maine Healthcare Engineer of the Year Award by the Maine Healthcare Engineer's Society.

The city of Rockland was selected by Country Living Magazine as having one of the “23 Best Small Town Main Streets in America.”

Redzone Wireless LLC in Rockland was recognized among the Top-10 ISPs to watch in the U.S. by FierceTelecom, an international telecommunications industry publication, for its 5Gx wireless broadband service and network expansion plans.

The Tufts University School of Medicine presented the Tufts Distinguished Faculty Award to Peter Bates, Maine Medical Center's senior vice president of academic affairs, chief academic officer and academic dean for the Maine Medical Center-Tufts School of Medicine Medical School Program. The award was established to recognize faculty members who have made outstanding contributions to Tufts University School of Medicine in the areas of teaching, scholarship and service.

Richard Crossman of Allen Insurance and Financial in Camden was honored for 15 consecutive years of active affiliation with Certified Risk Managers International for leadership and professionalism in the field of risk management.

Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, was ranked first in the American Bar Association Health Law Section's Fourth Annual Top-10 Recognition for the Northeast Region. This is the second year in a row the firm was recognized in the top-10 list, moving up from its ranking of second last year.

Ben Shaw, founder and CEO of Vets First Choice in Portland, was named “EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 Award” in the New England program. The awards program recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.

Preble Street, a social service agency in Portland, presented its “2017 Community Partner Award” to Maine Medical Center in Portland for its efforts to create the MMC-Preble Street Learning Collaborative, a program delivering unmet health care needs to homeless populations in Portland.

Baker Newman Noyes, an accounting and consulting firm in Portland, announced that Jennifer Harnish was awarded the “2017 Maine HR Director's Award” by the Society for Human Resource Management Maine State Council. Harnish is director of human resources for the firm's five regional offices in New England.

Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution announced that 13 of its employees earned Center for Financial Training and Education Alliance recognition. Kathleen Grenier and Ashley Parker earned Certified Teller Certificates; Travis Vacchiano, Bank Compliance for Front Line Bankers; Matt Grenier and Melanie Lee, Bank Operations Diplomas; Jane Van Dam, Bank Security Awareness Certificate; Laurie Rocque, Call Center Representative Certificate; Caitlin Binette and Cathy White, Customer Service Associate Certificates; Matt Grenier, General Banking Diploma; Karyn Labrie, Universal Banker Certificate; and Renee Bahmani (law and banking applications), Patrick Leland (principles of banking) and Leah Williams (written communication) each earned High Honors in Education.

EMHS in Brewer was recognized as a collective system on the 19th annual “Health Care's Most Wired” survey by the American Hospital Association's Health Forum. Most Wired hospitals and health systems are using telehealth and remote monitoring within their member hospitals to create more ways for patients to access healthcare services and capture health information.

Fontaine Family – The Real Estate Leader in Auburn was named a member of the “The Thousand Top Real Estate Professionals,” by REAL Trends. The firm ranked in the top half of 1% of the more than 1.1 million realtors nationwide for the 2016 calendar year.