IN SHORT

New hires

Servpro of Belfast/Camden/Rockland, a fire, water and mold restoration company, hired Greg Stuart as production manager. Stuart was previously a production manager for a Massachusetts Servpro.

The MEMIC Group, a workers' compensation specialist in Portland, hired Thomas Wiese as vice president of claims. Wiese has more than 20 years of experience in senior level claims and managed care positions.

Dead River Co. in South Portland hired Jeremy Young as vice president of corporate development. Young previously managed corporate development and led mergers and acquisitions throughout the western United States with Oldcastle, a building materials company in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Drummond Woodsum, a law firm in Portland, hired Adam Cote to lead the firm's energy and utilities practice group. Cote was co-founder and CEO of Thermal Energy Storage of Maine and previously worked as an energy attorney at Pierce Atwood.

Penobscot Community Health Care in Bangor hired Michael Farrell as a chiropractor practicing at Brewer Medical Center in Brewer and Penobscot Community Health Center in Bangor.

Northeast Civil Solutions Inc., a civil engineering and land surveying firm in Scarborough, hired Tony Panciocco as director of engineering. Panciocco has over 20 years of experience as a civil engineer.

Promotions

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland promoted Andrew Smith to manager of its ReStore in Portland.

Appointments

The United Way of Eastern Maine in Bangor added board members John Canders, who is vice president of special assets at Bangor Savings Bank; Peter Dawes, vice president of strategy, performance and planning at Emera Maine; and Pat Kimball, former executive director of Wellspring. The organization also announced that Sno Barry, principal at BerryDunn, will serve as campaign cabinet chair.

David Bernhardt, commissioner of the Maine Department of Transportation, was elected president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials' board of directors.

Preti Flaherty, a law firm in Portland, said that Michael Lane was elected to the Maine Real Estate & Development Association board of directors for a two-year term. Lane is a partner practicing in the firm's real estate group.

The Vacation Rental Managers Association appointed Maureen Regan to serve as president in 2017. Regan, a former president of the Greater York Chamber of Commerce and president of the Maine Beaches Association, is co-owner of Seaside Vacation Rentals in York.

Bernstein Shur, a law firm in Portland, announced that Kevan Lee Deckelmann was elected to serve as a member of the firm's board of directors. Deckelmann is a shareholder and member of the firm's business law practice group.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine elected Xavier Botana, Danielle Conway, Dan Espinal, Scott Hamilton and Benjamin Piper to its board of directors. Botana is superintendent of the Portland Public Schools, Conway is dean and professor of law at the University of Maine School of Law, Espinal runs IDEXX Laboratories' strategy and business-development team, Hamilton is a nonprofit leadership consultant and Piper is an associate at Preti Flaherty.

Achievements

Paul Dest, director of the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, was one of only two people across the country to be awarded the 2016 “Dr. Nancy Foster Habitat Conservation Award” by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Maine Brewers' Guild reported that Bangor and Portland were listed as Top 20 beer destinations in the U.S. in a Beer Tourism Index produced by Travelocity. The Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metro area ranked No. 4 among large metro areas. Greater Bangor ranked No. 11 in the small metro area category.

Allen Insurance and Financial in Camden announced that Meesha Luce earned the Safeco Insurance “Award of Excellence,” an honor recognizing the underwriting skill that is achieved by a select group of agents across the country who sell the insurance product.

The National Sea Grant Extension Assembly selected Sarah Redmond, former marine extension associate with Maine Sea Grant and University of Maine Cooperative Extension, as the recipient of the 2016 “Superior Outreach Programming Award.” Redmond received the award for her efforts to develop the seaweed aquaculture industry in Maine.

Gorham's Ridgewood at Village Square, a senior apartment community designed by Gawron Turgeon Architects in Scarborough and operated by Avesta Housing, was awarded a LEED Platinum rating, the highest level for green, energy-efficient buildings by the U.S. Green Building Council.

My Place Teen Center in Westbrook recently presented its annual awards. Disability RMS was named “Corporate Partner of the Year.” DMM Inc. was named “Community Partner of the Year.” Lori Whitlock and Opal Staudenmaier were each named as volunteer of the year.

Spurwink, a Portland-based nonprofit that provides behavioral health and educational services for children, adults and families, said that Catherine Lorello-Snow, director at the Spurwink Mental Health Center, received the “Agnes E Flaherty Leadership in Nursing” award from the American Nursing Association of Maine.

DMM Inc., a direct marketing and digital document provider in Scarborough, said it achieved the G7 Master Qualification awarded by Idealliance, a not-for-profit industry group dedicated to guiding print production best practices, specifications and standards worldwide.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins received Maine Community Action's 2016 “Star of Community Action” award.

S.W. Collins Co., a lumber and building materials store in Caribou, was named a member of the LBM Century Club by LBM Journal, a media company serving America's lumber and building material industry.

The Franklin County Chamber of Commerce recently presented its annual business of the year awards. Winners included Senior Planning Center, the small business of year; Touch of Class, in the medium category; Leap Inc., in the large category; and Franklin County Children's Task Force, as civic organization of the year.

Baker Newman Noyes, an accounting and consulting firm in Portland, announced that Melinda Irish was selected as one of Maine Society of Certified Public Accountants' “2016 Women to Watch.” Irish is a senior manager and a member of the firm's audit practice.

Hancock Lumber's Eastern White Pine Mills in Bethel and Ryefield earned certification into the U.S. Department of Labor's Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program.

Littler, a law firm in Portland, received Tier 1 ranking for the Portland metropolitan region in the U.S. News Media Group and the “Best Lawyers 2017 Best Law Firms” rankings, in the employment law, management and litigation and labor and employment practice areas.

Shaheen & Gordon PA, a law firm in Saco, received Portland metropolitan Tier 2 and 3 rankings for the Portland metropolitan region in the U.S. News Media Group and “Best Lawyers 2017 Best Law Firms” rankings in mediation; personal injury litigation-plaintiffs; medical malpractice law-plaintiffs; tax law; and trusts and estates law.

Murray Plumb & Murray, a law firm in Portland, said John Bannon, land use and zoning; Peter Murray, estate and probate; Richard O'Meara, schools and education; and Michael Traister, business litigation, were selected to the “2016 Super Lawyers” list.

Skelton Taintor & Abbott, a law firm in Auburn, received Tier 1 ranking for the Portland metropolitan region in the U.S. News Media Group and “Best Lawyers 2017 Best Law Firms” rankings in insurance law, labor law/unions, medical malpractice-plaintiffs, product liability litigation-defendants, tax law and trusts and estates.

Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, received a national ranking for its health care practice (Tier 2) and 47 metropolitan practice areas in the U.S. News Media Group and “Best Lawyers 2017 Best Law Firms.” A total of 46 practice areas in the firm's Portland office were recognized while the firm's Augusta office was recognized in the government relations practice. The firm also received practice recognition at its Boston and Stamford, Conn., offices. Additionally, the firm said 14 of its attorneys were recognized at the 2016 Maine Supreme Judicial Court Katahdin Council Recognition event at the Cumberland County Courthouse for completing 50 or more hours of pro bono service in the previous year.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration presented Casco Bay Energy Co., a natural gas power production facility located in Veazie, with its Voluntary Protection Program Star Certification for worksites with comprehensive, successful safety and health management systems.

The Young Agents of the Maine Insurance Agents Association recently presented its annual awards. Winners included Dawn Halkyard, office supervisor and commercial lines customer service agent at F.A. Peabody Co. in Houlton, Young Insurance Professional of the Year; Kayla Dill, senior marketing representative at MMG Insurance in Presque Isle, Young Agent Committee Member of the Year; and MMG Insurance in Presque Isle, Company of the Year.

Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport received an “A” ranking from The Leapfrog Group, a national patient safety watchdog. The hospital has been designated as a “Straight A's” hospital for never receiving a grade lower than an “A” from the Hospital Safety Grade since first launched in June 2012. There are only 72 hospitals nationwide with this designation.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection awarded its Environmental Leader Certification to The Highlands, to a retirement community in Topsham. Typically reserved for hotels, this state accreditation recognizes Maine lodging businesses with more than 20 rooms that have worked to systematically reduce its impact on the environment.

Junior Achievement of Maine announced its “Business Hall of Fame” inductees for 2016 were Michelle Hood, president and CEO, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems; Jay McCrum, CEO, McCrum Family Holdings LLC; and Royce Cross, president and CEO, Cross Insurance.

The Insurance Professionals of Greater Portland, a local chapter of the International Association of Insurance Professionals, said Heather Caston-Talbot, Michelle Belanger and Kelly Boivin were recognized by the Maine Council of the International Association of Insurance Professionals. Caston-Talbot, a business account executive at Clark Insurance, was named “Maine's Insurance Professional of the Year.” Belanger, a personal lines underwriter at Patriot Insurance Co., was named “Maine's Professional Underwriter of the Year.” Boivin, a claims adjuster III at Patriot Insurance Co., was named “Maine's Claims Professional of the Year.” In addition, the local chapter of the International Association of Insurance Professionals won the Member Retention Award from the State of Maine International Association of Insurance Professionals Council.

INCON Power Reliability Systems in Saco won a “R&D 100 Award” for its OPTIMIZER3 Circuit Breaker Performance Monitor system, a complete performance monitoring system for high voltage substation circuit breakers.

Berman & Simmons, a law firm in Portland, said nine of its attorneys were selected by “New England Super Lawyers” for its 2016 directory, including four who were selected rising stars. In addition, the firm was selected as a Tier 1 law firm in the “Best Law Firms” directory published by U.S. News and received Tier 1 rankings in commercial litigation, medical malpractice law for plaintiffs and personal injury litigation for plaintiffs.

The Maine Hospice Council and Center for End-of-Life Care, along with the Hospice Alliance of Maine, recognized Colleen Hilton, president of VNA Home Health Hospice and senior vice president of EMHS; Kristine Rogers, clinical nurse educator for VNA; and Lisa Harvey-McPherson, vice president of government relations at EMHS and National Association for Home Care and Hospice board member, for providing exceptional homecare and hospice support to individuals and families in Maine.

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court recognized Murray Plumb & Murray attorney Stacey Neumann with Katahdin Counsel status for her pro bono civil representation to those in need. Neumann's practice focuses on state and federal criminal law, immigration law and employment law.