IN SHORT

New hires

Pine Tree Society, an organization in Bath serving Maine children and adults with disabilities, hired Erin Vogel as adult case manager, Casse Flewelling as direct support professional/community services in Scarborough, Samantha LaVerdiere as children's case manager, Natilee Poliquin as direct support professional/home support and Jacob Linkletter and Jennifer Allen as direct support professionals in Auburn.

Mortgage Network Inc. in Bangor hired Paul Cary as a loan officer. Most recently, Cary served as a branch manager at RMS Mortgage in Bangor.

Albin, Randall & Bennett, an accounting firm in Portland, hired Sarah Watson as tax manager. Watson previously served as a tax accountant III at WEX Inc.

Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, hired Cecilie MacIntyre as counsel in its health care group. Prior to returning to private practice, MacIntyre served as an assistant chief counsel at the California Department of Managed Health Care.

Diversified Communications, an international media company in Portland, hired Lily McCloskey as a sales and marketing coordinator, Sami Arnaout as a digital marketing coordinator, Tina Kidd as a sales manager and Iris Kwan as an event director.

PeoplesChoice Credit Union in Saco hired Marc Crocker as mortgage loan originator and Curt Carlson as marketing manager.

The MDI Biological Laboratory in Bar Harbor hired James Godwin as a research scientist. Godwin, previously with Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute in Clayton, Australia, has a dual appointment and will also serve as a research scientist at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor.

Spurwink Services, a nonprofit in Portland that provides behavioral health and educational services for children, adolescents, adults and families throughout Maine, hired Kelcey Ladner as a functional family therapy clinician. Ladner was a mental health worker at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta.

Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington hired Natasha Foster as staff nurse on its maternal and child-health unit. Foster, who will also teach the organization's childbirth education classes, most recently held a similar position at Redington-Fairview General Hospital in Skowhegan.

Aroostook Aspirations Initiative in Presque Isle hired Nicole Duplessis as development and communications assistant. Duplessis was most recently a reporter at WAGM-TV.

Troubh Heisler PA, a law firm in Portland, hired Jay Meyer as an attorney with 27 years of experience in the areas of business and financial services law, real estate, admiralty and maritime law and commercial and personal injury litigation.

Allen Insurance and Financial in Camden hired Sarah Ruef-Lindquist as a member of its financial services division. Ruef-Lindquist was previously CEO of the Maine Women's Fund.

C&L Aerospace in Bangor hired Juraj Pikna as regional sales manager covering the European, Russian and African markets.

Eaton Peabody, a law firm in Bangor, hired Newell Augur as resident in the firm's Augusta office. Augur, who has been active in the fields of administrative law and government relations for more than 15 years, previously owned and operated his own private firm.

Artforms, a designer and distributor of screen printed apparel and promotional products in Brunswick, hired Carolyn Krahn as an account executive for corporate, custom and promotional products. Krahn was most recently with the Greater Freeport Chamber of Commerce.

R.M. Davis, a wealth management firm in Portland, hired Scot Draeger as vice president and general counsel. Draeger, who will also serve as chief compliance officer, has spent his career serving in senior legal, business and management roles.

Promotions

Allen Insurance and Financial, a financial services, insurance and employee benefits company in Camden, promoted Dan Bookham to vice president. Bookham joined the company's business insurance division in September 2012 after four years as executive director of the Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The MEMIC Group, a workers' compensation specialist in Portland, promoted Chris Abboud to senior underwriter and Deb Sabatino to director, human resources. Abboud previously served as an underwriter II while Sabatino was human resources manager.

Hyde School in Bath promoted Sarah Clifford to CFO. Clifford was previously the school's finance director.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust promoted Julie Theriault to vice president, payroll and benefits manager. Theriault was previously assistant vice president, payroll and benefits manager.

York County Community College promoted Erin Haye to director of development and special assistant to the president. Haye was previously executive assistant to the president.

Chalmers Insurance Group in Bridgton promoted Shauna Mandeville, Caitlin Earle, David Longstaff and Pam Fuller to office coach. Mandeville is personal lines account manager in Gorham, Earle a commercial lines account manager in Ossipee, N.H., Longstaff a commercial lines account executive in Norway and Fuller a commercial lines account manager in York.

NBT Bancorp Inc. promoted John Watt Jr. to president and CEO of NBT and NBT Bank NA and a member of its board of directors. Watt joined the firm in 2014 to lead the bank's expansion into Maine and establish a regional headquarters in Portland and was promoted to executive vice president and joined the firm's executive management team in 2015.

Pine Tree Society, an organization in Bath serving Maine children and adults with disabilities, promoted Shelley Zielinski to director of adult support services.

Maine Instrument Flight in Augusta promoted Dale Stewart to chief pilot. Stewart was previously a pilot.

P&C Insurance in Biddeford promoted Josh Fearon to president. Fearon, previously vice president, succeeds Roland Eon, who retired after 30 years with the firm.

Pierce Atwood LLP, a law firm in Portland, promoted Michael Anderson, Sam Blatchley, Kris Eimicke, Jana Magnuson, Nolan Reichl and Mark Rosen to partners.

Preti Flaherty, a law firm in Portland, promoted Michael Smith to partner. Smith, who practices in the firm's litigation and health law groups in Portland, previously practiced as an associate.

Macpage LLC, an accounting firm in South Portland, announced several promotions. In its South Portland office, Bethany Bougie was promoted to manager and Samantha Troegner to senior associate. In Augusta, Christian Poulin was promoted to senior associate and Kelly Peaslee and Meredith Schalk to managers.

Bernstein Shur, a law firm in Portland, selected Michael Bosse as co-chair of the firm's litigation practice group. Bosse, who will share duties with Dan Mitchell, is the chair of the firm's construction practice group and a member of the firm's data security team.

First National Bank, a division of The First Bancorp in Damariscotta, promoted Timothy Keene to branch manager in Damariscotta. Keene was previously training and education manager.

The Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council promoted Stephanie Lewis to interim president. Lewis was previously vice-president and CFO.

Kennebunkport Resort Collection promoted Justin Grimes to director of operations, Kristen Caouette to general manager of Hidden Pond, Emily Nelson to hotel manager of The Tides Beach Club and Morgan Campbell to hotel manager of the Kennebunkport Inn. Grimes most recently served as general manager of Hidden Pond and The Tides Beach Club, Caouette was assistant general manager, Nelson was front desk manager of Hidden Pond and Campbell was innkeeper.

Rudman Winchell, Counselors at Law in Bangor announced Allison Economy was elected as a partner. Economy focuses her practice on litigation and creditors' rights matters.

Sabre Yachts Corp. in Raymond promoted Aaron Crawford to president and COO and Glenn Campbell to head of engineering. Crawford was previously COO while Campbell was a member of the firm's engineering department.

Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice in Lewiston promoted Angela Richards to director of transitional care, Steve Doyon to director of administrative services and Ann Perkins to manager of compliance and risk. Richards and Doyon also joined the organization's senior management team while Perkins joined its management team.

Appointments

The Maine Arts Commission in Augusta selected five artists to join its teaching artist roster including Bridget Matros, visual arts and music; Brigitte Paulus, dance and theater; Jeffrey Weinberger, music; Kimberly Bentley, visual arts; and Rachel Robbins, literary arts.

Ronald Blum was elected president of the New England College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. Blum, who will serve a two-year term, is medical director of Twin Rivers Paper Co. in Madawaska, Mt. Heights Health Care Facility in Patten and Tate & Lyle in Houlton.

Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick elected Marie Barbieri, Reginald Elwell and Melissa Knutson to its board of trustees. Barbieri is a former professor, Elwell is retired from the forest products industry and Knutson is vice president and commercial loan officer at Androscoggin Bank in Brunswick.

The Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine elected Erik Clapp, James Graves and John Rooks to its board of directors. Clapp is principal and senior geologist at Sevee & Maher Engineers, Graves is professor and dean of the College of Science, Technology & Health at University of Southern Maine and Rooks is CEO at Rapport. The organization also approved board extensions for John Carroll, director of corporate communications at AVANGRID; Phil Coupe, managing partner and co-founder, ReVision Energy; Thomas Eschner, senior project manager in environmental services; and Michael Stoddard, executive director, Efficiency Maine Trust.

Maine Center for Creativity in Portland elected Jessica Cook and Anthony Struzziero to its board of directors. Cook is virtual payments implementation manager at WEX Inc. and Struzziero is account manager – New England for Prism.

Bristol Seafood said Peter Handy was elected to the National Fisheries Institute board of directors for 2017. Handy is president and CEO of the seafood processor and distributor in Portland.

Members of Americans for the Arts, an organization for advancing the arts and arts education in America, elected Argy Nestor as a member of its advisory council for Arts Education. Nestor is director of arts education for the Maine Arts Commission.

Hospice of Southern Maine in Kennebunkport elected Chris Coon and Nathan Wilson to its board of directors. Coon is vice president of finance for Maine Medical Center and Wilson is vice president of quality and patient safety at Southern Maine Healthcare Internal Medicine.

Achievements

The Maine Public Relations Council recently presented its annual awards. John Lamb, corporate communications specialist at InterMed PA, was awarded the 2016 Edward L. Bernays Award. Jessica Grondin, communications director for the city of Portland, was presented with the “2016 Rising Star Award.” Jillian Kanter, communications coordinator for Verrill Dana, won the “2016 President's Award.” Roger Goodoak, founder of the Maine Homeless Veterans Alliance, was named the recipient of the “2016 Midge Vreeland Public Service Award.”

Spurwink Services, a Portland-based nonprofit that provides behavioral health and educational services for children, adults and families, received a “2016 Psychologically Healthy Workplace”award from the Maine Psychological Association. The award program recognizes organizations that make a commitment to workplace well-being and create a psychologically healthy work environment for employees.

Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, received a Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project “Pro Bono Award” for donating the most hours on Volunteer Lawyers Project cases of any law firm in Maine through 2015-16. More than 35 of the firm's lawyers participated in projects. The firm also announced that environmental attorneys Juliet Browne, Scott Anderson and Gordon Smith each authored chapters of the Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education book, “A Practical Guide to Land Use in Maine.” The guide covers topics ranging from licensing and permitting to wind energy and shoreland zoning. In addition, the firm said attorney Jonathan Dunitz was inducted as an American Bar Foundation Fellow, which represents only 1% of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction.

Brett Shifrin, a math teacher at Gould Academy in Bethel, was named the 2016 recipient of the Maine Jump$tart Coalition Financial Educator of the Year Award. Shifin created a course for students called “Math of Financial Matters,” which is designed to provide students with a better understanding of financial literacy as they enter the adult world.

Drummond Woodsum, a law firm in Portland, said 18 of its attorneys were named to the “New England Super Lawyers” list and another 13 ranked among “New England's Rising Stars.” In addition, Melissa Hewey was ranked as one of the “Top 100 New England Super Lawyers” and one of the “Top 50 Women Super Lawyers.”

Albin, Randall & Bennett, an accounting firm in Portland, announced that Cheri Walker was the recipient of a Maine Society of Certified Public Accountants' “Women to Watch Award.” Walker is managing partner of the firm.

The city of Auburn earned the “Safety and Health Award for Public Employers” from the Maine Department of Labor in recognition of its safety achievement program.

Hospice of Southern Maine in Kennebunkport honored Daniel Hayes with its “Pope Leadership Award” for visionary leadership, commitment to advancing the work of hospice and to supporting the mission of the hospice. Hayes, a former president of New England Cancer Specialists, was instrumental in the formation of the organization.

Gary Eckmann, owner and operator of the Bangor and Brewer McDonald's, received the “Ronald Award” at the McDonald's Boston-region operator association fall meeting. The award is given to those who have made outstanding contributions to the restaurant brand and its local community and customers. Eckmann has won the award four times during his 53 years with the franchise.

The Maine Public Relations Council recently presented its 2016 Golden Arrow Awards. Nancy Marshall Communications in Augusta was awarded “Best in Show” for its “Organizational Identity Campaign” as well as two golds and a silver. Other winners included Rinck, seven golds and three silvers; GarrandPartners, two golds and a silver; Fluent IMC, two golds; Broadreach Public Relations, gold and two silvers; Mainehousing, Kevin Brusie Photography, Camden National Bank, Portland Water District, Maine Department of Labor, one gold each; Burgess Advertising & Marketing, three silvers; Maine Community Foundation and Portland Museum of Art, two silvers each; and Friends of Casco Bay and Industrium, one silver each.

The Penobscot Energy Recovery Co., a waste-to energy facility in Orrington, was presented the Governor's Award for Environmental Excellence for its successful effort to achieve zero discharge of wastewater into the Penobscot River.

Maine's LIFE 101 (Learning, Independence, Fun, Employment) program was recognized with the Northeast Association for the Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired team award. Catholic Charities Maine is one of the three local agencies who collaborated on the program, which benefits blind and visually impaired individuals in the Northeast.