IN SHORT

New hires

Fontaine Family – The Real Estate Leader in Auburn hired Denise Gasbarrone in its Scarborough office. Gasbarrone was previously owner of Can I Help You.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust hired Patricia Laney as assistant vice president, bank secrecy act analyst.

The Maine Academy of Modern Music in Portland hired Andrew Hodgkins as drum instructor, Cody Phipps as instructor in its MAMM Machias outreach programs and Joyce Schmitt as grant writer.

MaineGeneral Gastroenterology at the Alfond Center for Health in Augusta hired Fady Asslo and Joseph Charpentier. Both specialize in diagnosing and treating digestive and liver diseases. Asslo completed residency training in internal medicine at Seton Hall University School of Health and Medical Sciences in South Orange, N.J., and completed a fellowship in gastroenterology at Seton Hall University/New York Medical College at St. Joseph's Regional Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., while Charpentier completed both his residency training in internal medicine and fellowship training in gastroenterology at the University of Massachusetts' Worcester campus.

Maine Media Collective in Portland hired Andrea King as COO and associate publisher. King was previously founder of Aristelle, a fine lingerie retailer.

The Jackson Laboratory hired Jacqueline White to direct its Center for Biometric Analysis, now under construction on the institution's campus in Bar Harbor. White was principal scientific manager of the Mouse Genetics Project at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge, England.

Camden National Bank hired James Edwards as senior vice president and treasury management sales advisor and John Everett as senior vice president, commercial banking officer. Both will be based in the bank's Portland office. Edwards was previously with People's United Bank while Everett was with KeyBank.

Maine Trailer Inc. in Hampden hired Annette McKenney as accounting manager and Joy Sinclair as marketing and customer relations director. McKenney previously served as billing supervisor at Gaftek while Sinclair was an associate at Cashman Communications and marketing lead for Relay For Life of Penobscot.

Bernstein Shur, a law firm in Portland, hired Jack Woodcock as an associate. Woodcock joins the firm's Litigation Practice Group. Previously, Woodcock was a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.

The U.S. Small Business Administration hired Ed Carballo as a lender relations specialist in its Augusta District Office. Carballo most recently worked for the Department of Justice where he served in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives.

Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport hired Jeffrey Rasmussen as an orthopaedic surgeon at Pen Bay Orthopaedics and Adda Winkes as a pediatrician at Pen Bay Pediatrics. Rasmussen was previously with New England Baptist Hospital in Boston, where he was an orthopaedics sports medicine fellow while Winkes was with TRICARE Prime Virginia Beach in Virginia Beach, Va.

People's United Bank in Portland hired Moya Elliot as senior vice president, senior wealth management officer.

Tranzon LLC, a real estate auction company in Portland, hired Scott King as president and CEO. King, formerly executive vice president of J.P. King, currently serves on the National Auctioneers Association board of directors and as an instructor in the Certified Auctioneers Institute.

The John T. Gorman Foundation in Portland hired Jennifer Beck as a program associate. Previously, Beck was the founder of an independent consulting practice specializing in evaluating strategies to support positive outcomes for vulnerable children, youth and families.

Diversified Communications, an international media company in Portland, hired Lauren St. Clair as a marketing director, Victoria Ryder as a marketing coordinator and Denise Eastman as an accounting manager. St. Clair was previously with 360 Media Ventures in Portland, Ryder with Southern New Hampshire University in Portsmouth, N.H., and Eastman with Olympia Sports in Portland.

Promotions

Camden National Bank promoted Scott Fernald to senior vice president, commercial banking officer for the Downeast region. Fernald was previously vice president, commercial loan officer.

NAI The Dunham Group, a real estate firm in Portland, elected Justin Lamontagne as a partner. Lamontagne joined the firm in 2011 and has worked in commercial real estate since 2006.

The NorthEast Family of Companies, a charter company in Lewiston, promoted Larry Allen to assistant general manager of all four of its divisions. Allen was dispatcher and operations manager.

Sea Bags, a designer and manufacturer of handmade items from recycled sails in Portland, promoted Melissa Kenison to public relations and social media manager, Sean Powers to sail trade manager, Page Young to operations and marketing specialist and Allison Killen to marketing associate. Kenison was a marketing associate, Powers a sail-acquisition associate, Young was in operations at Sea Bags and Killen was in customer service and retail associate positions.

Katahdin Trust Co. in Houlton promoted Natasha McCarthy to human resources director. McCarthy was previously human resources generalist.

WMTW in Portland promoted David Charns to its weekday morning team.

Appointments

Woodfords Family Services, a nonprofit in Westbrook serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, appointed Greta Averbach, Michael Bolanz, Nicole Burke, Zachary Longley, Jahnna Steindl and Kelly Worden to its board of trustees. Averbach is a psychotherapist, Bolanz a direct hire recruiter with Adecco USA, Burke the manager of clinical operations with VNA Home Health Hospice, Longley a financial planner with Northeast Planning Associates, Steindl is vice president of the Greater Portland Chamber of Commerce and Worden is associate vice president with Liaison International.

Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, said that Thomas Newman, a partner and chair of the firm's Business and Commercial Litigation practice group, was appointed as chair of the Advisory Committee on Rules of Evidence by The Maine Supreme Judicial Court. The committee reviews and proposes amendments to the Maine Rules of Evidence, which ensure proceedings are administered fairly, without unjustifiable expenses and delays, and promotes the development of evidence law to support a just determination.

Achievements

Skelton Taintor & Abbott, a law firm in Auburn, announced that eight of its attorneys were selected by their peers for inclusion in “The Best Lawyers in America 2017.” In addition, Stephen Wade was named “Lawyer of the Year” for insurance law.

EMMC in Bangor named Richard Larrabee winner of its SUNSHINE Award (Smiling, Understanding and Nurturing while Sharing a Helping hand In Nursing Excellence). Larrabee is a nursing technician in the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Ferricchia Hair Salon in Portland earned the 2016 City Beat News Spectrum Award for Excellence in Customer Satisfaction.

CEI, a lender and investor in Brunswick specializing in rural economic development, presented Lisa Mensah, USDA Rural Development under secretary, and Virginia Manuel, state director, USDA Rural Development in Maine, with the organization's Civil Rights to Sustainable Solutions Award for the role that the organization plays in Maine and throughout rural America.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust announced that John Testa, vice president and investment officer at Bar Harbor Trust Services, earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation.

Sweetser's Apple Barrel and Orchard in Cumberland received the Heritage Farm Award from the Cumberland County Farm Bureau.

The Wellness Council of Maine, a nonprofit program of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, cited five individuals or organizations for contributions to improving employee wellness in their regions of Maine. Recipients were athenahealth, for profit honoree; RSU 22 Wellness Team, group award winner; Spring Training Challenge: city of Bangor, Employee Health Solutions and Bangor Savings Bank, regional partner award; Unlimited Solutions Clubhouse, nonprofit honoree; and Tom Downing, Lifeline Center for Workplace Wellness, individual award recipient.

Allen Insurance and Financial in Camden said that Jeremy Pickford, a member of the business insurance team in the company's Camden office, earned an Accredited Adviser in Insurance designation from the American Institute for Chartered Property Casualty Underwriters.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins received the Jacob K. Javits Prize for Bipartisan Leadership at the 2016 National Opportunity Summit in New York City recognizing her efforts during more than 19 years of Senate service. Collins also recently received the National Distinguished Advocacy Award from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in recognition of her dedication to increased cancer research funding, removing barriers to colorectal cancer screening and improved patient quality of life.

Bernstein Shur, a law firm in Portland, announced that shareholder Christopher Devlin co-authored the chapter on Maine law in Commercial Lending Law: A Jurisdiction-by-Jurisdiction Guide to U.S. and Canadian Law, published by the American Bar Association. Devlin is a member of the firm's Business, Commercial and Governmental Finance Practice Groups in Portland.

Debra Sanborn and Shelley Starr were named Caregivers of the Month for July by Comfort Keepers, a provider of in-home support services for older adults in Scarborough and Kennebunk.

The University of Maine at Farmington was recognized by the U.S. News & World Report as a 2017 “Best College.” Among regional colleges in the north, the university was listed fourth in the “Top Public” category; fifth in the “Best Value” category; seventh in the “Best Regional Colleges in the North” overall category, including both public and private colleges; and among the top-three in the “Best Schools for Veterans” category. In addition, the school was recognized in Washington Monthly's annual “Best Bang for the Buck” rankings for the fourth year in a row.

McTeague Higbee, a law firm in Topsham, said Karen Bilodeau and Jeff Cohen were named to 2017 edition of “Best Lawyers in America.” Bilodeau was selected for workers' compensation-claimants, while Cohen was selected for workers' compensation law-claimants and for personal injury litigation-plaintiffs.

The Maine Town and City Clerks' Association selected Kim McLaughlin, town clerk in the town of Old Orchard Beach, as its “Clerk of the Year” and Allison Pease, assistant city clerk in the city of Lewiston, as its “Assistant City Clerk of the Year.”

The Girl Scout of Maine presented Marie Hansen, dean of the College of Business at Husson University in Bangor, with its 2016 “Juliette Award” for her accomplishments, leadership, community involvement and for being a role model for girls and young women.

Androscoggin Home Care & Hospice in Lewiston reached Partner Level Two status with its “We Honor Veterans” volunteer program. This demonstrates their resolve to provide the best care and support for veteran hospice patients.

Portland Downtown won an “Award of Excellence” for its Downtown Cadet Program and a “Merit Award” for its recent rebranding efforts at the 62nd annual International Downtown Association Conference in Atlanta.

North American Insurance Alliance in Rangeley named Laura Gauthier, New Hampshire territory manager for Liberty Mutual Insurance, as its Commercial Lines Marketing Person of the Year, 2016.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust honored Friend & Friend, a motor vehicle dealership in Ellsworth, for its 100th anniversary of being in business.

Baker Newman Noyes, an accounting and consulting firm in Portland, was rated No. 94 among the nation's Top 100 U.S. accounting firms by Inside Public Accounting for 2016.