In short from Aug. 22, 2011 | A roundup of new hires, promotions, accolades and appointments from Maine's business community

New Hires

Winxnet, an IT services provider in Portland, recently hired Peter Crepeau as a senior engineer, David Barter as vice president of sales and marketing and Dan Mason as a senior network engineer.

Michelle Raber State Farm Insurance Agency in Scarborough recently hired Delia Bouchard as an account representative.

The Maine Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association in Scarborough recently hired Faith Gillman as operations manager and Jill Conover as director of communications and advocacy.

BerryDunn, an accounting firm in Portland, recently hired Ashley Hawkins-Kimball and Melissa Gouin as staff accountants in the general practice industry group and Nicholas Crosman as a tax specialist in the tax industry group.

Bangor Savings Bank recently hired Rachna Bhatia as customer service representative at its Middle Street branch in Portland.

RE/MAX By The Bay in Portland recently hired Susan Cygan as a broker to Kathie Hooper’s Team.

Androscoggin Head Start and Child Care in Lewiston recently hired Janice Hatch as health and nutrition manager.

S. W. Cole Engineering Inc. in Gray recently announced that Timothy Boyce has returned from military service as director of engineering services and a senior geotechnical engineer.

Portland-based law firm Pierce Atwood recently hired Isabelle Clauss as counsel in the firm’s intellectual property and technology practice group.

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute recently hired Ellen Grant as chief operating officer.

GAC Chemical Corp., a chemical manufacturing and distribution company in Searsport, recently hired John Wolanski as vice president of sales and marketing.

Allen Insurance and Financial in Camden recently hired Taylor Gartley as a summer intern.

Central Maine Orthopaedics in Auburn recently hired Megan Sampson as patient/physician outreach coordinator.

Prime Ford in Saco, part of the Prime Motor Group, recently hired Mike Mullen as a sales and leasing consultant.

Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty in Yarmouth recently hired Skanlon Sittig as an associate real estate broker serving the Kennebunk market.

Northcross Group, a management and technology firm in Portland, recently hired Mark Hopper as a senior engineer.

Patriot Insurance Co. in Yarmouth recently hired Matt Darrah as senior help desk technician.

Northeast Bank in Lewiston recently hired Christopher Bouchard as assistant vice president and customer contact center manager.

United Way of York County in Kennebunk recently hired Meaghan Arzberger as manager of volunteer engagement.

Morris Yachts in Bass Harbor recently hired Will Ratcliff as director of service operations.

Harriman, an architecture and engineering firm in Auburn, recently hired architects Richard Borrelli and William Pogar in its health care design studio.

The University of Southern Maine recently hired Cristi Carson as director of institutional research and assessment. Previously, Carson was director of the office of institutional research at Keene State College in Keene, N.H.

Promotions

TD Bank recently promoted Douglas Thompson to vice president, portfolio manager in Portland and Katie Staples to portfolio loan officer manager in Portland.

The Maine Health Access Foundation in Augusta recently promoted Kim Crichton to senior program officer for policy.

BerryDunn, an accounting firm in Portland, recently promoted Ryan Gough to manager, health care/not-for-profit industry group; Jennifer Sanctuary and Kristen Perry to managers, financial services industry group; Sandra Pappajohn to manager, commercial industry group; Sheena Curtis to manager, tax industry group; and Christopher Ellingwood to manager, management and information technology consulting group.

Franklin Savings Bank in Farmington recently promoted Timothy Thompson to senior vice president, chief financial officer.

Community Credit Union in Lewiston recently promoted Kayla May to loan officer and Melissa Bubier to member representative supervisor.

Norway Savings Bank recently promoted Amy Marshall to assistant vice president, employee development specialist; Gail McBride to vice president, CRA officer and project management coordinator; and Louis Paquet to assistant vice president, retail collections manager.

Skowhegan Savings recently promoted Jack Ducharme to branch manager of the Madison and Norridgewock offices.

Kennebec Savings Bank in Augusta recently promoted Nicolas Patenaude to loan officer.

Appointments

The Association for Consulting Expertise, a nonprofit organization that offers consultants with a wide range of skills and promotes business collaboration, recently elected the following officers: Geoff Lamdin, president,of Left Field Solutions in Brunswick; Matthew Paradis, vice president, of Business Brokers Network in Portland; Judi Jones, treasurer, of InfoHarbor in Portland; and Barry Tarr, secretary, of Sea Change Information Technology Consulting in York. The organization also elected to its board of directors: Liz Incze of Pathways for Impact in Cumberland Foreside; Susan deGrandpre of Collaboration Consulting in Scarborough; Clay Atkinson of Ericson Mitchell in Portland; Steve Jenks of Greyledge Consulting in Portland; Denise Martin of Good For You Coaching and Consulting in Falmouth; Jim Casey of Casey Communications in Cape Elizabeth; Sam Bishop of Pace Consulting Group in Kennebunk; Sandra Lipsey of Sandra Lipsey Consulting & Coaching in Falmouth; William Schiebel of WFS Consulting in Kennebunkport; and Bob LaBrie of Maximum Potential in Gorham.

The Maine Community Foundation in Ellsworth recently elected Elizabeth Hilpman and Peter Lamb to its board of directors.

Warren Cook was recently appointed chair of the Broadband Capacity Building Task Force for the Maine State Planning Office.

Company News

Hannaford Bros. Co. supermarkets recently raised a combined $53,800 for 100 charities selected by local stores.

Blue Marble Geographics, a software developer in Gardiner, recently announced that Patrick Cunningham, president, spoke at the Esri Survey Summit conference in San Diego.

Ground Round Independent Owners Cooperative headquartered in Freeport recently extended the employment contract with president and CEO Jack Crawford for three additional years through January 2015.

Wright Express Corp., a payment processing company in South Portland, recently donated a total of more than $30,000 to support fundraising events for three Maine health related nonprofits, including the Beach to Beacon and Tri for a Cure (Maine Cancer Foundation).

Central Maine Power Co. recently transferred 241 acres of land surrounding Mud Pond in Monmouth to the Stanton Bird Club, a Lewiston-based ornithological society. The transfer is one of 13 parcels totaling more than 4,600 acres that are part of CMP’s wetland mitigation and compensation program related to its Maine Power Reliability Program, the $1.4 billion upgrade of its bulk electric transmission system.

Linda Bean recently announced the launch of Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen & Topside Tavern in Freeport.

Mercy Health System of Maine in Portland recently announced its all-private-room policy, the first in the Greater Portland area to offer 100% private rooms.

Lebel & Harriman, a financial planning firm in Falmouth, recently announced that managing director Deborah Whitworth was chosen to speak on a panel at the National Foundation for Judicial Excellence’s annual symposium on July 15 in Chicago.

The National Endowment for the Arts recently selected Portland’s Art At Work to receive a $100,000 grant. Funded by the NEA’s inaugural Our Town program to foster public-private partnerships that strengthen the arts while shaping the social, physical and economic characters of neighborhoods, Art At Work was named as one of 51 recipients nationally to receive an award.

Department of Health and Human Services recently awarded Husson University in Bangor a $251,000 grant to fully implement and evaluate two new advanced nursing programs to educate qualified nurse educators. Additionally, Penobscot Community Health Care received a $250,000 grant to establish a nurse practitioner residency program in conjunction with Husson University.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently awarded the following grants: Auburn Housing Authority, $214,440; Bar Harbor Housing Authority, $150,345; Bath Housing Authority, $133,595; Brewer Housing Authority, $183,215; Brunswick Housing Authority, $238,381; Ellsworth Housing Authority, $67,160; Fort Fairfield Housing Authority, $123,978; Bangor Housing Authority, $915,950; Lewiston Housing Authority, $556,475; Mount Desert Housing Authority, $22,486; Old Town Housing Authority, $99,271; Portland Housing Authority; $1,515,613; Presque Isle Housing Authority, $291,560; Sanford Housing Authority, $153,981; South Portland Housing Authority, $405,146; Southwest Harbor Housing Authority, $64,138; Tremont Housing Authority, $31,856; Van Buren Housing Authority, $137,163; Waterville Housing Authority, $308,442; and Westbrook Housing Authority, $86,706.

KICTeam, a designer and manufacturer of cleaning cards in Auburn, recently announced the opening of KICTeam Oceania in Toowoomba, Australia, which will supply technical cleaning cards to all Oceania nations.

SPX Communication Technology, a manufacturer of antenna products in Raymond, recently announced its Dielectric DLP-V and TLP-BB series of low-power antennas designed to provide broadcasters with economical choices for low-power TV applications.

Central Maine Growth Council recently announced it is now located in the Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce Building, 50 Elm St., Waterville.

Brown & Meyers, a records management firm in Portland, has received its Woman Business Enterprise Certification for New York and will have the opportunity to bid on state contracting opportunities within New York. This latest certification adds to Brown & Meyers WBE designation for the states of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

ecomaine, a nonprofit operation owned by 21 municipalities, has broken its own recycling tonnage record for both the month of June and for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011. In June, ecomaine received 3,247 tons of recycled material, beating its own record set in August 2010 by 73 tons; the annual total for the 2010-2011 fiscal year was 35,614 tons, which broke the record set last year by 5.9%.

Amy Keirstead, an assistant professor in the department of chemistry and physics at University of New England, received a grant from the American Chemical Society’s Petroleum Research Fund for a project entitled Using the Photo-Fries Reaction as a Photochemical Probe to Quantify the Cage Effects of Ionic Liquids. The award, valued at $50,000 over two years, will fund this ongoing project within Keirstead’s undergraduate research program, which investigates the properties of ionic liquids and their utility as media for solar cells, molecular electronic devices and applications in green chemistry.

The Maine Community Foundation’s People of Color Fund Committee recently awarded a total of $52,520 in grants to the following organizations: Community Financial Literacy, Portland; Daniel Hanley Center For Health Leadership, Portland; Penobscot Nation Boys and Girls Club, Indian Island; Portland Police Department; Trinity Episcopal Church, Urban Ministry Center, Lewiston; Penobscot Indian Nation, Indian Island; Seven Eagles Media Production, Bradley; Gedakina, Bangor; and Maine Indian Basketmakers Alliance, Old Town.

Mercedes Benz at Quirk Auto Park recently announced it has relocated to 27 Hogan Road in Bangor.

The 2011 Make-A-Wish Fantasy Auction raised $120,000 at the Woodlands Club in Falmouth.

The Community School of Camden has recently merged with Opportunity Farm in New Gloucester to create The Community Schools at Opportunity Farm and Camden.

The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services recently announced the following Maine communities will receive investments in local school-based health center programs: The Penobscot Community Health Center in Bangor, $234,862; Community Clinical Services in Lewiston, $337,684, the city of Calais, $109,359; and Readfield, $34,563.

The Maine Technology Institute recently awarded the following seed grants: RAS Corp. in Brunswick, $12,305, match: $15,490; AboGen Inc. in Portland, $12,500, match: $25,789; S. Walsh LLC in Portland, $12,500, match: $17,485; Advanced Infrastructure Technologies LLC in Orono, $12,250, match: $12,272; Beltane Solar Inc. in Topsham, $12,000, match: $19,200; Maine Marine Composites LLC in Portland, $10,475, match: $10,970; and Soleras LTD in Biddeford, $12,500, match: $12,759.

The University of New England recently announced the Office of Continuing Education within its College of Pharmacy in Portland has been granted provider status from the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.

The Maine State Housing Authority recently announced it will receive $87,000 in funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing program to provide rental assistance for homeless veterans.

GrowSmart Maine recently announced the launch of its new website, www.growsmartmaine.org. Funded by a grant from the Old Bug Light Foundation, the new website is designed to enable visitors to engage in discussions, find recent news and blog postings, use community planning toolkits as well as sign up for newsletters and advocacy alerts.

Old Town Fuel & Fiber, a producer of fiber products and feedstock for biorefinery, recently announced it has received national certification as a women’s business enterprise by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council.

Custom Camp Signs, a custom carved sign maker, recently announced it is open for business in Old Orchard Beach.

The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Development Financial Institutions Fund recently awarded a $1.5 million competitive grant to Coastal Enterprises Inc. in Wiscasset. The funds will be used to provide flexible debt for rural small businesses needing medium-sized loans.

Pale Morning Media, a public relations and strategic communications firm headquartered in Waitsfield, Va., recently moved its Portland satellite office to the Old Port.

Project Canopy, the Maine Forest Service’s urban and community forestry program, has formed a new partnership with GrowSmart Maine, a statewide community support organization, to provide the project’s outreach and communications functions. The partnership, required under Project Canopy’s funding grant from the U.S. Forest Service, began this month. The relationship is expected to enhance Project Canopy’s education and outreach efforts throughout Maine’s communities, according to officials from both programs.

Time Warner Cable recently announced it has started work on a new, underground fiber-optic network in downtown Bangor to connect residents and business owners to the company’s advanced video, broadband and digital phone products. The $1 million project is funded entirely by Time Warner Cable and is scheduled for completion this fall. Eastwood Contractors Inc. of Brewer is the primary contractor for the Time Warner Cable expansion.

Husson University’s School of Pharmacy in Bangor recently held a week-long pharmacy camp for high school students in Maine who are interested in pursuing careers in pharmacy.

Cumberland-based Acadia Business Advisors was recently retained by Natural Fruit Franchise Group and Natural Fruit Corp., makers of Chunks O’ Fruti frozen fruit bars, to sell Chunks O’ Fruti franchise opportunities.

Maine Drilling & Blasting in Gardiner recently celebrated 45 years of business.

Echelon Circles, a private membership organization for established women business leaders based in Portland, recently announced the formation of a strategic alliance with Women Presidents’ Organization. Echelon Circles will serve as the host organization for Maine and will launch the first chapter of WPO in the greater Portland area in September 2011.

Fluid Imaging Technologies, a particle imaging and analysis instrumentation manufacturer in Yarmouth, recently signed a cooperative research and development agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to collaborate on the enhancement of instrumentation that automates high-density counting of particles and microorganisms.

Accolades

The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor was recently on the Huffington Post’s list of the 13 most interesting institutions and listed recently in Princeton Review’s annual The Best 376 Colleges.

The Portland Museum of Art recently won first place in the New England Museum Association 2011 Publication Award Competition in the Exhibition Catalogues, Over $10 category for the catalog Winslow Homer and the Poetics of Place.

Maine McDonald’s owner/operator Gary Eckmann was recently honored by the Portland Ronald McDonald House with the Heart of Gold award for more than 20 years’ service.

Pulp+Wire, a design and marketing firm in Portland, recently announced that its packaging design for Windham-based Pleasant River Soap was featured in the July issue of Pack Odyssey (L’Odyssée Du Pack), a France-based trending publication.

Friends of Casco Bay in South Portland recently announced that Joe Payne, Casco Baykeeper, received the environmental hero award from the Waterkeeper Alliance for his 20 years as Casco Baykeeper.

The city of Portland recently presented Kevin Haley, an officer with the Portland Police Department, with the Robert B. Ganley Public Service Award.

Steve Levesque, executive director of Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority, was recently awarded the 2011 Base Redevelopment Leadership Award by the Association of Defense Communities.

The Camden Harbour Inn and its on-site restaurant, Natalie’s, was recently mentioned in the Editor’s Letter in the July/August 2011 of Departures magazine as one of editor-in-chief Richard David Story’s favorite summer getaways.

The landscaping design of College of the Atlantic’s waterfront Kathryn W. Davis Residential Village in Bar Harbor, designed by Coplon Associates in Bar Harbor, was recently given a merit award from the Boston Society of Landscape Architects.

Maine’s Division of Purchases, within the Bureau of General Services, was recently awarded the national Achievement of Excellence in Purchasing Award by the National Purchasing Institute, a national trade association for government purchasing agencies.

The VIA Agency, an advertising firm in Portland, was recently named Ad Age and Creativity magazines’ Small Agency of the Year for 2011.

AlliedCook, a construction firm in Scarborough, was recently presented with the 2011 Maine Preservation Honor Award for Gilman Place in Waterville by Maine Preservation. The award is given in recognition of excellence in historic preservation and highlights the importance of rehabilitating historic Maine landmarks.

Twenty 2 Vodka in Houlton recently received a platinum medal in the Unflavored Vodka category at the 2011 Spirits International Prestige Awards in San Diego.

Winxnet, an IT service provider in Portland, recently won the 2011 Northeast Customer Satisfaction Award at this year’s Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles.

Bangor Savings Bank was recently voted best bank in a survey constructed by Market Surveys of America and The GKM National Independent Survey Co., in which local community members are asked to vote for the top businesses in town.

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