In Short from Aug. 25, issue | A roundup of new hires, promotions, accolades and appointments from Maine's business community

New hires â€&Copy;

Lewiston-based Oxford Networks recently announced the following new hires: Rich Winn and Stephen Kangas were hired as field service technicians. Randall Prince was hired as MapCom operator, Todd “Red” Labonte was hired as a computer system administrator, Rene Braun was hired as a systems analyst, William Cobb was hired as a customer service representative and Ann Marie Payne was hired as a collections representative.â€&Copy;

Maine Bank & Trust in Port­land recently hired Melissa Childs Nelson as customer service representative at the bank’s Peaks Island branch. Previously, Nelson was a teller at TD Banknorth in Portland.â€&Copy;

Camden National Corp. recently hired Deborah Jordan as senior vice president, chief financial officer, and principal financial and accounting officer. Jordan previously was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Merrill Merchants Bancshares Bangor.â€&Copy;

Stephens Memorial Hospital in Norway recently hired Robert Kahn as part of the hospital’s Western Maine Surgery practice. Kahn previously practiced medicine at Roanoke Chowan Surgery Center in North Carolina.â€&Copy;

Bangor Metro recently hired Christine Parker and Mark Phillips as media consultants.â€&Copy;

Carolyn Krahn recently was hired as director of sales at the Comfort Suites in Freeport. Previously, Krahn was a sales account manager at Border’s.â€&Copy;

Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway in Hermon recently hired Donald Gardner Jr. as chief financial officer. Previously, Gardner was CFO of Maine Drilling & Blasting Inc. in Gardiner.â€&Copy;

Sage Currie recently was hired by Allegiance Hospice of Maine in Portland. Currie, an ordained minister, previously worked at The Church of the Holy City in Wilmington, Del.â€&Copy;

Mercy Hospital in Portland recently hired the following: Patricia Purcell as director of ancillary services, and Millie Martin as office manager of Fore River Urology, a department of Mercy. Previously, Purcell worked at Rutland Regional Medical Center in Vermont and Martin was office manager at Pine Point Pediatrics in Scarborough.â€&Copy;

Portland marketing firm Garrand recently hired Mary Baumgartner as vice president of integrated services. Previously, Baumgartner managed consumer websites, interactive television initiatives and e-commerce business at New York-based Home Box Office.â€&Copy;

Kennebunk Savings recently hired the following as financial service specialists at the bank’s Sanford branch: Gary Grand­staff, Derek Simkowitz, Jes­sica Mills and Heather Legere. â€&Copy;

Portland-based Dolce Public Relations recently hired Meredith Perdue as an account executive.â€&Copy;

Portland-based Avesta Housing recently hired Kirsten Figueroa as chief financial officer. Previously, Figueroa was the deputy commissioner of finance for the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.â€&Copy;

The Maine Women’s Fund in Portland recently hired Lauren Dietlin as director of development. Dietlin recently managed the Campaign for Justice, a Hallowell-based fundraising initiative on behalf of Maine’s legal providers.â€&Copy;

Portland-based TD Banknorth recently hired James McGowan as business development and sales manager at the bank’s branch at 481 Congress St. in Portland. â€&Copy;

Mechanics Savings Bank recently hired Mollie Voter as assistant branch manager/loan officer at its Windham Branch. Previously, Voter was an assistant branch manager at TD Banknorth. â€&Copy;

Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport recently hired the following: Fred Hayman as dining room manager, Mark Wozny as bar manager, Marie Caswell as special events and live entertainment coordinator, and Barbara Lisa as a certified personal trainer and fitness consultant.â€&Copy;

Lewiston-based Northeast Bank recently hired the following: Debora Redmond as manager of the loan production department and Sheila Menair as business development officer at the Brunswick branch.â€&Copy;

Oakhurst Dairy in Portland recently hired Dwayne Dunn as sales manager.â€&Copy;

Inland Hospital in Waterville recently announced the following new hires: Gary Chaloult was hired as a certified diabetes educator and a certified family nurse practitioner. Susan Stevens was hired as a physician at Inland’s New Horizons Health Care network of family practices in Waterville.â€&Copy;

Heidi Decker recently was hired as a physician by Franklin Health Wilton Family Practice in Wilton. Previously, Decker provided medical care at Western Maine Family Health Center in Livermore Falls.â€&Copy;

Merrill Bank in Pittsfield recently hired Judith Young as business development officer. Previously, Young was a small-business relationship manager at KeyBank in Newport.â€&Copy;

Portland law firm Epstein & O’Donovan LLP recently hired Susan Thomas as partner. She will focus on wills, trusts, probate and estate taxes. Thomas previously was an attorney at Murray, Plumb & Murray in Portland.â€&Copy;

Tilson Technology Management, a Portland-based technology consulting firm, recently hired the following: Roland Ingrisano as managing director of Web development, and Ben Knight and Ian Robbins as web developers.â€&Copy;

Shelly Davis recently was hired as director of the Wellehan Library at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish. Previously, Davis was manager of library information services at the University of Maine at Farmington.â€&Copy;

HealthReach Community Health Centers recently hired Larry McAleer as a doctor at its Lovejoy Health Center in Albion. â€&Copy;

Bangor-based WBRC Architects-Engineers recently hired Jeffrey Davis as director of the firm’s education studio. Previously, Davis was president and CEO of Boston design firm Tappé Associates Inc.â€&Copy;

Community Clinical Services’ Women’s Health Associates in Lewiston recently hired Elizabeth Linnell, a doctor specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. Previously, Linnell was OB-GYN administrative chief resident and instructor at the University of Vermont College of Medicine at Maine Medical Center.â€&Copy;

Promotionsâ€&Copy;

Portland accounting firm Baker Newman Noyes recently promoted Charlie Hahn to managing principal of the firm. Hahn, who will continue as a member of the management committee, replaces as managing principal Ellie Baker, who will return to serving the firm’s tax clients on a full-time basis.â€&Copy;

Kennebunk Savings recently promoted Susan Morgan to vice president and branch manager of the Sanford area. Morgan, the current manager of the South Sanford office, will oversee all three Sanford area offices.â€&Copy;

The University of Maine in Orono recently promoted Stuart Marrs, a UMaine music professor and music division chair in the university’s School of Performing Arts, to associate provost and dean for undergraduate education.â€&Copy;

Reed & Reed Inc., a contractor based in Woolwich, recently promoted John Cooney to vice president of finance and development. Previously, Cooney was chief financial officer. â€&Copy;

Janet Blood recently was promoted to dean of library services at Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor. Blood previously was the college’s associate librarian. â€&Copy;

Vince Kloskowski recently was promoted to assistant dean at Saint Joseph’s College and director of the Standish college’s Academic Center. Previously, Kloskowski was director of admissions at Saint Joseph’s.â€&Copy;

Appointmentsâ€&Copy;

Sam Marcisso Jr. recently was elected to the board of directors of Creative Work Systems, which provides services for adults with disabilities, in Portland. Marcisso is president of Pine State Plumbing, Heating and Cooling in South Portland.â€&Copy;

Jessica Shuck, human resources generalist at Androscoggin Bank in Lewiston, recently was appointed president elect of Central Maine Human Resources Association, an affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Manage­ment based in Alexandria, Va.â€&Copy;

Carl Toney, professor of clinical medicine and health policy at University of New England in Portland, recently was appointed president of the Alexandria, Va.-based Society for the Preservation of Physician Assistant History, an organization that provides research and information on the physician assistant profession. Toney will serve a three-year term on the organization’s board of trustees.â€&Copy;

Marc Brunelle, president and owner of Sportshoe Center Inc., a Kennebunk-based retailer of athletic shoes and apparel, recently was elected to the York County Community College Foundation Inc. board of directors. The foundation, based in Wells, also elected Margaret “Meg” Nichols, management consultant with NMG Ltd. The board also elected the following as officers: Jonathan Carter, Kittery town manager, as chair; Will Armitage, executive director of the Biddeford-Saco Area Economic Development Corp., as first vice chair; Jay Chapin, president of Ocean Communities Federal Credit Union in Biddeford, as second vice chair; Stephen Pelletier, leader of contract services of York Hospital, as treasurer; and Kevin Reilley, vice president of Benchmark Construction in Westbrook, as past chair. â€&Copy;

MEMIC, a workers’ compensation insurer in Portland, recently elected M. Jane Sheehan as chair of its board of directors. Sheehan is president and CEO of the Foundation for Blood Research in Scarborough.â€&Copy;

The Sunrise County Economic Council, an economic development group for Washington County based in Machias, recently elected Charlie McAlpin of the Eastern Maine Electric Co-op in Calais and Shirley Erickson of the Maine Education Loan Authority in Portland to its board of directors.â€&Copy;

Bangor Savings Bank recently appointed the following to its board of corporators: Kathryn Barber, a civic leader; Earl Black, president of Town & Country Realtors in Bangor; William Dunnett Jr., principal of accounting firm Baker Newman Noyes in Portland; Linda Jensen, chief financial officer of The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor; Paul LePage, general manager of Marden’s Inc. and mayor of the City of Waterville; Matthew Orne, principal of AHP Holdings LLC in Portland; Judith Files Stevens, a former teacher in Yarmouth; James Stoneton, owner of Coldwell Banker American Heritage Real Estate & American Heritage Appraisals in Bangor; and John Thibodeau of Windsor Associates LLC in Portland.â€&Copy;

St. Mary’s Health System, parent organization of St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, recently elected Mark Anthoine Sr. and Martin Eisenstein to its board of directors. Anthoine is principal of Healey and Associates Inc., a financial security firm with offices in Auburn and Portland, and Eisenstein is senior partner with Lewiston law firm Brann & Isaacson.â€&Copy;

John LaBrie recently was named executive director of the World Affairs Council of Maine in Portland. Previously, LaBrie was dean of continuing studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.â€&Copy;

Spotlightâ€&Copy;

The Portland Buy Local campaign has published its first printed directory of local businesses and nonprofits to compliment its online IndieBiz Directory. The printed version also explains the environmental and economic arguments for buying local products. Called “Find Your Indepen­dents,” the free directory is located at Port­land Buy Local’s 190 member businesses. â€&Copy;

Meanwhile, Portland Buy Local says its two-year campaign is making a difference during this faltering economy. “[People] are here buying locally,” Rick Fournier, whose father founded Tony’s Donuts, told the organization. “We’re surrounded by fourteen franchises, and we’re doing well.” Fournier said many of his customers are making a conscious choice in favor of independently owned shops.â€&Copy;

Company Newsâ€&Copy;

Joseph M. Jaber, a financial advisor at Golden Pond Wealth Management in Waterville, has been authorized as a certified financial planner, or CFP, by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards. The CFP certification marks individuals who have met the experience and ethical requirements of the CFP board, have completed financial planning coursework and passed a CFP exam. â€&Copy;

Joni Averill, a Bangor Daily News columnist, recently received the “World of Thanks Award” from The Curran Homestead for her many years of reporting on special events, fundraisers, recognitions and benefits.â€&Copy;

The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation has awarded The Acadia Recovery Com­munity $45,000 to help offset operating losses. The organization, which is part of Acadia Hospital, provides shelter and substance abuse treatment services to the homeless.â€&Copy;

Ideal Medical Spa in Portland has opened a new location in the Fore River Medical Building on the Fore River Parkway. â€&Copy;

Director of Sales Nicole Desjardins of the Hampton Inn in Waterville has been named the “ultimate sales professional” at a recent training workshop offered by the hotel company’s corporate office in Memphis, Tenn. â€&Copy;

The Bethel Family Health Center and the Western Maine Family Health Center in Livermore have received a grant for $50,000 from The Betterment Fund, based in New York, to implement electronic medical records. The Bethel health center also received a $5,000 grant from the Agnes M. Lindsay Trust.â€&Copy;

The Richmond Area Health Center is extending its walk-in hours to include Tuesday mornings for current patients with acute medical needs. Walk-in hours are now available Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 7- 8 a.m.â€&Copy;

KimsCrafts in Topsham is launching a new fundraising effort, KimsCrafts to the Rescue!, to help find homes for dogs and other pets. KimsCrafts, a manufacturer of Maine-made gifts and pet products, is donating 20% of the proceeds of all sales conducted through a special link on its website, kimscrafts.com, to an animal shelter or rescue organization.â€&Copy;

Rogues Gallery in Portland is now renting vintage bikes for people to use around town or on the Casco Bay islands.â€&Copy;

Saddleback Ski Resort has been awarded the Gannett Family Business of the Year Award in the small business category by the Institute for Family-Owned Business, an outreach program at the University of Southern Maine in Portland. â€&Copy;

Maine’s Department of Agriculture provided a loan of nearly $250,000 to Locally Known, an organic farm in Bowdoinham, from the Agricultural Marketing Loan Fund. The business also has leased several parcels from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Besides supplying greens like arugula, baby kale and spinach to supermarkets such as Whole Foods and Hannaford’s, Locally Known is also developing a training and apprenticeship program for new organic farmers, farmers looking to transition to organic practices and existing organic farmers who would like to supply the Locally Known label.â€&Copy;

Hodgdon Interiors, a division of Hodgdon Yachts Inc., cut the ribbon on its new production facility in Richmond June 25. Gov. John Baldacci, Commissioner John Richardson, Timothy S. Hodgdon and Richmond’s Town Manager Thomas Fortier spoke at the event.â€&Copy;

Land for Maine’s Future has approved the purchase of 46 land conservation projects totaling more than 36,000 acres across the state, including eight farms. The projects range from the Middle Intervale Farm in Bethel to a parcel inside the Colonial Pemaquid Historic Site in Bristol and cost a total of $17 million, an appropriation approved by Maine voters last fall. Twenty of these projects include coastal and shorefront properties. â€&Copy;

After securing more than 14 acres of waterfront property from Lewiston in 2006, the Androscoggin Land Trust in Lewiston has named the parcel the David Rancourt River Preserve after Deputy David Rancourt, who died in 2006 while on duty with the sheriff’s department dive team during an investigation in the Androscoggin River.â€&Copy;

The Maine People’s Alliance, MSEA-SEIU, Maine Women’s Lobby, Maine Equal Justice Partners/MAIN, Engage Maine, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, Equality Maine, Maine Center for Economic Policy, and other health care activists rallied at the State House in early July to launch Maine’s branch of the new national Health Care for America Now campaign, which is advocating for health care for all Americans. â€&Copy;

Accoladesâ€&Copy;

Susan Harris, a registered nurse, recently re­­ceived an award for excellence in midwifery and women’s health from the Maine Chapter of the American College of Nurse Midwives. Har­ris delivers home-based care for Pen Bay Healthcare’s Kno-Wal-Lin Home Care and Hospice in Rockland.â€&Copy;

The Frannie Peabody Center in Portland recently awarded Tom Griffin, a teacher at Scarborough Middle School, with the Kerry A. Carson Award for his volunteer efforts that have raised more than $135,000 for local AIDS services.â€&Copy;

Douglas Gardner, a professor of wood science and technology at the University of Maine Orono, and a member of the UMaine Advanced Engineered Wood Composites Center’s research team, recently was named one of the co-recipients of the 2008 Forest Products Society L. J. Markwardt Wood Engineering Research Award. Gardner was recognized for his paper “Eval­uation of Load Transfer in the Cellulosic-Fiber/Polymer Interphase Using a Micro-Raman Tensile Test,” which was published in January 2007 in the journal Wood and Fiber Science.â€&Copy;

PATCO Construction Co. in Sanford recently placed among the “Top 100 Metal Builders” in Metal Construction News. PATCO placed 89th in tons of steel purchased and 54th in the quantity of square feet purchased.â€&Copy;

University of New England Professor Emeritus Norman Beaupré recently received the Medal of the Order of Arts and Literature from the French Ministry of Culture and Communi­ca­tions. Beaupré taught francophone and world literature at UNE in Biddeford for 30 years.â€&Copy;

William McFarlane, director of the Center for Psychiatric Research at Maine Medical Center and Spring Harbor Hospital and a professor of psychiatry at the University of Vermont, will receive on Oct. 2 the Johnson and Korda Inno­­vation Award from Shalom House Inc., a Portland organization that provides housing and support services for adults living with mental illness. â€&Copy;

Specialty food producer World Harbors Inc. in Auburn recently had its Mesquite barbeque sauce selected as the “Best in BBQ” by Family Circle magazine. Woman’s Day magazine also recently selected the company’s Apple Maple BBQ sauce in its list of the top five BBQ sauces.â€&Copy;

Bruce King, a Maine resident and world-renowned yacht designer, recently received the 2008 Mariner’s Award from the Maine Mari­time Museum in Bath. The museum is honoring King for his innovative boat designs that have helped reinforce Maine’s reputation for boat building in a growing worldwide audience.â€&Copy;

The Center Theatre for the Performing Arts in Dover-Foxcroft recently received the 2007 Outstanding Façade Project award from the Maine Downtown Center. The award is given to an organization in a Maine downtown that demonstrates excellence in enhancing a downtown’s commercial district through restoration or repair of a building façade.â€&Copy;

Planet Dog in Portland recently received an Editor’s Choice Award from Pet Product News magazine for its zip lead retractable leash. â€&Copy;

Avon Products Inc. recently recognized Aline Cadorette of Biddeford as one of its top sales representatives in the country. Cadorette re­ceived a week-long trip to Las Vegas as an award.â€&Copy;

Gifford’s Ice Cream, a family-owned business in Skowhegan, recently brought home a few awards. At the recent World Dairy Expo, held in Madison, Wis., Gifford’s Ice Cream received the award for the “World’s Best Chocolate Ice Cream.” Gifford’s also recently received the Gannett Family Business of the Year Award from the Institute for Family-Owned Business at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.â€&Copy;

Maine’s credit unions recently received three Diamond Awards from the Credit Union National Association for a community-service project that sold holiday CDs featuring Maine artists to raise money for the Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger.â€&Copy;