In short from May 17, 2010 | A roundup of new hires, promotions, accolades and appointments from Maine's business community

New hires

Magnusson Balfour Commercial and Business Brokers in Portland recently hired Amy McLellan as a commercial and business broker.

Pierce Atwood, a law firm in Portland, recently hired Tatsiana Bianetskaya as tax and accounting manager in the firm’s finance department.

Emerald Hospitality in Freeport recently hired Jeanne Carpentier as regional director of sales and marketing. Previously, Carpentier was general manager of the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport.

R.J. Grondin & Sons, a general contractor based in Gorham, recently hired Hannes Schneider as a project manager/estimator.

HealthReach Community Health Centers recently hired Deirdre Vander Schaaf to the medical provider team at Sheepscot Valley Health Center in Coopers Mills.

Saco-based law firm Smith, Elliott, Smith & Garmey recently hired Laura White as an associate.

Haley’s Metal Shop in Biddeford recently hired Matthew Haley as its operations manager.

Allen & Selig Realty in North Yarmouth recently hired Kelly Parker as a broker.

Friends of Casco Bay in Portland, a marine advocacy organization, recently hired Jesse Baines as development/communications associate. Previously, Baines was an event coordinator for GrowSmart Maine in Portland.

19 Oaks, a South Portland-based marketing firm, recently hired Lindsay Walsh as business manager.

Quarry Hill, an extended care retirement community in Camden, recently hired Mary Sargent as administrator-in-training. Previously, Sargent was human resources director for Pen Bay Healthcare in Rockland.

Acadia Financial Consultants located at Camden National Bank in Camden recently hired Randall Smith as vice president and financial consultant. Previously, Smith was a financial and investment adviser representative and broker at TD Wealth Management in Portland.

Kennebec Valley Dental Center recently hired Richard Arbuckle as a full-time dentist.

Kennebec Savings Bank in Waterville recently hired David Grenier as vice president and commercial loan officer. Previously, Grenier was a regional vice president at TD Bank in Waterville.

Promotions

Kennebec Savings Bank in Waterville recently promoted David Roy to enterprise risk manager. Previously, Roy was regional vice president.

Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems Healthcare Charities in Bangor recently promoted Brad Coffey to vice president for philanthropy.

The Acadia Hospital in Bangor recently promoted Jessica Pollard, a psychologist, to director of its Aware Program.

The Maine Civil Liberties Union in Portland recently promoted Brianna Twofoot to field director.

The Sunrise County Economic Council in Machias recently promoted Jennifer Peters to assistant director. Previously, Peters was a program manager.

Emerald Hospitality in Freeport recently promoted Josh Cushing to general manager at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport.

Franklin Community Health Network in Farmington recently promoted Tom Hagerstrom to director of development.

Appointments

The PORTopera board of directors recently elected Ann Elderkin to serve as president of the organization.

Avesta Housing in Portland recently announced the appointment of Maine State Rep. Michael Carey to its board of directors.

The American Frozen Food Institute recently announced the election of Edward Flanagan of Jasper Wyman & Son Inc., a grower, packer and marketer of wild blueberries and berry fruits in Milbridge, to be chairman of its board of directors.

Environments at Work, a Haworth office furniture dealer headquartered in Boston, recently announced that its Maine territory manager, Amy Lalezari, was named president of the Maine Interior Design Association.

Rose Marasco, professor of art at the University of Southern Maine, has been named the university’s third distinguished professor. The appointment was awarded in recognition of her scholarship and impact on both a local and national level to the field of photography and photography education.

Company news

Berry Dunn McNeil & Parker, a public accounting and management consulting firm in Portland, recently announced that Seth Hedstrom, a consultant, has passed his Certified Associate in Project Management exam from the Project Management Institute.

Liz Monaghan, principal of Monaghan Mortgage in Portland, recently announced that the company has joined Residential Mortgage Services Inc. of South Portland, a mortgage banking company, as a subsidiary.

Barbara Babkirk, founder of Heart At Work Career Counseling in Portland, a career counseling and transitions business, recently announced the launch of the company’s new website, www.barbarababkirk.com.

The Maine Center for Enterprise Development in Portland recently announced that it is opening up the application process for its entrepreneur training and mentoring program, Top Gun class of 2010.

Vreeland Marketing & Design in Yarmouth was recently named marketing contractor for the Efficiency Maine Home Energy Savings Program, and will assist Efficiency Maine in marketing its new program.

The Healthy Community Coalition in Farmington recently received a one-year $46,618 grant from the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation of Maine for its breast cancer education and screening project, Reaching Rural Women Where They’re At.

The Maine Association of Community Banks recently launched a new website, www.mecb.com, designed and developed by Hall Web Services in Portland, to provide updates relating to state and federal legislative and regulatory issues.

ReVision Energy, a solar power installer in Portland, recently began to install 36 230-watt Canadian solar photovoltaic panels on the roof of the Thomas College’s main administration and classroom building in Bar Harbor.

Mid-Maine Chamber of Commerce recently announced the launch of its new website, www.midmainechamber.com, to help promote mid-Maine area businesses, community organizations and events.

The Radiation Oncology Program of the Maine Medical Center Cancer Institute in Portland has received the Accreditation in Radiation Oncology from the American College of Radiology, a national organization serving more than 32,000 diagnostic and interventional radiologists, radiation oncologists and nuclear medicine and medical physicists.

KG Partners, an advertising, public relations and interactive agency in Portland, recently announced that Camp Sunshine has joined its roster of clients.

The Good Shepherd Food-Bank in Auburn recently launched the Maine Farm, Dairy, and Seafood Initiative in an effort to bring more nutritious, Maine-grown foods to the more than 175,000 individuals suffering from hunger in the state.

According to a U.S. News and World Report Best Hospitals report of a federal survey, which asked discharged patients whether they would recommend their hospital to family and friends, 82% of patients from Parkview Adventist Medical Center in Brunswick said they would recommend Parkview, compared to only 75% of patients statewide and 68% nationwide.

Community Concepts in South Paris and Norway Savings Bank in Norway have chosen Occupational Medical Consulting in Leeds as their provider for workplace wellness services.

U.S. Cellular recently added a cell site in Topsham to increase U.S. Cellular’s coverage in the town of Topsham and the northwest section of Brunswick, along Route 196 between Topsham and Lisbon Falls. U.S. Cellular also added a cell site in Augusta to increase coverage in the city of Augusta and along routes 9, 17, 105, 201 and 202.

Sage Data Security Inc., an information security firm located in South Portland, recently announced the release of nDiscovery v2.20, a service that analyzes system, security, application, web server, firewall, router and database logs, and monitors malicious or unauthorized activity throughout a network across a number of platforms.

Camden National Corp. recently reported net income for the first quarter of 2010 of $5.3 million, or $0.69 per diluted share, compared to $5.2 million, or $0.68 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2009 and $6.2 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2009. For the three-month period ended March 31, return on assets was 0.97%, and return on equity was 11.14%.

MaineGeneral Health recently signed a multi-year lease with the owner of the former Rite-Aid Pharmacy at the intersection of College Avenue and Main Street in Waterville to occupy the building’s 11,000 square feet of space. The space will house a MaineGeneral family medicine practice and lab services.

Patrick Deveau, a nurse at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, recently successfully completed the examination for national certification in emergency nursing, administered by the Board of Certification for Emergency Nursing.

Elm Street Printing & Graphics Inc. in Camden recently announced the release of its new products, Mobile Marketing and Quick Response Codes, to extend information about products and services to the web from a printed piece.

The Four Directions Development Corp. in Orono has been awarded $649,907 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund to enhance economic opportunities and community development within the Native American community.

Tractor Supply Co. recently celebrated the grand opening of its Bangor location at 1161 Broadway.

KICTeam, a developer, manufacturer and distributer of high performance cleaning cards in Auburn, recently announced the successful opening of KICTeam Singapore, which is responsible for managing and supplying a distribution partner network in the countries of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Synernet, a support service organization to the health care industry in Portland, recently announced the return of $4.1 million in premium payments to the 16 member hospitals of the Synernet Workers’ Compensation Fund.

The Bicycle Coalition of Maine in Augusta recently launched its bicycle safety media campaign and has produced two bicycle safety public service announcements that will air on Maine television stations during the spring and summer.

The Chebeague Island Inn in Chebeague recently re-opened May 14 under the new ownership of the Prentice family of Yarmouth.

The U.S. Labor Department has certified workers at WestPoint Home Inc. in Biddeford as eligible to apply for Trade Adjustment Assistance.

The First Bancorp recently announced unaudited results for the quarter ended March 31. Net income was $2.7 million, up $22,000 or 0.8% from the previous quarter, and earnings per common share on a fully diluted basis of $0.24 were even with the previous quarter. Compared to the same period in 2009, net income was down $1 million or 28.0% and earnings per common share on a fully diluted basis were down $0.13 or 35.1%.

Hall Web Services, a Portland-based web design and Internet marketing firm, recently announced that Kasi Gajtkowski, an organic search manager, has earned a certification in Google Analytics Individual Qualification program.

Downeast Energy recently announced the sale of its building supply business located at 20 Spring St. in Brunswick, to Hammond Lumber Co. of Belgrade. Hancock Lumber also recently celebrated the grand opening of its new retail store, Home Again, in South Portland, which showcases windows, doors, kitchens and baths.

InEx Interior Design recently announced it is moving to River Road in Newcastle.

Echelon Circles, a women business leader group in Portland, recently announced the following new members: Janet Allen, vice president, Drake, Inglesi, Milardo in Portland; Cheryl Brandt, senior vice president of Gorham Savings Bank; Deborah Delp, president of Yankee Marina in Yarmouth; Beth Shissler, president of Sea Bags in Portland; and Elizabeth Stefanski, executive director at Maine Women’s Fund in Portland.

Accolades

Wright-Pierce, a water, wastewater and infrastructure engineering firm in Portland, was recently named one of the top 500 design firms in the country by Engineering News-Record, a trade publication for the architecture, engineering and construction industry worldwide.

The state of Israel, through its consulate general to New England in Boston, recently honored Perry Newman, principal of Atlantica Group, an international business development firm in Portland, for his efforts to support economic collaboration between Israel and New England.

Gritty McDuff’s Brewing Co. in Portland has recently been selected as the official brew pub of The Dempsey Challenge, a run, walk and cycling event to benefit The Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing in Lewiston.

W. Scott Anchors, a lecturer in the Maine Business School in Orono, recently received the 2010 Excellence in Teaching award at the University of Maine for his achievement and leadership in higher education.

The Camden Harbour Inn in Camden was recently named Best Euro-Style Hotel in the lodging section of the May/June issue of Yankee magazine.

Douglas Cole, Lars Ellison and Kevin Olehnik, physicians at Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, were recently honored by Sen. Olympia Snowe for their disaster relief efforts in Haiti.

The following companies and organizations recently received a Maine Fitness Award from the Maine Governor’s Council on Physical Activity: Kennebunk Elementary School, Kennebunk; University of New England, Biddeford; State of Maine, ME First Program; Valley Distributors Inc., Oakland; Martin’s Point Health Care Wellness Program, Portland; New England Rehabilitation Hospital, Portland; MaineGeneral Medical Center, Augusta; and Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor.

The Maine Credit Union League recently received a diamond award in the CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council’s Diamond Awards competition for its 2009 statewide awareness campaign, “There’s More for You.”

Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co. in Cundy’s Harbor was recently named a finalist for two awards by the National Association of the Specialty Food Trade.

The Maine Civil Liberties Union Foundation recently presented the 2010 Justice Louis Scolnik Award to Nan Heald, executive director of Pine Tree Legal Assistance in Portland.

Howard Dana, counsel at Portland-based law firm Verrill Dana, was recently recognized by the American Bar Association as one of two individual winners of its ABA Day 2010 Grassroots Award.

The New England Office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently presented Don Hudson, president of the Chewonki Foundation, a nonprofit educational institution in Wiscasset, with an Environmental Merit Lifetime Achievement Award.

Gov. John Baldacci recently presented a 2010 Governor’s Volunteer Service Award to the following five individuals: Eileen Danforth, Outstanding Volunteer of the Year; Emily Fitch, Outstanding National Service Volunteer; Frank Wallace, Outstanding Public Sector Volunteer; Bijou Umuhoza, Youth Volunteer of the Year; and Sue Bowie, Excellence in Volunteer Administration.

FISC Solutions, a third party back office solutions provider in Lewiston, was recently presented with the Healthy Androscoggin Work Healthy Award for a third year in a row by the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce.

Stephen Wade, Alan Stone and James Belleau, shareholders at Skelton Taintor & Abbott law firm in Auburn, will be featured in Chambers & Partners USA as leaders in their fields. Wade and Belleau are recognized among the best lawyers in litigation and Stone in energy and natural resources.

Spotlight

Great Falls Construction, a construction management and general contracting company in Portland, recently announced that it will finance the rebuilding of The Cookie Jar bakery in Cape Elizabeth, according to a press release from the construction company.

Great Falls’ owner, Jon Smith, has designed a plan to finance and renovate the building, which had been closed since 2006 when a storm tore off its roof. The bakery had been operating in Cape Elizabeth for more than 50 years.

Smith and the Great Falls Construction team will provide the financial means needed for restoration and reopening.