In short from May 31, 2010 | A roundup of new hires, promotions, accolades and appointments from Maine's business community

New hires

Macdonald Page & Co. in South Portland, a certified public accounting firm, recently hired Kate Lanman as a staff account.

Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry, a law firm in Portland, recently hired Mark Bower as a member of the firm’s government services practice group. Previously, Bower worked at Pierce Atwood in Portland.

Briggs Advertising in Bath recently hired Laura Kramar as production/project manager. Previously, Kramar was a marketing and branding coordinator at the Island Institute of Rockland.

App Publishing, a software development company in Portland, recently hired Jordan Denning as president.

Hall Web Services, a web design and Internet marketing firm in Portland, recently hired Alexander Eaton as a marketing team member.

Trask-Decrow Machinery, a sales and service of portable construction equipment company in South Portland, recently hired Mark Callahan as a utility equipment expert.

Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport recently hired Harold Amsel, a specialist in adult psychiatry and addiction medicine, to its psychiatric and addiction recovery center. Previously, Amsel practiced at Midcoast Mental Health Center in Belfast. Pen Bay Ob/Gyn Associates, a department of Penobscot Bay Medical Center, recently hired Jennifer McKenna, an obstetrician/gynecologist.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust in Ellsworth recently hired Adam Robertson as vice president/business banking and financial services, with primary responsibility for commercial lending in the greater Bangor area.

Verso Paper, with mills in Jay and Bucksport, recently hired Cherilee Budrick as mill communications manager.

Belgrade Regional Health Center in Belgrade Lakes recently hired Megan O’Brien, a family nurse practitioner.

Prentiss & Carlisle, a forest resource management firm in Bangor, recently hired Benjamin Carlisle as vice president.

Legacy Publishing Co. in Westbrook, a producer and publisher of personal development products for families, recently hired Kevin Chute as director of sales. Previously, Chute was an inbound sales manager at MediaPower in Portland.

Promotions

Camden National Bank recently promoted Carissa Christie, who works out of its Thomaston branch, to assistant vice president and market manager. Previously, Christie was manager of the customer assistance center.

Northeast Bank recently promoted Sean Doucette to branch manager of its Poland branch. Previously, Doucette was an assistant manager in Lewiston.

LongHorn Steakhouse in South Portland, part of the Darden family of restaurants, recently promoted Danielle Dubuc to managing partner.

Barresi Financial, an insurance and investment brokerage agency with offices in Presque Isle and Bangor, recently promoted Nathan Berry to president.

Legacy Publishing Co. in Westbrook, a producer and publisher of personal development products for families, recently promoted Pam Dixon to sales trainer, Anton Kaufer to sales manager of its Brunswick office and Wayne Thornton to sales supervisor in Auburn.

Spotlight

Synernet in Portland, a provider of support services to the health care industry, recently announced the return of $4.1 million in premium payments to the 16 member hospitals of the Synernet Workers’ Compensation Fund, according to a press release from the organization. The return was made possible by a reduction in workers’ compensation claim costs.

The program’s success is based on worker safety training, preventing injury, reducing the prevalence of injuries, and a focus on the safe and early return to work of employees who are injured on the job.

Since the program began, more than $24 million has been returned on total collected premiums of over $69 million, or roughly 35%.

Appointments

John Leonard, president and CEO of the MEMIC Group, a workers’ compensation insurance company in Portland, was recently elected 2010 board chair of the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc., a rate-making organization in the workers’ compensation insurance industry.

The American Heart Association recently announced that Andrea Cianchette Maker, vice president of corporate affairs at Martin’s Point Health Care in Portland, will chair the 2011 Go Red For Women Luncheon, to be held in Portland on March 1, 2011.

Avesta Housing in Portland recently re-elected the following to its board of directors: William Baran, director; Luc Nya, director; Neal Allen, board vice-chair; Robert Dunfey, member; and Cornelia Swanson, board treasurer.

Company news

The University of Southern Maine’s Research Computing Group recently announced it has reorganized into Special Projects in Information and Innovation to better serve the educational needs of students.

InterSpec Inc., a provider of building information modeling integrated construction specification software and services in Portland, recently announced it has added products from Specified Technologies Inc., a developer of fire-stopping products headquartered in New Jersey.

The Maine Beverage Co. in Augusta recently partnered with the Maine Grocers Association to allow the Maine Grocers Association Scholarship Program to award five $1,000 scholarships in 2010.

Stefan Willimann, former executive director of interactive and print development at MaineToday Media in Portland, and Christina St. Cyr, former lead manager of online advertising at MaineToday Media, recently announced the creation of www.mainenewssimply.com, an aggregator of news from throughout the state.

U.S. Cellular recently announced that Liz Campbell, retail wireless consultant in Portland, and Melanie Parker, retail wireless consultant in Westbrook, have been chosen to participate in its 2010 Leadership Academy of New England.

Hall Web Services, a web design and Internet marketing firm in Portland, recently announced that Mike Johnston, site maintenance manager, and Alexander Eaton, Internet marketing analyst, have each earned a certification in Google Analytics Individual Qualification.

KG Partners, an advertising and public relations agency in Portland, recently announced the launch of its The Retail Innovation Group, which focuses on driving results for retailers and manufacturers through a proprietary process of using shopper-based research, behavioral analysis and retail design.

TechMaine in Westbrook, a statewide trade association for Maine’s technology sectors, recently announced the expansion of its Careers and Education Portal to include several thousand e-learning courses, an online reference library and a business skills video library to its educational program offerings.

Nemo Publishing in Portland recently released its fifth action figure variant, the Commander X Archer Knight, a limited edition, Mego-style, 8-inch collectible action figure.

MaineGeneral Health in Augusta recently accepted a $35 million gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation toward the development of a new medical facility in central Maine.

All Season Home Improvement Co. in Augusta recently installed an Aerostar 10kw wind turbine at The Robert S. Friedman Research Field Station of Suffolk University in Edmunds.

The Maine Clean Boatyards & Marinas Program recently certified Brewer South Freeport Marine in South Freeport as a clean boatyard/marina.

Video Creations in Kennebunk recently announced the addition of Sheryl Burns and Denise Dupuis as owners.

Community Credit Union in Lewiston recently announced that Michelle Green, a loan officer, received her certificate as a CUNA Certified Financial Counselor.

Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor and Husson University in Bangor recently signed an articulation agreement allowing Eastern Maine Community College students earning an AAS in general technology to transfer with junior status into Husson University’s Bachelors of Science in Business and Technology.

Martyn Vickers, a urologist at Pen Bay Healthcare in Rockport, recently wrote a handbook, The Patient’s Handbook for Cryoablation of the Prostate, for patients, available for free as a download from the Pen Bay Healthcare website, www.pbmc.org.

The National Ski Areas Association awarded Mt. Abram ski resort in Greenwood its Sustainable Slopes Grant, which includes 10 high-efficiency snowmaking guns.

The Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderers in Waterville recently launched its new website, www.mainechildrenshome.org, designed to provide information about the adoption agency, as well as other programs.

The Maine State Housing Authority recently received a combined $20,956,575 in grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The state of Maine has approved Larkin Enterprises Inc., a professional and technical personnel firm in Lincoln, as a corporate apprenticeship sponsor for the occupation of wind turbine technician.

Callinectes Boatworks, a builder of modern classically styled runabouts in Kennebunkport, recently announced the release of its 16-foot Yacht Tender.

Shipyard Brewing Co. in Portland recently announced the release of its Shipyard Wheat Ale.

Camden National Bank recently announced that it plans to open an in-store branch at the new Hannaford Super Store located in the Long Bank Shopping Center in Kennebunk.

Walter Shannon, a project manager with Nickerson & O’Day Inc. in Bangor, recently graduated from the Bangor Region Leadership Institute program.

The Maine Community Action Association recently launched its new website, www.mainecommunityaction.org.

cPort Credit Union recently announced its plans to convert a vacant building at 399 Western Ave. in Augusta into a new branch.

Harriman, an architecture and engineering firm in Auburn, recently provided engineering design services for the integration of fuel cell technology for the new Whole Foods Market store, Blossom Hill, in San Jose, Calif.

The Wellness Council of Maine, a subsidiary of the Wellness Councils America, recently announced that Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor received a platinum designation as a well workplace.

BitSec Global Forensics in Augusta, a computer forensics and information security trainer, recently completed anti-cyber terrorism training to senior level police executives in the Kingdom of Jordan.

Sustain in Scarborough, a provider of donor management software and fundraising solutions for nonprofit organizations, recently announced that it has formed a strategic partnership with Bethesda, Md.-based WealthEngine, a provider of sophisticated prospect research and analytics for nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education.

Mexicali Blues in Portland, a retailer of imported clothing, jewelry and décor, recently announced it is opening another store across the street from its current location on Moulton Street. The new store will be devoted to showcasing the brand’s collection of gemstone and sterling silver jewelry.

Androscoggin Bank in Lewiston recently reported that in the first quarter of 2010, deposits reached $493.1 million, representing a net increase of $23 million, or 4.67%, over the three-month period. Commercial loans grew at a rate of 4.33%.

Perry & Banks Integrated Sales & Marketing, an advertising and marketing company in Portland, in partnership with PolicyOne Research in Scarborough, recently announced its relationship with the Midcoast Council of Governments in Bath, a nonprofit development corporation that supports the improvement of the regional economy in southern mid-coast Maine.

Bath Savings Institution recently announced that every time a customer opens a new eChecking NOW Account, it will contribute $25 to a local nonprofit.

Accolades

GHM Insurance Agency in Waterville recently announced being recognized as a member of The Hanover Insurance Group’s President’s Club.

The Acadia Hospital in Bangor recently awarded its nursing excellence award to Joanne Hillman, a nurse on the adult inpatient unit.

The International Ski Federation recently awarded Maine Winter Sports Center in Caribou with its SnowKidz Award, a new honor designed to recognize and promote organizations around the world that introduce children to the sport of skiing.

Campaigns and Elections Politics’ Magazine recently named Toby McGrath, political director of Maine Street Solutions in Augusta, a rising star in American politics.

O’Brien Kingsley & Champion, a law firm in Kennebunk, recently announced that Timothy O’Brien and Brian Champion have been selected as leaders in their field by Chambers USA, for 2010.

Buxton Communications, an advertising and public relations firm based in Portland, recently announced that its Worst Road in Maine contest has gotten coverage in USA Today, The Bangor Daily News, Maine Public Radio, WCSH, WMTW, WVOM and the Associated Press.

The Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness in Portland recently announced it will honor William Ryan, past chairman of TD Bank, as its person of the year.

The U.S. Small Business Association recently honored Becky McKinnell, owner of iBec Creative in Portland, with its 2010 Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.

Woodard & Curran, an architecture and engineering firm in Portland, recently announced it ranked 119 on Engineering News Record’s list of the Top 500 Design Firms.

The Wellness Council of Maine, a subsidiary of the Wellness Council of America recently announced that the following seven Eastern Maine Health System member organizations have received WELCOA Well Workplace Designations: The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle, AHS and Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital and Nursing Home in Greenville, The EMHS Home Office in Brewer, Inland Hospital in Waterville, and Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield.

Leo Delicata, an attorney at Legal Services for the Elderly in Augusta, recently received the Ombudsman Program’s Distinguished Service Award.