In Short from Nov. 17, 2008 | A roundup of new hires, promotions, accolades and appointments from Maine's business community

New hires

True North Events and Catering of Boothbay Harbor recently hired Kris Roveillo as a project manager. Previously, Roveillo was director of sports and recreation at the Boothbay YMCA.

The Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health in Brewer recently hired David Smalley, a research scientist, to lead the Proteomics group in its work with the structure and function of proteins. Most recently, Smalley was an assistant professor of research at the University of Virginia, where he led the biomarker discovery efforts and developed a new approach to discovering biomarkers.

Bernstein Shur, a multi-service law firm in Portland, recently hired the following: Eben Albert-Knopp in the litigation practice group; and Jeremy Fischer in the litigation and business restructuring and insolvency practice groups. Previously, Albert-Knopp spent a year studying French and European business law at the Université de Cergy-Pontoise in France and Fischer worked as an independent insurance agent and served three terms in the Maine House of Representatives.

Taggart Construction of Freeport recently hired Jon Riley as an energy specialist. Riley has coached builders and architects across Maine in the “house as a system” building approach. 

Augusta-based Maine Health Access Foundation recently hired the following: Len Bartel as a program officer, Becky Hayes Boober as a program officer, Morgan Floyd as a program associate and Dani Kalian as an administrative assistant. Previously, Bartel served as director of fundraising and philanthropy at Encompass Marketing and Design in Auburn, Boober served as executive director for the Maine Corrections Dept. Maine Reentry Network, Floyd worked as art manager for Aptara, an educational publishing services company in Boston, and Kalian served as meeting coordinator for the Maine Center for Public Health.

Tilson Technology Management, an IT consulting firm based in Portland, recently hired John Coolong as a senior consultant.

Pine Tree Society, a statewide organization that serves Maine people with disabilities, recently hired Joe Pannozzo as director of community services. Pannozzo is currently working toward his master’s degree in clinical psychology.

Attorney Joshua Menard has rejoined Preti Flaherty as an associate in the firm’s bankruptcy and business law practices. Previously, Menard worked as a law clerk and interned with the city of Waltham, Mass., and the New Hampshire Public Defender Office.

Waldo County General Hospital recently hired Elizabeth Connelly, medical oncologist and hematologist, to the oncology and infusion therapy department. Connelly, a physician at Maine Center for Cancer Medicine in Brunswick, will provide coverage in the department on the first and third Tuesday and Wednesday of every month.

McCabe, Duval & Associates, a full-service Portland marketing communications agency, recently hired Stacie Andos Brown as manager of production services. Previously, Brown was a production and traffic manager at Wright Express Corp. in South Portland.

Prime Motor Group in Saco recently hired the following: Norm Tantingco as a sales and leasing consultant at Prime Honda, and Zachary Bean and David Morin as sales and leasing consultants at Prime Nissan.

Allen Agency in Rockland recently hired Dick Crossman as an account executive managing commercial property and casualty accounts. Previously, Crossman was a commercial lines vice president with TD Banknorth Insurance.

Crossroads for Women, which offers a comprehensive treatment for substance abuse and co-occurring mental health issues for women, recently hired the following: Jennifer Levesque as a full-time counselor and case manager at the agency’s halfway house program; Kristin LaPorte as a part-time administrative assistant in the outpatient program and clients services office in Portland; and Nicole Oliver as a counselor at Crossroads for Women’s Residential Rehab in Windham. Previously, Levesque and LaPorte worked at the University of Southern Maine, and Oliver was a substance abuse counselor at Pleasant Point Health Center.

Walch Education, an educational publisher located in Portland, recently hired Martha Harmon as its new education editor. Previously, Harmon taught English at a middle school in Bradenton, Fla.

Head and Associates, an investment management firm located in Portland, recently hired Thomas Cattell as director, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Susan St. Pierre recently joined the faculty at Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency in Fairfield. Pierre is a member of Maine General Medical Center’s active medical staff and was a family physician in the Urgent Care Department at San Juan Regional Medical Center in Farmington, N.M.

Western Maine Family Health Center in Livermore Falls recently hired Amy Case to the medical staff. Case’s clinical areas of interest include pediatric and adolescent medicine, and surgical procedures.

Promotions

Maine Bank & Trust in Portland recently promoted Peggy Morin from senior loan administrator in commercial lending to assistant vice president. The bank also promoted Stephen Birmingham from vice president to senior investment officer.

Crossroads for Women, an organization in Portland that offers substance abuse and mental health services for women, recently promoted Polly Haight Frawley from assistant executive director to chief of operations.

Priscilla Rowe, accounting manager at the Cumberland County YMCA in Portland, was recently promoted to chief financial officer.

Soyatech, a marketing company for food and agribusiness in Bar Harbor, recently promoted Joe Jordan to general manager and content director and Keri Hayes to publisher and events director.

Head and Associates, an investment management firm in Portland, recently promoted Carl Gercke from director of research to director and chief investment officer. The company also promoted Ann Mohammad from portfolio administrator to vice president and chief compliance officer.

The Maine Public Utilities Commission in Augusta recently promoted Maria Jacques to director of the Emergency Services Communications Bureau, which oversees enhanced 911 services in Maine. Previously, Jacques was the board’s database manager.

The Maine Community Foundation in Ellsworth recently promoted Meredith Jones to president and CEO. Previously, Jones was vice president for program development and grantmaking services.

Youth Alternatives Ingraham, a nonprofit organization in South Portland that offers social services and mental health care, recently promoted Elizabeth Szatkowski to vice president of adult mental health. Previously, Szatkowski was director for the healthy families partnership and young parent programs.

The Associated General Contractors of Maine recently appointed John O’Dea as executive director. Previously, O’Dea was the group’s director of communications and member services.

Appointments

Lisa Gray, vice president of sales at health care software developer Verge Solutions, was recently named board president of Crossroads for Women in Portland.

Kristen Farnham was recently appointed to the board of trustees of Youth Alternatives Ingraham, a nonprofit organization in South Portland that offers social services and mental health care. Farnham is an estate planning attorney at the Law Office of Susan E. Hunter in Portland.

The Maine Real Estate & Development Association recently elected Maurice Selinger to its board of directors. Selinger is board treasurer of the nonprofit Preble Street in Portland and public policy chair of the Maine Affordable Housing Coalition.

United Way of Greater Portland recently elected the following board members to three year terms: Judi Austin, vice president of business development and sales manager at Portland-based TD Banknorth, Sam Novick, president of Hub Furniture in Portland and Michael Simonds, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Unum, which has offices in Portland. The following members were re-elected to a second three-year term: Cheryl Bascomb of Berry Dunn McNeil & Parker in Bangor and Al Swallow of Maine Medical Center in Portland.

The Salvation Army recently appointed George Hogan and Howard Evans to its advisory board.

Company news

The Maine Irish Heritage Center in Portland has reopened, and Éamon Ó Cuív, the minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs of Ireland, presided over the official reopening. The center has been closed since May 2006, after its bell fell, causing extensive damage. Construction on the bell tower and on the lower level was completed by Consigli Construction in Portland.

Mercy Health System in Portland has established the James Angelo Memorial Fund in memory of Security Officer James Angelo, who was fatally shot at Mercy Hospital on Sunday, Sept. 7. He had been employed as a security officer on the State Street campus.

Hydro International, a Portland-based provider of environmentally sustainable products to control and treat storm water, wastewater and combined sewer overflows, announced a new market-focused U.S. business structure to take advantage of opportunities in the municipal wastewater, storm water and “wet weather” markets.

First Wind is donating a total of $30,000 to four Maine county-based community programs to help home heating costs this winter. The four programs that will receive individual contributions of $7,500 are: Aroostook County Action Program Inc., which has offices around the county; Community Concepts in South Paris; Penquis Keep ME Warm Fund in Bangor; and Washington Hancock Community Agency THAW Fund in Milbridge.

Camden National Corporation’s board of directors has declared a $0.25 per share dividend payable on Oct. 31, 2008 for shareholders of record on Oct. 15, 2008.

The University of Maine at Farmington Center for Human Development recently received certification as one of two ACT professional licensing test centers in Maine. This service will be available to the public at the UMF Franklin Academic Success Center at 252 Main St. in Farmington.

The Cure Bag campaign of Sea Bags Inc., the Portland-based maker of handmade bags from recycled sails, was featured on The Martha Stewart Show on National Breast Cancer Awareness Day. This is Sea Bags’ second annual Cure Campaign, which raises awareness and funds for breast cancer research.

The Wal-Mart Foundation has given the Penobscot Nation Boys and Girls Club on Indian Island a $25,000 grant to sustain and enhance its after-school homework help program. The Penobscot Nation Boys & Girls Club provides programs that promote the development of young people by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and a sense of power.

Northeast Bank’s insurance division, Northeast Bank Insurance Group Inc. in Lewiston, is relocating to the new Insurance and Financial Center at 8 Charles St. in South Paris.

Wright-Ryan Construction in Portland has partnered with the national organization Women Unlimited to offer community outreach programs in support of Coastal Studies for Girls in Freeport. The sessions will offer the public ways to prepare their homes for the coming winter.

“Raymond Beach,” a painting created by local artist Wendy Newcomb for the lobby of Mechanics Savings Bank in Windham, was unveiled Oct. 1.

Thomas College in Waterville recently introduced ThomasTV, a new virtual television broadcast service to its campus. This service provides broadcast television over Thomas’ IP data network.

Gifford’s Ice Cream in Skowhegan has announced the recent addition of several new accounts to its list of distributing locations: Bloomingdale’s, Lord & Taylor, Rutgers and Columbia Universities, the United Nations, Westchester Country Club and New York City’s Del Frisco’s Steakhouse locations.

R.H. Foster in Cooper has announced a new audit program called Heat Keepers that’s designed to help homeowners use less energy and save more money this winter. The audit process takes anywhere from a couple of hours to a half a day, depending on the package chosen by the homeowner and the size of the home.

After 17 years in Yarmouth, Barbara Babkirk and Amy Jaffe of Heart At Work, a career counseling and consulting business, have relocated to 25 Middle St. in Portland.

Central Maine Community College in Auburn has received a $1.3 million advanced technological education grant from the National Science Foundation. The grant will fund the college’s collaborative virtual ideation platform project to help faculty and students throughout the United States share resources and expertise across the Internet to resolve design and manufacturing problems.

The Ogunquit Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated the opening of Julie’s Ristorante & Provisto in its new location. Julie’s Ristorante & Provisto has developed a line of gourmet products and gift baskets for its newly developed online store under the name Julie’s Provisto.

Each year, United Way of Greater Portland invites local companies to support its annual campaign by loaning a staff member from the end of August through the end of the campaign in November. The 2008 Loaned Executive Class includes Emily Bugbee of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Christine Hopkins and Stephanie Leo of Hannaford Bros. Co., Abra Lodge and Dan Tremble of L.L.Bean, Mia Millefoglie from HomeHealth Visiting Nurses, George Sawyer of Wright Express, Jason Straetz of Gorham Savings Bank and Vanesa Saric of Maine Medical Center.

Maine filmmaker Kevin DiBacco has been asked to be a guest speaker at this year’s Screenwriting Expo in Los Angeles, Calif. Kevin’s latest feature film, “Willows Way,” shot and edited in Maine, is now distributed in over 30 countries. His topic is “Making a Low Budget Feature and Getting Distribution for Your Film.”

Nelson & Small, a heating and appliance wholesaler in Portland, will distribute alternative-energy products for residential and commercial applications.

Kim Laramy, social marketing strategist and senior account executive at Ethos Marketing and Design in Westbrook, presented to more than 300 healthcare leaders and policy makers at the Sept. 16 annual convention of the Oregon Health Forum in Portland, Ore.

The University of Southern Maine’s School of Business and the Center for Continuing Education, in collaboration with the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce, are offering a certificate in Business Management at a discount for chamber members. Topics covered include marketing, financial accounting, finance, managerial accounting, human resources and leadership and strategy. The program is taught by professors from the USM School of Business and experts from the business community.

McClain Marketing Group, a full-service strategic marketing solutions firm, and Mr. Signs Inc., a full-service production and installation house, both in Portland, recently donated the design, production and installation of a new welcome sign for Portland’s Deering Oaks Park.

Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution, based in Saco, has opened a Scarborough branch at 41 Gorham Rd. The 3,800-square-foot facility replaces the bank’s Oak Hill Plaza location, which opened in 1995.

The MEMIC board of directors recently voted to issue a dividend totaling $15 million to policyholders of its Maine-based mutual company. As a result of the vote, MEMIC, based in Portland, will send checks in November to more than 20,000 Maine employers who were policyholders of the company during 2005.

U.S. Rep. Mike Michaud announced that the Federal Transit Administration has awarded the Maine Department of Transportation $1,096,500 for the Island Explorer transit system to replace six of their 17 propane buses that serve Acadia National Park and surrounding communities.

The Maine Women’s Fund in Portland recently signed a collaborative partnership agreement with Lael Jepson of SheChanges, a coaching agency in Portland, to offer programs to women in Portland.

The Department of Economic and Community Development and the Office of Community Development have awarded an additional $5,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to the town of Milo, following its downtown fire Sept. 14. The total CDBG Planning Grant awarded to Milo is now $15,000.

As part of its 25th anniversary celebration, the Maine Community Foundation has awarded $25,000 challenge grants to 19 nonprofits in Oxford, Franklin, Somerset, Piscataquis, Aroostook, Washington and Hancock counties to establish new permanent endowments or expand existing endowments. The challenge grants recognize the foundation’s origins in rural Maine and in Hancock County, where MCF has been headquartered since it was founded in 1983.

The Maine Office of Tourism recently chose Portland’s Swardlick Marketing Group to handle its advertising campaign. The new one-year advertising contract began Nov. 1 for $3.6 million, and includes all fees, production of ads and advertising costs.

Blue Marble Geographics in Gardiner and Quarry One Eleven in the United Kingdom have joined forces to promote Blue Marble’s GIS data conversion solutions in Great Britain. Quarry One Eleven will sell, market and publicize geospatial products in the U.K. and European markets, and in the Middle East.

The Acadia Health Education Coalition in Bangor received a $50,000 grant by the Wal-Mart Foundation. The funds will be used to support the Maine Young Partners for Health Careers initiative, an effort to increase awareness of healthcare careers in Maine.

Accolades

Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, a health care network based in Brewer, was chosen as a Best Place to Work in Maine by Modern Healthcare, a national healthcare publication, and a Best Place to Work in Healthcare by the Society for Human Resource Management’s Maine State Council.

Forty-one Bernstein Shur attorneys in Portland have been selected by their peers to be recognized in the 2009 edition of “The Best Lawyers in America.”

Four attorneys from the Portland-based law firm Murray, Plumb & Murray, were recently selected for inclusion in the 2009 edition of “The Best Lawyers in America”: Drew Anderson, John Bannon, Thomas Newman and Richard O’Meara.

The Portland Water District was presented with New England Water Works Association’s 2008 Utility Service Award. The award recognizes outstanding leadership and support of the water industry and association.

Portland-based MEMIC, a workers’ compensation insurer, was named a Best Place to Work in Maine for the third consecutive year in a competition sponsored by Society for Human Resource Management’s Maine State Council.

Peter and Kim Palermo of Elm Street Printing & Graphics in Camden received the top management award from Certified Printers International during its semi-annual board meetings in Nashville, Tenn.

Weichert, Realtors — Waterglen Group in Old Orchard Beach recognized the following brokers for the third quarter 2008: Thomas Snow for July, Jim Walsh for August and David Karl Roberts for September. Awards are based on top sales for the month and contributions to the company’s overall production and growth.

Marcia Kyle, a dietician at the Pen Bay Healthcare Diabetes and Nutrition Care Center in Rockport, was recently named Outstanding Dietitian of the Year by the American Dietetic Association.

Maine Medical Center has been named one of the “most-preferred” hospitals in the nation, according to a survey of health care consumers. The Consumer Choice Award results are based on a nationwide survey about the quality of care provided by hospitals.

Poland Spring Water Company received the President’s Recognition Award from the Maine State Chamber of Commerce. The water bottler is being recognized for its significant investments in Maine.   

Maine Audubon in Falmouth recently won a national grant for vernal pool conservation. The $47,000 grant will enable Maine Audubon, an affiliate of National Audubon Society Inc., to work with environmental consulting firm Stantec to identify and protect vernal pools and create material to educate communities about their importance.

James Harmon, executive director of the Old Orchard Beach Chamber of Commerce, was named the Chamber Executive of the Year at the Maine State Chamber of Commerce annual meeting. Harmon has served as the executive director of the Old Orchard Beach Chamber of Commerce since 1997.

Spotlight

The New Mainers Workforce Partnership-L/A, a group of community partners that came together to offer the area’s first ready-to-work program for non-English speakers, held its graduation on Oct. 21 at The Green Ladle, Lewiston Regional Tech Center’s new culinary arts facility. All 13 participants were awarded credentials signifying that they are ready for work after completing a 120-hour curriculum over a six-week period. Participating business partners were Bonney Staffing, Manpower Inc, L.L.Bean, the Lewiston School Department, Staff Management and Oxford Networks in Lewiston. The pilot was a response to workforce needs identified in the “Report on Employment Patterns of Somali Immigrants” released in May by the Maine State Planning Office and the Maine Department of Labor.