In short from Oct. 18, 2010 | A roundup of new hires, promotions, accolades and appointments from Maine's business community

New Hires

Affiliated Healthcare Systems in Bangor recently hired Gus Demos as statewide account manager in its business services group.

Legacy Publishing Co., a Westbrook producer and publisher of personal development products for families, recently hired Don Hebert as controller. Previously, Hebert was director of finance at Bowden Hospitality Management Group.

The Woodlands Co. in Waterville recently hired Olga Gross as executive director of its new 72-bed Memory Care residence under development in Cape Elizabeth.

Kennebec Family Practice in Waterville recently hired Timothy Nuce, a family medicine physician, and Hoai-nam Hoang, a family medicine physician. They are now members of MaineGeneral Medical Center’s medical staff.

iBec Creative, a provider of website and traditional design services in Portland, recently hired Leah Arsenault as a graphic designer.

The Central/Western Maine Workforce Investment Board in Lewiston recently hired Jeffrey Sneddon as executive director.

Design Group Collaborative, an architectural design and planning firm in Portland, recently hired Elizabeth Schidzig and Walter Arsenault as senior associates. Previously, Schidzig and Arsenault were with MorrisSwitzer in Portland.

Runyon Kersteen Ouellette, an accounting firm in South Portland, recently hired certified public accountants Casey Leonard and Jeremy Farrah.

People’s United Bank in Bangor recently hired Robert Gardner as a mortgage account officer.

Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution in Westbrook recently hired Walter McCallister as a mortgage loan officer. Previously, McCallister was a loan officer, relationship manager and branch manager at KeyBank in Gorham. Saco & Biddeford Savings also hired Bill Kany as director of legal and government affairs. Previously, Kany was a partner in law firm Smith Elliott Smith & Garmey in Saco.

Tilson Technology Management, an information technology project management company in Portland, recently hired Danielle Lavoie as a consultant. Previously, Lavoie was a web content producer and project manager of quality control and operations for New Generation Network.

Shawnee Peak Ski Area in Bridgton recently hired Andrew Edwards as outside sales manager.

St. Mary’s Health System in Auburn recently hired Thaddeus Shattuck, a sleep specialist and psychiatrist.

Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport recently hired Stephanie Lash, a neurologist, at Pen Bay Neurology. Previously, Lash was director of stroke services and head of the neurology department at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

Machias Savings Bank recently hired Judith Brogden as assistant vice president and Rockland branch manager. Previously Brogden was assistant vice president at Camden National Bank.

Eaton Peabody Consulting Group in Augusta recently hired Don Gerrish and Dick Metivier as municipal consultants.

University Credit Union in Presque Isle recently hired Candace Roy as branch manager. Previously, Roy was the assistant vice president/branch manager at KeyBank’s Caribou branch.

The University of New England recently hired Karen O’Rourke as deputy director for program development at its Center for Community and Public Health in Portland.

The Portland Museum of Art recently hired Elizabeth Jones as the director of visitor experience. Previously, Jones was a visitor experience, membership and technology consultant at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

GHM Insurance Agency in Waterville recently hired Bill Rafuse and P.J. Dowe as insurance agents.

Natalie’s at Camden Harbour Inn in Camden recently hired Geoffroy Deconinck as executive chef.

The Portland Symphony Orchestra recently hired Lisa Dixon as executive director. Previously, Dixon was chief operating officer at the Memphis Symphony Orchestra.

Hammond Lumber Co. recently hired Matt Stelzer and John Sproul as outside sales representatives for its Brunswick location, Jake Webb in its commercial sales department in Belgrade and Israel Rodriguez as an outside sales representative for its Portland store.

TD Bank recently hired Ryan LeSieur as the store manager of its South Portland location at 180 Waterman Drive.

Promotions

Acadia Trust, a Portland-based investment advisory and trustee firm, recently promoted David Smith to senior vice president and chief investment officer and Timothy Woodhouse to director of relationship management and trust services.

KeyBank recently promoted Diane Lewis to vice president and branch manager for its Kittery branch.

Linda Bean’s Perfect Maine Lobster Co. recently promoted Mike Clements to operations manager of the restaurant division. Previously, Clements was the general manager of Linda Bean’s Portland Old Port location.

TD Bank recently promoted Ryan Nadeau to branch manager at its location in Shaw’s Supermarket at 417 Payne Road in Scarborough and Meagan Barrett to branch manager at its location in Shaw’s Supermarket at 600 Center St. in Auburn.

Allen Insurance and Financial in Camden recently promoted Jean Dutch to senior operations manager. Previously, Dutch was head of operations for the property and casualty divisions.

Appointments

The Afterschool Alliance recently announced the selection of Laura Brock, 21st century learning grant director of Greater Waterville’s Communities for Children & Youth, to serve as a 2010-2011 Afterschool Ambassador.

The Center for Grieving Children recently elected the following new board members: Crystal Butts-Griffin of Northeast Technical Institute; Gail Bruzgo of Bruzgo & Kremer; Douglas Carr of Perkins Thompson; Melinda Ferreira of Intuitive Surgica; John Mosley of New York Life; Amanda Rand of Spinnaker Trust; Julie Lomac Tselikis; and Michael Violette of Portland Radio Group. The center also elected the following new officers for the 2010-11 fiscal year: Burr Duryee of ClearPoint to board president; Quincy Hentzel of Maine Credit Union League to vice president; Nancy Thompson of Guardian Life-Living Wealth Partners to secretary; and Paul Letalien of Baker Newman Noyes as treasurer.

Company News

Simmons Ardell, a South Portland-based communication design firm, recently announced it has been engaged by Atlantic Brewing Co. of Bar Harbor to provide branding and design services.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service recently awarded $1.4 million to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to assist the groundfish industry as it continues to transition to sector management.

Arbogast Energy Auditing in Westbrook recently announced it is working with the town of Madison, N.H., to perform advanced energy audits in seven of the town’s buildings.

Baxter Brewing Co., a craft beer brewery in Lewiston, recently reached wholesale distribution agreements with Nappi Distributors and Pine State Trading Co.

Kappa Mapping, an aerial mapping company in Bangor, recently announced the launch of its new website, www.kappamap.com.

Norway Savings Bank recently announced it has opened a business banking center on Exchange Street in Portland.

Bull Moose, a CD, DVD and video game retailer headquartered in Brunswick, recently announced it has begun construction on an expansion of its warehouse store at 456 Payne Road in Scarborough.

Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems in Brewer is the recipient of a $640,000 federal investment included in the fiscal year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill. The funding will go toward emergency preparedness planning and equipment.

Bangor Hydro Electric Co. was recently identified by the Wellness Council of America as a Gold Level Well Workplace. The recognition evaluates the quality of a company’s health promotion programs for its employees.

George Markowsky, professor and chair of the University of Maine department of computer science in Orono, was recently awarded an honorary doctoral degree from The Research Council of Ternopil National Economic University in the Ukraine.

Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker, an accounting firm in Portland, recently announced that Brooke Holmes has earned the certified public accountant designation.

HealthInfoNet, a Maine nonprofit that operates the statewide health information exchange and the Maine Regional Extension Center, was recently awarded $264,000 in additional funding through the Regional Extension Center Program of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The funds will be used to help 22 critical access and rural Maine hospitals adopt and use electronic medical records.

The First Bancorp in Damariscotta recently declared a quarterly dividend of 19.5 cents per share. This third-quarter dividend, which is payable Oct. 29 to shareholders of record as of Oct. 6, is equal to the 19.5 cents per share declared in the previous eight quarters.

The Orono Public Library, designed by WBRC Architects and Engineers in Bangor, was recently awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The Elmina B. Sewall Foundation recently awarded a $25,000 grant to Portland-based Friends of Casco Bay’s Citizen Stewards Water Quality Monitoring Program.

Boston-based law firm Furman Gregory recently announced that it will open an office in Biddeford.

Echelon Circles, a private membership organization for established Maine women business leaders, recently celebrated its first year in operation.

Austin Associates, an accounting firm in Auburn, recently announced that Jeremy Marchessault received his certified public accountant designation from the Maine Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Dead River Co. in Portland, a distributor of petroleum products, recently announced the launch of its new website, www.deadriver.com.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that the Northport Village Corp. will receive a $159,874 loan and a $440,126 grant for wastewater system improvements.

MaineLine, a nonprofit coalition of Maine businesses that provides a direct response to disasters, recently announced its September Do Good with Your Game Celebrity Golf Tournament held at Scarborough’s Nonesuch River Golf Club raised more than $25,000.

The Finance Authority of Maine recently announced that NextGen, Maine’s 529 plan, now offers 39 options to help make investing for college more flexible.

Casting for Recovery, a national nonprofit support and educational program for women with breast cancer, recently received a $10,000 donation from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration recently awarded a $1.4 million grant to Washington County and the city of Eastport for the construction of the Eastport Business Center. The investment will fund construction of the Eastport Business Center and establishes the Maine Marine Energy Center, a tidal energy turbine manufacturing and assembly center.

The U.S. Army recently awarded an $11 million contract to Source for Native American Products in Princeton for procurement of 58,263 flame-resistant Army combat uniforms.

PenBay Solutions in Brunswick, a provider of geographic information systems, recently authored a paper titled, “Geographic Information Systems for Facility Management.”

The Institute for Civic Leadership recently launched its 18th Leadership Intensive, its signature program that teaches collaborative, facilitative and change leadership skills to a diverse group of senior and middle-management professionals from the private, nonprofit and public sectors.

The Maine Technology Institute recently approved the following new seed grants totaling $98,625: The Baker Co. Inc. in Sanford for product line expansion, $12,500; SensoryCyberSystems in Orono for laser/LED controllers for education and biomedicine, $12,500; Oceanwind Technology in North Waterford for submerged web foundation, $12,500; Print Recovery Concepts Inc. in Yarmouth to develop bio-based markers, $12,500; Zeomatrix in Orono for market research on mold-resistant technology, $6,000; Rohrer Technologies Inc. in York for an advanced ocean wave energy converter, $12,500; Blue Marble Group in Gardiner for GeoCalc Java II, $12,500; O’Brien Medical in Orono for a vibratory sensation assessment device, $9,375; and Flagsuit in Southwest Harbor for a hyperbaric suit for medical therapy, $8,250.

Spotlight

Consigli Construction Co. Inc., a construction firm headquartered in Milford, Mass., with an office in Portland, recently announced it has completed construction of the new 22,500-square-foot importation/isolation facility for The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, according to a press release from the company.

The three-story facility is designed to accommodate expanding research needs and will receive new test specimens of genetically defined mice prior to introducing them into sterile laboratory environments.

Designed by RMW Architecture & Interiors of Sacramento, Calif., the new $6 million facility includes cryopreservation storage, laboratory and support areas, animal distribution facilities and a locker room. Mechanical and electrical engineering services were provided by WBRC Architects and Engineers in Bangor and structural engineering services were provided by Becker Structural in Portland.

Accolades

Pen Bay Healthcare in Rockport recently announced that Leann Sebrey, a registered nurse, is the 2010 Employee of the Year.

Verso Paper Corp., owner of mills in Bucksport and Jay, recently received the Manufacturer of the Year Award from the Maine Forest Products Council.

Joella Rossignol, a personal insurance account executive with Allen Insurance and Financial in Camden, recently received the HK Dent President’s Award from the Safeco Insurance Co.

The Maine Technology Institute recently received the Excellence in Technology-Based Economic Development Award from the State Science and Technology Institute, a national nonprofit organization based in Ohio that leads efforts to improve state and regional economies through science, technology and innovation.

Rudman & Winchell, a law firm in Bangor, recently announced that seven of the firm’s practice areas were recently selected by peers for inclusion on the list of The Best Law Firms in America 2011.

Fisher & Phillips, a labor and employment law firm in Portland, recently announced that the office has received a metropolitan first-tier ranking for management-side labor and employment law from U.S. News & World Report and Best Lawyers. U.S. News also named Portland-based Pierce Atwood as one of the top-ranked firms in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts in 25 different practice areas.

The Maine Office of Tourism and its website contractor, Portland Webworks, recently received the Gold Magellan Award in the destination marketing/website category in the 2010 Travel Weekly Magellan Awards.

Sweetgrass Farm Winery and Distillery in Union recently announced its Apple Wine received a gold medal and was named best wine from Maine in the 2010 Eastern States Exposition Wine Competition. Sweetgrass’ Cranberry Apple Wine, Cranberry Smash and Peach Smash each won silver medals and its Peach Wine and Blueberry Smash won bronze medals.