In Short from Oct. 6, 2008 | A roundup of new hires, promotions, accolades and appointments from Maine's business community

New Hires

Tilson Technology Management, a technology consulting firm in Portland, recently hired Jason Carpenter as project manager. Carpenter has a background in software development and customer support and training.

Perkins Olson PA in Portland recently hired Nathan Quinn Collins as associate attorney. Previously, Collins worked as a staff attorney for the Maine Supreme Court and as an associate attorney with Lane Powell Spears Lubersky in Seattle, Wash.

JC Mobility Solutions, a medical equipment company in Raymond, recently hired Ginny Paulson.

The Maine Heritage Policy Center, a think tank in Portland, recently hired Arnold Clark as director of its Center for Constitutional Law. Clark worked as a law clerk for a Maine Supreme Judicial Court Justice, has been a law professor and for the past five years was a practicing attorney in Maine.

Pen Bay Healthcare in Camden recently hired Penney Read as vice president of development, marketing and communication. Read previously worked at the Inflammation Research Foundation in Danvers, Mass. Pen Bay also recently hired Amy Boynton as the new director of the creative learning and child care center at Penobscot Bay Medical Center. Previously, Boynton was the owner of Growing Wonder Child Care & Preschool in Thomaston.

Hilltop Log & Timber Homes in Bowdoinham recently hired Bill Roberts as plans and programs manager. Previously, Roberts worked for Sprowl Building Components in Searsmont designing pre-engineered components and floor and roof trusses.

The Greater Bangor Convention & Visitors Bureau recently hired Gibran Vogue Graham as director of membership and convention sales. Previously, Graham worked at a Borders bookstore in an unnamed location as a sales account manager. 

South Carolina-based Colonial Life & Accident Insurance Company recently hired Donna Hastings as a benefits representative in its Rockland office.

Common Good Ventures, a nonprofit in Brunswick that coaches nonprofit leaders, recently hired Andrew Watt as its new president. Previously, Watt was a vice president of the international firm CGI Inc.

Norway Savings Bank, based in Norway, recently hired Noel Graydon as regional vice president and commercial lender. Graydon’s most recent position was president and CEO of Rivergreen Bank in Kennebunk, which recently merged with Savings Bank of Maine, based in Gardiner.

Colby College in Waterville recently hired David Eaton as director of communications and marketing. Recently, Eaton was ABC’s chief of its U.S. southern bureaus and western bureaus.

Disability RMS in Westbrook has recently hired the following: Sharon Hogan and Larry Broda as medical directors and Nancy Gilpatrick as vocational rehabilitation consultant. Hogan and Broda recently worked for Unum.

Christophermichaelsullivan, a Portland art firm, recently hired Gordon Lane as the firm’s communication director. Prior to joining CMS, Lane worked as a staff writer for the American Journal, a Westbrook newspaper.

The Maine International Trade Center recently hired Bryan Bozsik as trade assistance manager in its Portland office.

Janice Selig, designated broker of Allen and Selig Realty in Yarmouth, recently hired the following: John Guptill as a real estate brokerage professional, Lori Norris as a company administrator and Jason Birmingham as a sales agent in Allen and Selig Realty’s North Yarmouth office.

The University of New England, based in Biddeford, recently hired Tim Ford as its first vice president for research and dean of graduate studies. Previously, Ford was adjunct associate professor in the Environmental Health Department at Harvard University’s School of Public Health.

Norton Insurance & Financial Services in Cumberland recently hired Sarah Sprague as an accounting clerk. Previously, Sprague was office manager for Supercuts in an unnamed location.

Freeport Comfort Suites recently hired Carolyn Krahn as the director of sales. Previously, Krahn was a sales account manager at a Borders bookstore in an unnamed location.

Legacy Properties/Sotheby’s International Realty in Portland recently hired Jon Leahy as a marketing consultant and project manager. Previously, Leahy served as director of sales and marketing for Highland Green Adult Resort Community and Golf Club in Topsham.

The Maine Health Information Center in Manchester recently hired James Harrison as president and CEO. Previously, Harrison was CEO for PrimeCare Physician Associates, which has several offices in southern Maine.

MaineGeneral Medical Center’s Hospitalist Service in Augusta recently hired Sergio Riffel as a member of the medical center’s active medical staff. Previously, Riffel had a private practice in Brunswick.

Wright-Pierce, a New England engineering firm, recently hired James Manzer and Lindsey Brough as project engineers in the wastewater practice group in Portland. It also hired the following in its Topsham office: Ralph Manglass in the building design services group and Kevin Daley in the GIS department.

Promotions

Disability RMS in Westbrook recently promoted Christopher Johnson to claims technician.

The Maine International Trade Center recently promoted the following: Anne Nanovic from trade specialist to director of the Lewiston/Auburn regional office and Wade Merritt from director of operations to vice president.

Harriman, a full-service architecture and engineering firm with offices in Auburn, Portland and Manchester, N.H., recently promoted Cynthia McConnell to the position of senior administrative assistant/administrative department supervisor.

Hurley Travel Experts in Cumberland, a full-service travel management company, recently promoted Denise Valmond to business travel operations manager.

Earle W. Noyes & Sons in Portland recently promoted William Noyes, great-grandson of founder Earle Noyes, to operations manager.

AARP in Portland recently promoted Nancy Kelleher to senior state director. Kelleher previously worked as the organization’s associate state director for advocacy.

Maine International Trade Center recently promoted the following: Anne Nanovic to director of the Lewiston/Auburn regional office and Wade Merritt from director of operations to vice president.

Chris Delamater was recently promoted to vice president and director of marketing at Northeast Bank, based in Lewiston.

Diane Collins was recently promoted to customer service manager at MMG Insurance Company in Presque Isle. Collins previously worked as the assistant personal lines manager for the company. MMG also promoted Michael Thibodeau to accounting manager. He had worked for the company as its customer service manager.

Appointments

Allen Sterling, president and CEO of Auburn Savings Bank, was recently elected to the board of directors of Auburn Savings Bank and its parent company, Auburn Bancorp Inc.

Pine Tree Society, a nonprofit in Bath that helps people with disabilities, recently appointed the following to the board of directors: Diane Gilbert, Cheryl Timberlake and Kenneth Textor.

Mark Plourde, managing partner of the Maine Valuation Company in Standish, was recently appointed to the Maine Board of Real Estate Appraisers.

Spotlight

Part field guide, part almanac, “A Coastal Companion: A Year in the Gulf of Maine from Cape Cod to Canada,” by Catherine Schmitt, was recently published by Tilbury House, a publisher in Gardiner.

“A Coastal Companion” is a journey through the year in the Gulf of Maine and its watershed, which includes land from eastern Massachusetts to southwestern Nova Scotia. The guide follows the arrival and departure of migrating shorebirds in spring and fall, schools of fish as they move in and out of the region, and the cycles of Maine’s bays, rivers, marshes and coastal forests. Poems by 12 contemporary Maine poets open each chapter, and illustrations by two Maine artists, Kimberleigh Martul-March and Margaret Campbell, are featured throughout the text.

Company news

Bangor Savings Bank plans to finalize the purchase of a building for a new bank branch in Rockland by the end of September. Following some renovation and modernization, Bangor Savings Bank will be open for business at the downtown Rockland location this winter.

The Maine Maritime Museum in Bath has received a nearly $200,000 grant from National Endowment for the Humanities that will fund a three-year program to improve and stabilize its large and nationally significant watercraft collection while expanding public access to it.

The city of Bangor recently received a Federal Aviation Administration award of more than $1 million that will provide funding for the final phase of terminal building improvements at the Bangor International Airport. Terminal building improvements include installation of fire alarms in the recently expanded terminal area and a passenger notification system.

The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor recently opened a new student dorm for 51 residents that has the heating load of a single family home. The dorm has composting toilets, double-stud walls, in-floor radiant heating on the ground floor and hydronic wall-mounted heaters on the upper floors.

InterSpec Inc., a Portland company that makes construction specification management software and services, has been chosen as a preferred industry partner by Autodesk Inc., a 2D- and 3D-design software company in California, for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets.

Two University of New England faculty and 16 students from several departments in the College of Health Professions, including nursing, social work, occupational therapy, health services management, and the physician assistant program, participated in a two-week immersion experience to Ghana from Aug. 8-22. The students chronicled their trip via a blog on UNE’s website. They worked with clients of all ages in a primary care clinic initially established by the faculty of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and the people of Sekondi, Ghana.

The Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health in Brewer presented at the Atlantic Omics Symposium and Expo in Moncton, N.B., Aug. 19-20. In collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada, the symposium attracted international scientists and researchers in Omics, a general term for a broad discipline of science and engineering.

The Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Chamber of Commerce recently said Down East Enterprise, a multi-media company in Camden, will produce the chamber’s signature publication, “The Jewel of the Maine Coast,” which showcases many of the 650 chamber members. Down East will provide design and production work for the annual publication.

The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor recently received a Maine Technology Asset Fund grant from the Maine Technology Institute. The $4.7 million grant will be used to expand the laboratory’s technology capabilities and strengthen its research services offerings, and to make commercialization opportunities for new technologies available to Maine businesses.

The new federal farm bill recently increased farm loan limits to $300,000, up from $200,000, for direct farm ownership and operating loans, according to the U.S. Farm Service Agency. Direct loans are a resource for farmers to obtain the credit they need to build and sustain family farms. The Farm Service Agency loan limits had been unchanged since 1984.

Idexx Laboratories Inc. in Westbrook is funding a new graduate assistantship for University of Southern Maine graduate students. The Software Engineering Graduate Assistantship is a renewable, academic-year-long opportunity for a computer science graduate student to work in Idexx’s software engineering research and development department and with computer science faculty from USM’s Research Computing Group. The recipient will receive $18,000 to help cover educational and related expenses for the academic year.

DMM, a direct marketing agency in Scarborough, has hired Simmons Ardell Design in Portland to provide design and marketing communications services.

Richard Smith, a lawyer with Bernstein Shur, which has offices in Portland, Augusta and Manchester, N.H., recently received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional designation from the Green Building Certification Institute. According to GBCI, Smith is the first attorney practicing in Maine to complete the accreditation process.

PuroClean Emergency Restoration Services, a new company in Yarmouth started by Ken Brigham, will serve southern Maine with mitigation and restoration services for water, mold, fire, trauma events and other types of losses.

Stephens Memorial Hospital’s Family Birthplace recently received seven five-star ratings, the highest possible rating, on a national patient satisfaction survey by Avatar International.

Gov. John Baldacci’s chief legal counsel, Michael Mahoney, recently left his government position, which he had held since December 2006, to return to private practice. He created the firm FederleMahoney in Hallowell with Tom Federle, who served as chief legal counsel from July 2005 to December 2006.

The Society for Human Resource Management’s Maine State Council has announced that 26 companies have been named in the third annual “Best Places to Work in Maine” program. The 26 companies, listed alphabetically, are: Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice; Baker, Newman Noyes; Bangor Savings Bank; Berry Talbot Royer; Cintas Corporation; Consigli Construction Co. Inc.; Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems; Edward Jones; GreenPages Technology Solutions; Jotul North America, Inc.; Kennebunk Savings Bank; Machias Savings Bank; Manpower; MEMIC; MOUNTAIN LTD; Norway Savings Bank; Oxford Networks; Patrons Oxford Insurance Company; Pierce Atwood; Pioneer Telephone; PowerPay; SMRT; T-Mobile USA Inc.; Tom’s of Maine; Tyler Technologies Inc. and Unum.

Sitelines PA of Brunswick, a civil engineering, surveying, land planning and landscape architecture service, recently merged with Dirigo Land Services. Bruce Martinson, former president and owner of Dirigo, joined Sitelines as the survey manager.

The EnergyOcean Conference, a global event focused on renewable and sustainable energy from the oceans, will be held at the Samoset Resort in Rockport on June 16-18, 2009. More than 300 international technologists, financiers and policy makers will gather at this premier event to share and discuss opportunities for the renewable market of ocean-based energy.

Correct Building Products in Biddeford recently said its July 2008 sales of composite outdoor building materials hit a record, with a 16% increase over June and a nearly 40% increase over 2006 sales during the same period.

The Portland Music Foundation, a non-profit organization that educates music professionals in the Portland area, recently attained its 501c3 federal tax status, making it eligible for a number of grants and making donations to the organization tax deductible.

Simon John, a researcher with The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, has received a $1.25 million grant from The Partridge Foundation, a John and Polly Guth Charitable Fund, to support research into new treatments for glaucoma, one of the world’s leading causes of blindness.

Seventeen Wal-Mart stores in Maine and New Hampshire have donated more than $20,000 to LifeFlight of Maine, Maine’s emergency medical helicopter service. The funds will help pay for the installation of night vision goggles on LifeFlight’s two aircraft.

Entercom New England has expanded into Maine and New Hampshire, with four new FM stations and one new AM station beginning syndication of WEEI Sports Radio. The stations 910 AM/97.1 FM out of Bangor, 95.5/95.9 out of Portland and 93.5 out of Keene, New Hampshire will carry WEEI sports talk programming full-time.

Acadia Business Advisors LLC in Cumberland has been hired by Papa Bello Enterprises Inc., based in Las Vegas, as its exclusive broker for New England, Michigan, Wisconsin, Oregon and California to help them sell franchise licenses. Lilly’s Gourmet Pasta, a Massachusetts-based pasta company in the quick service restaurant business, has also hired Acadia Business Advisors to be its business development broker for the United States.

Susanna Liller, the founder and president of Ruby Slippers LLC in Portland, has started Liller Consulting LLC in Portland. Liller is a management consultant, strategic planner, mediator and executive and personal coach with over 30 years of corporate experience.

Accolades

Bernard Featherman, president and CEO of the Biddeford Saco Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was selected for inclusion in the 2009 Marquis “Who’s Who in the World” of the highest achievers and contributors from around the world.

Simply Green Biofuels based in Stratham, N.H., recently said it will be presented with the Maine Environmental Hero Award. Simply Green helped more than 75 victims from the alleged failure of three Biddeford oil companies.

Diane Casey, a Portland photographer, was recently awarded the prestigious Photo District News 2008 Self Promotional award for Most Extraordinary Promotion. This award recognizes the self-promotional efforts of photographers in all genres.

Cuddledown, a manufacturer and retailer of down bedding in Portland, was awarded Best New Product in bedding at last week’s New York Home Textiles Market Week. Cuddledown’s “World’s Lightest Comforter” was chosen by a panel of trade and consumer editors based on design innovation, new materials and creative use of materials.

Soft Trac LLC, a Sage Software business partner in Yarmouth, was recently selected by Accounting Technology magazine as one of 15 “Killer VARs” of 2008. This distinction recognizes software resellers who demonstrate commitment and character and that continue to grow due to innovative marketing techniques and a high level of service.

The University of New England was recently ranked one of the best universities in the north in the 2009 edition of “America’s Best Colleges” from U.S. News & World Report. UNE was ranked 81st in the top tier of this category, and no other college or university in Maine ranked higher.

Maine Development Foundation recently gave the following its 2008 Champion of Economic Development award: The University of Maine’s wood composite facility in Orono, for improving and developing products for more than 80 Maine companies; and Poland Spring, based in Poland and owned by Switzerland-based Nestle Waters North America, for investing in Maine’s economy and creating jobs in rural communities.

Lisa Bonci of Bonci Design in Kittery was recently awarded a Bronze prize in the 14th Annual Summit International Awards for logo design. This award recognizes creative excellence and is the second Bronze Summit Award of her career.

The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor was recently ranked among the top five schools in the nation for its small classes and international student body, according to US News & World Report’s 2009 edition of “America’s Best Colleges.”