In short from Sept. 6, 2010 | A roundup of new hires, promotions, accolades and appointments from Maine's business community

New Hires

Saint Joseph’s College in Standish recently hired Nancy Kristiansen as its new program director for online graduate business programs, including the Leadership MBA and the new M.S. in accountancy program.

Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport recently hired Pauline Wilder, Susan Watkins and Valerie Garrigan as nurse practice leaders.

Eaton Peabody, a law firm based in Bangor, recently hired attorney Edward Feibel to its employment practice.

Portland Public Schools recently hired Jerry Blazek as human resources coordinator.

Tilson Technology Management, an information technology project management company in Portland, recently hired Eliza Mathias as director of business development. Previously, Mathias was project manager for Goold Health Systems in Augusta.

Coastal Enterprises Inc., a nonprofit in Wiscasset that provides business lending and support, recently hired Sue Strommer as a transactional analyst for the CEI Capital Management LLC division in Portland, Ruth Vinal as controller, Elizabeth Speck as SBDC business technician and Virginia Chaput as accounting assistant.

Consigli Construction Co. Inc. in Portland recently hired Patrick Keating to its project management team.

KeyBank in Portland recently hired Steven Byrnes as assistant vice president, team leader of business banking, for the southern Maine market of Key’s Maine district, and Gary Chavoustie as Key@Work executive for Maine. Previously, Byrnes was senior director of sales performance management, commercial banking, for Capital One Bank, and Chavoustie was the central New York market district executive for HSBC Bank.

Bisson Transportation in Lewiston recently hired Tony Pasquale to its truck center as shop foreman, Jeff Fitzwilliam as human resource manager and Peter Ouellette to its transportation team.

Thomas College in Waterville recently hired the following: Joshua Chamberlain, custodian and utility worker; Kelly Liberty, student financial services counselor; Kenneth Pratt, public safety officer; James Delorie, director of recreation and intramurals; Robert Asselin, public safety officer; Catherine Howe, administrative assistant for continuing education and graduate division; Kate Jordan, resident director and student life assistant; Megan Tapley, director of international recruiting; and James Parsons, director of the physical plant.

Kennebunk Beach Realty in Kennebunk recently hired J. Mark Gary as a real estate broker. Previously, Gary was a managing broker for BHGRE.

Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor recently hired Lawrence Barrett as president. Previously, Barrett was vice chancellor of enrollment management and student services at Purdue University North Central in Westville, Ind. The college also hired Harold Casey as an instructor in the computer systems program; Richard Gomm as a faculty member of the refrigeration, air conditioning and heating program; Dan McKay to teach in the diesel, truck and heavy equipment program; Arthur Jasmin as construction manager for the Pathways Out of Poverty program; Joe Kennedy as the program office manager for the emergency medical services program and its Northeastern Maine EMS Council Inc.; and Alexa Natali as an academic support specialist at its academic support center.

Promotions

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in South Portland recently promoted Eric Jermyn to director of small group sales. Previously, Jermyn was a senior account executive for major accounts.

Stanford Management in Portland, a property management firm, recently promoted Richard Day to president and CFO. Previously, Day was CFO.

Legacy Publishing Co. in Westbrook, a producer and publisher of personal development products for families, recently promoted Fran Potvin to manager of human resources and organizational development.

Adam Gravel, a wildlife biologist in the Topsham office of Stantec, an engineering and architecture consulting firm headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, was recently promoted to associate and named leader of the office’s ecological services group.

Appointments

Youth Alternatives Ingraham in Portland recently appointed the following members to its board of trustees: Michael Banks, director of operations at RE/MAX by the Bay in Portland; Elizabeth Shorr, president of the Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges; and Christopher Jerome, senior vice president for underwriting and service organization at Unum Group in Portland.

Gov. John Baldacci has nominated the following: Anthony Armstrong, owner and president of Maine Home Mortgage Corp., for appointment to the board of directors for the Finance Authority of Maine; Sheryl Gregory, a real estate broker with Homestead Realty in Winthrop, for reappointment to the Maine State Housing Authority Board of Commissioners; Sande Updegraph, executive director of the Freeport Economic Development Corp., for reappointment to the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority board of trustees; Kurt Adams for appointment to the University of Maine System board of trustees; Morten Arntzen for appointment to the Maine Maritime Academy board of trustees; David Littell, commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, for appointment to the Maine Public Utilities Commission; and Paul Paydos for appointment to the Maine Board of Environmental Protection.

Camden National Corp. recently elected John Rohman, chairman of the board of WBRC Architects-Engineers in Bangor, to serve as a member of the board of directors.

College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor recently appointed Dianna Emory, founder of the Behavioral Medicine Center, to its board of trustees.

Richard Petersen, president and CEO at Maine Medical Center in Portland, was recently named to the JTG Foundation board of directors.

Timothy Ford, University of New England’s vice president for research and dean of graduate studies, was recently appointed chair of the Maine Innovation Economy Advisory Board.

The Maine Municipal Association recently elected the following to its executive committee: Sophia Wilson, Brownville town manager, as vice president, and Mark Green, Sanford town manager, as president. The association also elected the following to three-year terms: Michelle Beal, Ellsworth city manager; Marston Lovell, Saco city councilor; and Robert Yandow, York town manager.

Tom Ouellette, founder and president of Budget Document Technology in Lewiston and Bangor, was recently elected as the 2010-2011 president of the Business Technology Association, a trade association headquartered in Kansas City, Mo.

Spotlight

Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport has been recognized for its achievement in using evidence-based guidelines to provide the best care to patients by The American Heart Association/American Stroke Associaation’s Get With the Guidelines program, according to a press release from the organization.

Pen Bay is featured in a special advertisement in the America’s Best Hospitals section of U.S. News & World Report’s August issue to commemorate its receipt of Get With the Guidelines’ Silver Plus Performance achievement award.

Get With the Guidelines is a hospital-based quality-improvement program designed to ensure that hospitals consistently care for cardiac and stroke patients with the most up-to-date guidelines and recommendations. The program addresses coronary artery disease, heart failure and stroke.

Company News

Senergy Alternative Energy, a division of diversified energy services company Senergy, headquartered in Aberdeen, U.K., recently completed its acquisition of SGC Engineering, an engineering firm in Westbrook. SGC will become a subsidiary of Senergy’s newly established U.S.-based company, Senergy Alternative Energy Inc.

Advisors to the Ram Island Conservation Fund at the Maine Community Foundation have selected the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance, Georges River Land Trust, Medomak Valley Land Trust and Sebasticook Regional Land Trust to receive $25,000 challenge grants. The grants will help the trusts build permanent endowments.

Springborn Staffing in Portland recently announced the launch of its new website, www.springbornstaffing.com, which offers interactive portals for both employees and customers.

The Laboratory at Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport has been accredited by the College of American Pathologists, based on the results of a recent onsite inspection. During the CAP accreditation process, inspectors examine the lab’s records and quality control procedures for the preceding two years.

Quantrix, a software developer in Portland, recently announced the release of its Quantrix Development Kit, a modular platform that enables companies to develop customized business and financial modeling applications.

The Comfort Suites Hotel in Freeport has recently finished phase one of a two-phase renovation.

The People’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arm of People’s United Bank, announced that it has awarded $20,000 to Coastal Enterprises Inc. in Wiscasset for its homebuyer education and counseling program.

The Department of Justice recently awarded a combined $283,589 in Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program funding to Cumberland and York counties, and the cities of Portland, South Portland, Biddeford and Westbrook for criminal justice and public safety initiatives.

Susan Veligor, a partner with Cornerstone Financial Planning in Portland, is now on the list of Sudden Money Institute’s trained advisers after the recent completion of a three-day workshop.

U.S. Cellular recently added two new cell sites in Acton and Saco to improve call quality in the towns of Acton and Shapleigh, along Route 109 and in the towns of Saco, Buxton, Scarborough and Dayton and along Routes 112, 117 and 202. U.S. Cellular also completed two new cell sites in Brooks and Morrill to increase coverage and network capacity in the town of Brooks and along Routes 7 and 139 and in the town of Morrill and along Routes 3, 131 and 137.

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced that the Federal Aviation Administration is investing $107,000 in the Central Maine Airport of Norridgewock. The grant will be used to assess the impact that runway obstruction removal will have on nearby wetlands. The U.S. Department of Transportation also awarded a combined $581,337 in grant money to the Maine Department of Transportation for traffic and child safety initiatives.

The Maine Theater Fund of the Maine Community Foundation recently announced it is seeking grant proposals to support professional and community theaters in the production and presentation of live theater in Maine.

The Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport recently announced it has again achieved accreditation by the American Association of Museums.

Through a new educational partnership between Saint Joseph’s College in Standish and the Portland Police Department, police officers and all other employees of the police department can obtain college credits or earn their degrees at lowered tuition rates.

Androscoggin Bank in Lewiston recently gave a total of $29,000 through its Bank on Community ABCommunity grant program to the following nonprofit organizations: Independence Association; Living with Peace; Deertree Foundation; Catholic Charities of Maine; Midcoast Symphony Orchestra; LARK Society; Androscoggin Dance; and Junior Achievement of Maine.

Maine Distilleries in Freeport, producers of Maine-made Cold River Vodka and Cold River Blueberry Vodka, recently announced the addition of its new spirit, Cold River Gin.

The Department of Health and Human Services will provide nearly $200,000 in health care quality improvement investments to Health Access Network Inc. in Lincoln and Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield. The funding will enable the facilities to better track patient care and create the infrastructure necessary to increase health education and preventive medicine.

The Maine Renewable Energy Association recently announced the launch of its online resource for wind power information in Maine, www.windforme.org.

The United Way of Greater Portland recently announced that its Pantry Project partnership with Preble Street has collected 860 boxes of food, more than doubling its initial goal of 400 boxes.

iBec Creative, a website development and design company in Portland, recently announced the launch of its new set of design services focused on mobile Internet browsing.

Barba and Wheelock Architecture and Preservation in Portland was recently awarded the commission for the new Museum of the White Mountains in New Hampshire. The Skowhegan Free Public Library also recently commissioned Barba and Wheelock to design an addition and make renovations to their library on Elm Street.

Brinker International, parent of Chili’s Restaurants and Maggiano’s Restaurants, recently installed LED lighting in all its corporate restaurants using lamps designed and manufactured by Eco-story LED Lighting of Portland.

The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration recently awarded a combined $336,999 in grants to the following organizations dedicated to economic development planning across the state: The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, $42,900; the Northern Maine Development Commission, $70,000; the Eastern Maine Development Corp., $72,000; the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, $70,000; Museum L/A in Lewiston, $12,099; and the Kennebec Valley Council of Governments, $70,000.

The University of Maine at Farmington announced that Celeste Branham, vice president of student and community services, was recently accepted by Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government to its selective Leadership for the 21st Century program.

Beal College in Bangor recently announced that the school’s Health Information Technology program has cleared its first step in achieving accreditation from CAHIIM, the Commission on Accreditation for Health Informatics and Information Management.

The Lewiston MAINEiacs recently announced a new exclusive radio partnership with Gleason Media Services. All 68 regular season and playoff game broadcasts for the 2010-11 campaign will air on WEZR-AM 1240, Auburn, WTME-AM 780, Rumford, and WKTQ-AM 1450, South Paris.

The Maine Technology Institute recently launched a new website, www.mainetechnology.org, and social media pages on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to engage entrepreneurs, investors, business development partners, policy leaders and others.

The Acadia Hospital in Bangor recently hosted its 13th Swing Fore Life Golf Classic to benefit the organization’s youth services. The event raised more than $40,000.

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund recently awarded $1.55 million in financial and technical assistance to the following organizations under the fiscal year 2010 funding round of the CDFI program: Coastal Enterprises Inc. in Wiscasset, $750,000; Genesis Fund Inc. in Damariscotta, $750,000; and MaineStream Finance in Bangor, $50,000.

USDA Rural Development recently approved a $278,000 loan and $215,000 grant for the Bethel Water District to provide additional facilities to increase the supply of water as well as ensure improved quality for the residents of Bethel.

BitSec Global Forensics, a computer forensics and information security trainer in Augusta, recently trained 11 police investigators in EnCase Computer Forensics at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Vassalboro.

The Finance Authority of Maine recently approved low-cost financing through the Recovery Zone Facility Bond Program for SIGCO Inc. and Lake Creek Properties, both in Westbrook. The two companies jointly submitted an application to obtain a bond allocation in the amount of $2.75 million for the expansion of a building and the purchase of manufacturing equipment used in SIGCO’s glass fabrication process.

Accolades

Details magazine in July named Cold River Vodka’s classic vodka to its list of The Smoothest New Vodkas. Cold River’s classic and blueberry vodkas also were recommended in June to readers of London’s USP Magazine.

Fifty-two attorneys from Bernstein Shur, a law firm in Portland, have been selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2011. Best Lawyers ranked Bernstein Shur number one in the United States in the category of municipal law and number one in New Hampshire in the category of labor and employment law. The firm was also ranked number one in Maine in 20 categories.

Sixty-seven lawyers from Portland-based law firm Pierce Atwood were recently selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2011. The firm is also ranked number one in several practice areas including commercial litigation, energy law, environmental law, banking law and labor and employment law.

Thirty-four Preti Flaherty attorneys from its offices in Portland, Augusta and Concord, N.H., have been selected by their peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2011.

Hodsdon and Clifford, a Kennebunk litigation and business law firm, recently announced that attorney Peter Clifford has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2011.

Rudman & Winchell, a law firm in Bangor, recently announced that attorneys Edmond Bearor, Paul Chaiken, George Eaton, David King and Frank McGuire were selected by their peers for inclusion on the list of The Best Lawyers in America 2011.

Portland-based law firm Murray, Plumb & Murray recently announced that attorneys Drew Anderson, John Bannon, Thomas Newman, Richard O’Meara, Peter Plumb and Michael Traister were selected by their peers for inclusion on the list of The Best Lawyers in America 2011.

Topsham-based law firm McTeague, Higbee recently announced that attorneys G. William Higbee and Jeffrey Neil Young were selected by their peers for inclusion on the list of The Best Lawyers in America 2011.

Central Maine Moving & Storage, a corporate and household relocation service company in Bangor, was recently presented with the Customer Quality Excellence Award by NorthAmerican Van Lines.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance and the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association recently announced that Eric Schenk, a member of the board of trustees at Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport, has received recognition from the Heart/Stroke Recognition Program for providing quality care to his patients with cardiovascular disease or who have had a stroke.

University of Maine at Farmington recently honored alumna Barbara Woodlee, president of Kennebec Valley Community College, and Craig Larrabee, president and CEO of Jobs for Maine’s Graduates, for their significant contributions to the university and the state of Maine.

Daniel Kagan, governor of the American Association for Justice and a partner at law firm Berman & Simmons in Portland, has been awarded the American Association’s Wiedemann Wysocki National Finance Counsel Award.

The Associated General Contractors of Maine recently presented its Major Achievement in Construction award to Eldon Morrison, founder of CPM Contractors in Freeport.

Wood Dale, Ill.-based lia sophia, an in-home demonstration jewelry retailer, recently awarded Denise Green of Gorham with top honors for its Excellent Beginnings Program Achievers.

Winxnet in Portland, a Microsoft gold certified partner and voice certified partner, was honored with the Northeast Area Technical Excellence Award at this year’s Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference.

College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor recently announced it is one of the nation’s top 187 colleges according to the 2011 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Colleges. U.S. News & World Report also ranked the University of Maine at Fort Kent among the top 50 colleges in the north region for 2011.