🔒Newsworthy people and performances

New hires

Preti Flaherty, a law firm in Portland, recently hired Daniel Sonneborn, Matthew Warner and Timothy Connolly as associates with the firm's litigation group. Sonneborn previously practiced with Rindler Morgan P.C.; Warner worked in government and public affairs; and Connolly practiced law in Vermont at Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew.

Norton Insurance Agency in Cumberland Foreside recently hired Katryna Treuhaft as marketing specialist and announced that Suzanne Gagne has re-joined the company as personal lines supervisor. Treuhaft was most recently with Prudential as a disability and family medical leave claims manager while Gagne was with Cross Insurance in its personal/commercial lines sales division.

Broadreach Public Relations, a communications firm in Portland, recently hired Amy Harvey as public relations apprentice.

Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry, a law firm in Portland, recently hired Tudor Goldsmith in its litigation department. Goldsmith previously worked in nonprofit administration.

Skelton, Taintor & Abbott, a law firm in Auburn, recently hired Sarah Mitchell as a shareholder. Mitchell is a family law attorney.

Day One, a nonprofit agency preventing and treating youth substance abuse in South Portland, recently hired Christine Grant as program manager, youth development services and Elizabeth Bunten as an outpatient clinician. Grant most recently worked at Crossroads as program manager of residential rehabilitation and Bunten was a clinician at Merrymeeting Behavioral Health.

Putney Inc., a pet pharmaceutical company in Portland, recently hired Greg Radziszewski as senior director of IT. Radziszewski was most recently director of technology for Thomson Reuters in Baar, Switzerland.

Kemp Goldberg Partners, an advertising, public relations and interactive agency in Portland, recently hired Carly Crouse as an account executive and Jordan Rowe as an assistant account executive. Crouse was previously with Garrand while Rowe was with Crescendo Consulting Group.

Camden National Bank in Bangor recently hired Tony Crews as vice president and commercial banking officer. Crews was most recently a vice president, commercial lender for Hamilton State Bank in Jackson, Ga.

Clark Insurance in Portland recently announced four new hires: Melissa Trepanier, business account analyst; Jeremy Miller, personal insurance assistant; Robert Eastman, personal insurance account manager; and Meghan McDonald, employee benefits account manager.

Auburn Savings Bank recently hired Jaimie Gutshall as branch supervisor in Auburn. Gutshall most recently served as the information security officer at Maine Family Federal Credit Union.

Dana Baldwin, Peggy L. Osher director of learning and interpretation at the Portland Museum of Art, recently accepted a position as program and communications director at the Maine Philanthropy Center in Portland. The center is a regional association of grantmakers working to promote philanthropy and to increase its impact in Maine.

Consigli Construction Co. Inc., in Portland recently hired Chad Whalen as project manager. Whalen is a construction industry veteran with specialized expertise in health care facilities.

Cumberland County recently hired Gary James as the director of regional assessing. James previously worked as a commercial litigation appraisal supervisor for Charleston County, Charleston, S.C.

Baker Newman Noyes, a CPA and consulting firm in Portland, recently announced several new hires: Benjamin Dawson, Ling Lin and Gabrielle Stanton, as associate consultants in the risk and business advisory practice; Shelley Duplisea, Michelle Harvey, Spencer Hathaway and Sara Potvin, as staff members in the audit practice; and Andrew Hopkins and Nick Norton, as staff members in the tax practice.

The SailMaine board of directors recently hired Janet Acker as executive director. Acker most recently worked in the financial services industry.

St.Germain Collins, an environmental consulting engineering firm in Westbrook, recently hired Mégane Durgin and Wade Behnke as environmental health and safety specialists. Durgin previously participated in several environmental and health and safety internships around the world while Behnke previously worked as an environmental engineer at a large shipyard in Maine and as an environmental compliance manager for a national delivery services company.

Promotions

Baker Newman Noyes, a CPA and consulting firm in Portland, recently announced several promotions. James Boissonneault, Gisele Couturier and Nick Paquette were promoted to managers in the audit practice. Kathy Caron, Stefan Lange, Danny Levesque and Jane Rankin were promoted to seniors in the audit practice.

Camden National Corp. recently promoted Arissa Egan from market research analyst to assistant vice president, market research analyst, Camden National Bank; Chad Place from commercial portfolio manager to assistant vice president, commercial portfolio manager, Camden National Corp.; and Devon Perry from assistant vice president, compliance officer to vice president, compliance officer, Camden Financial Consultants.

Plum Creek Timber Co. in Fairfield recently promoted Scott Henker to general manager of the company's Northern Hardwoods Region and Ben Dow to senior resource manager of the New England Region, which encompasses Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Henker has more than 27 years of forestry experience and has held various positions with the company, including senior resource manager for the New England Region. Dow most recently worked as a resource supervisor in Florida, where he was responsible for the sustainable management of 420,000 acres of timberland across the state.

Knox Museum recently promoted Tobin Malone to acting executive director. Malone began her tenure at The General Henry Knox Museum in February 2011 as assistant to then Executive Director Ellen Dyer, who retired one year ago.

Willis of Northern New England Inc. recently promoted William Lewis to vice president, alternative markets and loss control at the firm's New Gloucester office. Lewis previously managed the alternative markets department.

Katahdin Trust Co., in Houlton recently promoted Jean Noyes to vice president and information security officer and Andrew Putnam to vice president and chief information officer. Noyes was previously vice president, management information system and Putnam was assistant vice president and technology product manager.

Appointments

Woodfords Family Services, a nonprofit in Westbrook that assists people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families, recently announced that Cate Cote, human resources business partner with WEX Inc., and Michéle Gasco, vice president, customer experience manager for the New Hampshire and southern Maine markets of People's United Bank have been appointed as trustees.

BerryDunn, a CPA and consulting firm in Portland, recently announced that Tracy Harding has been named to the Regulatory Response Committee of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy. Harding is a director of quality assurance and principal-in-charge of the firm's Bangor office and the Bangor office coordinator for the firm's financial services group.

Stepping Stones, a family-services agency in Portland, recently announced officers of its board of directors: Barbara Dailey, chair; Michael Canning, vice chair; JoAnne Leon, treasurer; and Maria Michaud, secretary.

The Landing School, a post-secondary marine industry institution, recently appointed Susan Daly to its board of directors. Daly is an accomplished sailor and longtime supporter of the marine industry.

The Alzheimer's Association, Maine Chapter in Scarborough recently elected new board officers and welcomed a new board member. Felicia Garant, the vice president and director of account administration at Spinnaker Trust, will serve as board chair; William Jenks, president/franchise owner, Home Instead Senior Care, vice chair; Robert O' Keefe, secretary; and Marlene Costa, director, project delivery, CSC shared services, Unum, treasurer. Michelle Santiago, a trust officer at H.M. Payson, has joined the board.

Community Credit Union in Lewiston recently announced that Janice Lare, branch operations supervisor in Auburn, joined the Auburn Police Activities League board.

Sharon Sudbay was recently elected to a two-year term as chief volunteer officer of Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine's board of directors. Sudbay, an associate at Mitchell Tardy Government Affairs, has served on the board for 13 years.

Bill Diamond, Carter Friend and Kathryn Schneider Smith were recently appointed to the Cumberland County Committee of the Maine Community Foundation. Diamond is a small business owner and former teacher and principal; Friend is senior vice president, community impact at the United Way of Greater Portland; and Smith is a public historian.

Franklin Community Health Network recently appointed John Bogar, Michael Cormier, Christine Tropeano and Darryl Wood to its board of directors. Bogar is the president of the Kyes Insurance Agency; Cormier is the former superintendent of schools of Mt. Blue Regional School District; Tropeano is the marketing, senior private label product manager for Jarden Home Brands in East Wilton; and Wood is the executive director of LEAP.

The Maine Real Estate & Development Association, a statewide organization of commercial real estate owners, developers and related service providers, recently elected Jason Favreau to its board of directors. Favreau is a principal in the tax services group at BerryDunn.

Achievements

Eaton Peabody, a law firm in Portland, recently announced that 10 of its attorneys were recognized in the 2013 edition of New England Super Lawyers.

Maine Cancer Foundation recently announced that it captured a 2013 Top-Rated Award by GreatNonprofits, a provider of user reviews about nonprofit organizations. The award was based on positive reviews that the foundation received from volunteers, donors and grant recipients.

Portland Buy Local recently held its 2013 Indie Biz Awards. Winners included: Portland's Atlas, Creative Portland; Flavor of Portland, Rosemont Market & Bakery; Portland's Best Kept Secret, Portland Food Co-op; Environmental Hero, Garbage to Garden; Artistic Leader, SPACE Gallery; Community Hero, Coffee By Design; Out of Sight – Not out of Mind, Running With Scissors; Global Hero, Portland Museum of Art; Best New Business, Maine Surfers Union; and Portland Icon, Harbor Fish Market.

Maine hospitals had the highest percentage of “A” grade hospitals in the latest Leapfrog hospital safety scores. Maine topped the list with 80% of reporting hospitals scoring an “A,” followed by Massachusetts with 76% earning an “A.” None of Maine's 20 reporting hospitals scored below a “C.”

The Maine Potato Board recently announced that Sara Corey was selected as the 2013 Young Farmer of the Year. Corey is the first woman to be chosen for this recognition and is also the youngest recipient of the honor.

Donald Burke recently received the Ethel Kelley Memorial Award at Maine Municipal Association's 77th Annual Convention. The award recognizes distinguished community service. Burke was an Appleton selectman and select board chair.

Chris Long of Natalie's at the Camden Harbor Inn was recently selected as the Maine Lobster Chef of the Year 2013 as part of Harvest on the Harbor in Portland. In addition, Kerry Altiero of Cafe Miranda in Rockland was named Top of the Crop: Best Farm to Table Restaurant.

Cindy Treat and Pam Bolduc were recently presented with Olive Garden's Renaissance Award. The awards recognizes general managers who contribute to the restaurant chain's growth and culture. Treat is the general manager in Augusta while Bolduc holds the same title in South Portland.

Lanie Abbott of the Maine Public Relations Council recently earned her professional public relations accreditation, receiving the designation of Accredited in Public Relations. Abbott is now one of only approximately 40 accredited public relations professionals in Maine.

Tilson, an IT and telecom firm in Portland, was recently featured in the second annual Inc. Hire Power Awards, recognizing the private businesses that have generated the most jobs in the past three years. The company generated net 36 new jobs from Jan. 1, 2012 to June 30, 2013, placing it among the top-2 private business job creators within the state of Maine and among the top-437 private business job creators in the country.

Broadreach Public Relations in Portland was recently recognized by the Maine Public Relations Council. Linda Varrell, president, received the 2013 President's Award and Kelsey Goldsmith, media relations manager, was presented the 2013 Rising Star Achievement Award. The firm also captured six Golden Arrow Awards.

Bernstein Shur, a law firm in Portland, recently announced that attorneys Michael Bosse, Travis Brennan and Roy Tilsley Jr., received the Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent rating, the highest level of Martindale-Hubbell's Peer Review rating system. Attorney Katherine Knox received the ranking of BV Distinguished. The ratings are an objective indicator of a lawyer's ethical standards and professional ability, generated from evaluations by other members of the bar and the judiciary in the United States and Canada. The firm also announced it was recognized in the 2014 Best Law Firms directory by U.S. News - Best Lawyers. The firm was ranked in 120 metropolitan-area practice categories and received 43 tier-one distinctions. Tier one is the top designation and is based on client and peer review.

Chaya Caron, owner of Chaya Studio Jewelry in Portland, was recently selected as a finalist in two categories of the 2014 Niche Awards sponsored by NICHE magazine. Caron's platinum diamond bubble ring was selected as a finalist in the wedding jewelry category and her eastern star flower ornament with stand is competing in the non-jewelry enamel category.

BerryDunn, a CPA and consulting firm in Portland, recently announced that Frank O'Shea, a principal in the firm's commercial tax services group, received the Pinnacle 2013 Excellence in Exit Planning Achievement Award. The award was presented at the fourth annual Exit Planning Conference held recently in Boston.

DennyMike's, a sauces and seasonings company in Westbrook, was recently selected as a winner in Yankee Magazine's inaugural Editors' Choice Food Awards featured in its November/December issue.

Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, recently announced that attorney Harold Friedman was named to the 2013 New England Super Lawyers Top-100 list and attorney Karen Frink Wolf was named to the 2013 Women New England Super Lawyers Top-50 List. Inclusion on the each list is based on receiving the highest point totals among all qualifying nominations in annual research and review process. The firm also announced that 54 of its attorneys were recognized in the 2013 edition of New England Super Lawyers and Rising Stars.

Baker Newman Noyes, a CPA firm in Portland, recently announced that Boston-based Tax Supervising Senior Kaitlin DeMartin was selected to take part in the Greater Boston Chamber's 2013-14 Women's Leadership Program. The program is limited to emerging female leaders from the chamber's member organizations.