Newsworthy people and performances

New hires

The University of Maine School of Law in Portland hired Danielle Conway as dean, effective July 1. Conway is currently the Michael J. Marks Distinguished Professor of Business Law and Director of the Hawai'i Procurement Institute at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, William S. Richardson School of Law.

Cross Insurance, a subsidiary of Cross Financial Corp. in Bangor, hired Paul Cellucci as president of the agency's Southern New England Region.

Franklin Health Farmington Family Practice in Farmington hired Jacqueline Caldwell.

The Plant Memorial Home, an assisted living and retirement home in Bath, hired Kristi Hyde as executive director and director of nursing. Hyde was most recently nurse manager for New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Portland.

Stantec, an engineering, consulting and design company in Scarborough, hired Michael Claypoole as a senior electrical engineer, Erica Kidd as an environmental analyst and Cory Desjardins as a computer-aided design technician with the firm's aviation group in Caribou.

BerryDunn, an accounting and consulting firm in Portland, hired Kelly O'Connell as a tax specialist and Eugene Syrovatkin as a tax senior in its Portland office and Francesco Manzo as senior manager in its Manchester, N.H., office. O'Connell was previously with Nixon Peabody; Syrovatkin with Bonmassa, Maietta & Cartelli LLP; and Manzo with Deloitte.

Maine Huts & Trails in Kingfield hired Levi Wark and Amanda Kibbe as members of the Stratton Brook Hut; Erin Brown and Alex Barton as members of the Poplar Hut; and John Winter and Lucy Herleth as members of the Flagstaff Hut.

Coldwell Banker Sandy River Realty in Farmington hired Debbie Holland Joseph as a sales associate.

BrightBuilt Home in Portland hired Kai Fast as a project coordinator and architectural designer.

U.S. Cellular hired Michael Begin as wireless solutions architect for New England. Begin most recently was an enterprise sales engineer for Fairpoint Communications.

Target Marketing Maine, a direct and digital marketing company in Rockland, hired Merilyn Gray as a customer service representative.

Maine Savings in Hampden hired Samantha Field as a teller at its Vassalboro branch.

The Maine Manufacturing Extension Partnership in Orono hired Forest Wentworth as project manager for both the partnership and the University of Maine's Advanced Manufacturing Center.

Maine Medical Partners in Portland hired Krystian Bigosinski as a physician in its Orthopedics & Sports Medicine practice. Bigosinski was previously the head team physician at the University of Vermont and medical director of the athletic training and exercise physiology curriculum.

The Maine Democratic State Committee in Augusta hired Jeremy Kennedy as executive director of the Maine Democratic Party. Kennedy previously served as the party's finance director and Get Out The Vote director in 2012 and 2014.

Promotions

Bernstein Shur, a law firm in Portland, promoted Mary Costigan, Caleb DuBois, Asha Echeverria and Kai McGintee to shareholders. Costigan is a member of the firm's municipal and environmental practice groups, DuBois is a member of the business law practice group and the financial services and securities law group, Echeverria is a member of the construction law and energy and environmental practice groups and McGintee is a member of the labor and employment law and education law practice groups.

KeyBank promoted Jamie St. Clair to area retail leader for the coastal area of the Maine market. St. Clair was area retail leader of Bangor.

Crisis & Counseling Centers in Augusta promoted Richard Chammings to clinical director. Previously, Chammings was the director of Crisis Services.

Baker Newman Noyes, a CPA and consulting firm in Portland, promoted Todd Bickford to director in its audit practice and Nancy Hawes to director in its tax practice.

The American Red Cross in Maine promoted Nicole Bosarge to regional business operations manager, April Caron to executive director of the newly-formed Central and Mid Coast Maine Chapter and Jennifer Gaylord to major gifts officer for Maine.

Maine Savings in Hampden promoted Karen Ellis to branch supervisor and SaraEllen Gilden to member service representative and loan officer at its Broadway branch in Bangor; Ryan Johnson to branch supervisor in Brewer and Brett Speed to member service representative and loan officer at its College Avenue branch in Old Town. Ellis was previously a member service representative, loan officer and teller operations supervisor at the College Avenue branch; Gilden was previously a teller at the Hammond Street branch in Bangor; Johnson was a member service representative and loan officer at the Broadway branch and Speed was previously a teller. In addition, Kristen Brasslett was promoted to teller operations supervisor in addition to her existing roles of member service representative and loan officer at the College Avenue branch.

PC Construction in Portland promoted Joseph Picoraro to vice president. Picoraro most recently served as construction executive.

Biddeford Savings promoted Jay St. John to senior vice president, retail banking. St. John was previously senior vice president.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust promoted Sam McGee and Adam Robertson to senior vice president/senior relationship manager, middle market; and Shawn Megathlin to senior vice president/corporate compliance. McGee was previously vice president, Robertson vice president/business banking and Megathlin vice president/corporate compliance officer.

Eaton Peabody, a law firm in Bangor, announced that attorneys Jason Barrett and Jonathan Pottle were made shareholders. Barrett represents clients in both civil and criminal litigation matters while Pottle practices in the areas of municipal law and finance, land use and economic development, civil litigation and administrative proceedings as well as alternative energy, timberlands and natural resource law.

Appointments

The John T. Gorman Foundation in Portland announced Anne Dinsmore, former president and executive director of the Great Bay Foundation, and Maggie Keohan, an advisor at Goldman, Sachs & Co., as new members of its board of directors.

MaineGeneral Health in Augusta elected Stephanie Calkins as board chair. Calkins is a family medicine physician at Four Seasons Family Practice in Fairfield. In addition, Cathy DeMerchant, Joey Joseph and Elissa Emmons were elected to its board of directors. DeMerchant is president and co-owner of Capital Area Staffing Solutions Inc. in Augusta and Bangor; Joseph is president of Cold Brook Saab/Cold Brook Mitsubishi in Skowhegan; and Emmons is general manager and vice president of Charlie's Honda in Augusta.

Shaheen & Gordon, a law firm in Saco, announced that Peter Schroeter was named to the National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals. The academy is an invitation only association of mediators and arbitrators.

The Maine Democratic State Committee in Augusta elected Troy Jackson to the Democratic National Committee. Jackson is the former Maine Senate majority leader.

Friends of Casco Bay, a conservation nonprofit in South Portland, elected Ward Graffam Jr. to its board of directors as treasurer. Graffam is senior vice president/commercial credit manager for TD Bank.

The Maine Winery Guild, an Augusta-based association of winemakers, distillers, winery owners and wine growers, announced its new officers: Keith Bodine, president, co-owner of Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery; Bruce Olsen, vice president, co-owner of Tree Spirits Winery & Distillery; Elmer Savage, treasurer, co-owner of Savage Oakes Vineyard & Winery; and Jeanne Johnson, secretary, co-owner of Breakwater Vineyards.

Bernstein Shur, a law firm in Portland, said that Kat Joyce was selected as chair of the firm's energy and environmental practice group, Kate Knox as chair of the legislative and political practice group and Phil Saucier as chair of the municipal regulatory practice group.

Achievements

Burgess Record, Roderick Prior, David Dixon, Sandra Record and Gerald Cayer, all affiliated with Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, and Daniel Onion and Fenwick Fowler co-authored a community health study published in the Jan. 13 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study demonstrated that in rural Franklin County sustained, community-wide programs targeting cardiovascular risk factors and behavior changes were associated with reductions in hospitalization and death rates over a 40-year period (1970-2010), compared with the rest of the state, with substantial improvements seen for hypertension and cholesterol control and smoking cessation.

Caring.com, a senior care website, named Woodlands Assisted Living of Hallowell and Atria Kennebunk as Caring Stars of 2015.

Jon Olson, executive secretary and administrator of Maine Farm Bureau Association in Augusta, was presented the 2015 Commissioner's Distinguished Service Award.

Mercy Health System of Maine announced that 11 of its physicians were chosen by their peers for inclusion in Down East Magazine's Maine Top Docs Physician Survey 2015.

Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport was rated as one of the best hospitals in the state by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for low rates of infection and injuries among hospitalized patients.

The Society of Certified Insurance Counselors recognized Richard Crossman of Allen Insurance and Financial in Camden with a certificate honoring his 30 years of participation in advanced education.

Jonathan Shenkin, a pediatric dentist in Augusta, was awarded a Fulbright Specialist Program grant in public/global health. Shenkin will use the grant to train pediatricians in Belarus about the oral health of children under 3 years of age.

A.M. Best, an international credit rating agency, announced that it has affirmed its A-rating for workers' compensation insurer The MEMIC Group in Portland, including all of its members.

The Maine Medical Center Research Institute BioBank in Portland recently received accreditation from the College of American Pathologists.

Houzz.com, an online platform for home construction, remodeling and design, recognized Wright-Ryan Homes of Portland with a Best of Houzz 2015 Award as a top-rated custom home builder and Kaplan Thompson Architects of Portland with a Best of Houzz 2015 Award for Design in the kids, patio, kitchen, family room and entry categories.

The U.S. Department of Defense recognized Cary Medical Center in Caribou as a commemorative partner in a national recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.

Pierce Atwood LLP, a law firm in Portland, presented Kasia Park with its Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award; Lawrence Edelman and Natalie Huddleston with its McKusick Community Impact Award; and Katie Nokes Minervino and Michelle Pottle with its Scribner Firm Impact Award.

SERVPRO, a cleanup and restoration franchise company in Westbrook, was listed seventh overall in the 2015 Franchise 500 rankings from Entrepreneur magazine.

Hilton Garden Inn announced Hilton Garden Inn Freeport Downtown as the 2014 General Manager of the Year Merit Award and Hotel Success winner. The hotel was selected as one of the highest achieving properties in terms of service, customer satisfaction and cleanliness.

Bernstein Shur, a law firm in Portland, announced that Shareholder Arnie Macdonald was named the 2015 winner of the Howard Dana Jr. Award by the Maine Bar Foundation and elected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.