Newsworthy people and performances

New hires

Mercy Hospital hired Steve McDonnell as CFO. McDonnell was previously with Sibley Memorial Hospital, a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine, in Washington, D.C. McDonnell, who started Jan. 28, is based at Mercy's State Street campus in Portland. He will report to Eastern Maine Health System CFO Derrick O. Hollings and Mercy President and CEO Eileen Skinner.

The city of Portland hired Brendan O'Connell as director of finance. O'Connell was previously the director of group finance accounting policy for John Hancock Financial Services in Boston and its parent, Manulife Financial Corp. The finance department oversees the $221 million municipal budget and financial operations. O'Connell, who grew up in Falmouth, was set to begin on Feb. 23.

Cardente Real Estate in Portland hired Mark Sandler as a member of its commercial brokerage team. Sandler was previously the president of Sandler Brothers, a food distributor.

Bangor Savings Bank hired James Donnelly as senior vice president and director of retail delivery. Donnelly was previously an executive vice president with Machias Savings Bank.

The Maine Women's Fund, a Portland foundation focused on advancing women's and girls' economic security, hired Kelly Fitzpatrick Martin as operations manager and Anne Saer Driscoll as finance and human resources manager.

SymQuest Group Inc., a managed IT services company in Westbrook, hired Todd Henry as a network escalation engineer. Henry was previously with Northeast Bank.

Maine Huts & Trails in Kingfield hired Sarah Wineberg and Rob Stenger as staff members at the Stratton Brook Hut; Stephanie Wright as a staff member at the Flagstaff Hut; and Zach Seaton and Kellie Waksmunski as staff members at the Grand Falls Hut.

Maine Behavioral Healthcare in Springvale hired Katherine Bubar to direct the PRIDE Grant, a four-year $1.6 million federal grant that will bring primary care providers into mental health sites in Biddeford and Springvale, with the goal of improving health outcomes for adults with serious mental illness. Bubar was previously COO at the York County Shelter in Alfred.

DAVO Technologies, a technology company in Portland, hired Heidi Ortiz as chief solutions officer. Ortiz was most recently an enterprise solutions engineer at Taxware.

Nancy Marshall Communications in Augusta hired Jessica Donahue as an account executive. Previously, Donahue was the director of marketing and promotions for the Greater Bangor Convention & Visitors Bureau and regional grant manager for The Maine Highlands tourism region.

Springborn Staffing in Portland hired Melissa Olander as director of operations and Hillary Breton and Donna Poulin as staffing coordinators.

Cornerstone Financial Planning in Portland hired Marina Frederick as an administrative and financial planning assistant. Frederick was previously with Women's Health Network.

Maine Medical Partners in Portland hired Maureen Sauvage as a physician with Maine Medical Partners Geriatric Medicine. Sauvage is board certified in Internal Medicine.

The College Guild, a Brunswick provider of free non-traditional education courses to people who are incarcerated, hired Pat Friedman as administrator.

Maine Textiles International in Biddeford hired Mark Boyer as CEO. Boyer was previously principal of The Joe Group.

Penobscot Community Health Care in Bangor hired Rory Fowlie as part of the medical staff at Penobscot Pediatrics in Bangor. Fowlie was previously with Assistance Plus.

The Forecaster, a weekly newspaper in Falmouth, hired Natalie Ladd as the “Dishin' That” columnist, covering restaurants. Ladd was previously the hospitality columnist for the Portland Daily Sun.

Diversified Communications, an international media company in Portland, hired Joseph Grace as an application developer and Jason Lavigne as a marketing coordinator. Grace was previously with Maine Information Network while Lavigne was with Enables IT.

Northeast Bank in Lewiston hired Lisa McAuliffe as vice president, cash management services and a member of its commercial banking team. McAuliffe was previously with Key Bank.

Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution hired DeAnn Lewis as general bank auditor. Previously, Lewis was an audit analyst with Iberdrola USA.

Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington hired Robert Chagrasulis as a surgeon at Franklin Health Surgery. Chagrasulis previously provided general surgery at Calais Regional Hospital.

Insurance Trust in Portland hired Randy Judkins as training director.

Osman Page LLC, an accounting and technology outsourcing firm in Boothbay Harbor, hired Dan Pangburn as chief technology officer and Ken Schofield as president and COO. Pangburn was most recently a system administrator of facilities services with Cornell University and Schofield was previously president of BikeStreet USA.

Gross, Minsky & Mogul PA, a law firm in Bangor, announced that Candace Augustine became associated with the firm. She will focus on estate planning and elder law.

Promotions

The First Bancorp in Damariscotta promoted Tony McKim to president and CEO of the company and its wholly-owned banking subsidiary, The First NA. McKim was previously executive vice president and chief operating officer.

Lewiston Auburn Economic Growth Council promoted Stephanie Lewis to vice president and CFO. Lewis was previously a staff accountant.

Thompson-Hamel LLC, a financial services firm in Presque Isle, named Bryan Thompson a partner. He specializes in life insurance, long-term disability and long-term care insurance. Thompson, who has an MBA from Husson University, also offers mutual funds and various forms of annuities.

UCP of Maine, a nonprofit in Bangor that supports the independence, productivity and full citizenship of people with disabilities, promoted Scott Tash to CEO. Tash was previously interim CEO.

Stantec, an engineering, consulting and design company in Scarborough, promoted Bill Shelley to senior vice president and business leader for the firm's Power division and Kenny Rogers to U.S. regional business leader, Power.

Creative Work Systems, a nonprofit in Portland that supports adults with disabilities in Southern Maine, promoted Mary Jo Marquis to director of social enterprise and community partnerships and Stephen Hawkes to human resources director.

PeoplesChoice Credit Union in Saco promoted Diana Cabral to residential mortgage loan processor including secondary market processing. Cabral was previously a consumer loan processor.

Trademark Federal Credit Union in Augusta promoted Aliesha Leighton to assistant manager for the member services department.

Appointments

Family Ice Center of Falmouth added Cheryl Bascomb and Martha Dumont to its board of directors. Bascomb is an executive at BerryDunn and Dumont was most recently with CreditSights Inc.

CEI Capital Management LLC, an investor of New Market Tax Credits in Portland, announced Sheila Saxton and Jennifer Novak joined its advisory board. Saxton is director, head of servicing and operations at the Calvert Social Investment Foundation in Bethesda, Md., and Novak is vice president of capital markets at Community Reinvestment Fund USA in Minneapolis.

The Maine Humanities Council in Portland added Victoria Bornheimer, a human resources professional, Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, director of Bar Harbor's Abbe Museum, and Reza Jalali, coordinator for the Office of Multicultural Affairs at the University of Southern Maine, to its board of directors.

The Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine elected James Katsiaficas as chair and Patrick Coughlin as vice-chair of its board. Katsiaficas is a director at Perkins Thompson and Coughlin is principal and senior scientist at St.Germain Collins.

Day One, a South Portland agency preventing and treating adolescent substance abuse, elected the following officers to its board of directors: president, Kevin Freeman, director of business development, AlliedCook Construction; vice president, Dennis Carrillo, attorney, Law Offices of Doyle & Nelson; treasurer, Zander Abbott, vice president, women and children service line, Maine Medical Center; and secretary, David Mount, retired. In addition, Dianne Nason, regional trust manager, senior vice president, Key Private Bank; and Douglas Cranshaw, retired, were elected to the executive committee.

Achievements

Casco Bay Wealth Advisors in Brunswick announced that Sheila Menair, a financial advisor, achieved designation as a certified divorce financial analyst.

The Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce recognized Nancy Marshall Communications in Augusta with a president's award, recognizing business and thought leaders in the Kennebec Valley area.

The Franklin Community Health Network Spirit Committee announced its quarterly EPIC award winners including Gerald Tinguely, wound clinic; Stephanie Robinson, medical-surgery unit; Faye Boyce, Martha B. Webber Breast Center; and Mary Libby, outpatient cardiology clinic.

Waban, a nonprofit in Sanford that assists children and adults with developmental disabilities, was selected by the York County Community College Center for Entrepreneurship as its employer of the year.

Efficiency Maine awarded the Philip C. Hastings Award to Thomas Welch for his commitment to energy efficiency. Welch recently retired as Maine Public Utilities chairman. The organization also recognized several program members. Business programs: Able Air Corp, Winslow; Atlantic Comfort Systems, Biddeford; BH Milliken and Maine Hardware, Portland; Gilman Electric Supply, Newport; Horizon Solutions and Johnstone Supply, Bangor; Swallow's Electric, Houlton; Trask Decrow Machinery, Scarborough; and Valley Satellite, Patten. Residential programs: Charlie Burnham Heating Services, Freeport; Dave's World, Dover-Foxcroft; Dead River Co., Scarborough; Evergreen Home Performance, Rockland; Free Energy Maine and ReVision Heat, Portland; Heat Wise, Wilton; New England Spray Foam Insulation, Biddeford; and Walmart, Bentonville, Ark. Innovation: Dave's World; Energy Management Consultants, South Portland; Optimal Energy Group, Sumner; and the town of Freeport. Marketing: Evergreen Home Performance; Maine Energy Systems, Bethel; Mechanical Services and Northeast Electric, Portland; and Valley Satellite.

Quarry Hill, an assisted living facility in Camden, received excellent and good ratings for overall satisfaction and the likelihood that they would recommend the community to others, based on an annual survey by My InnerView, an independent research company.

Eric Stauffer received the 2015 Public Policy Award from the Maine Real Estate & Development Association. Stauffer is an attorney at Preti Flaherty in Portland. The firm also announced that Benchmark Litigation named it as the Maine Firm of the Year at its Benchmark 2015 U.S. Awards.

Nancy Marshall, CEO of Nancy Marshall Communications in Augusta, recently became certified as a Reach Social Branding Analyst.

Rail Events Inc. awarded the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad in Portland its Polar Bell Award for “Best Santa In the Country – 2013,” for its annual holiday family event, the Polar Express. The organization also announced that Donnell Carroll, executive director of the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Co. & Museum, was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the town of Gray.

Penobscot Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce announced its Year in Review Gala Award Winners including Frank Isganitis, Chamber Community Person of the Year; Loyal Biscuit, Small Business of the Year Award; Camden Winterfest, Beacon Award; athenahealth, Economic Enhancement; Leona Pierpont, Community Volunteer of the Year; Hope Elephants and “Pop for Change” volunteers, Special Recognition Awards; Maine Media Workshops + College, Innovation in Business Award; and The Pitch, New Building Award.

Maine Medical Center in Portland received the Women's Choice Award as a hospital of choice among women in the categories of breast care, heart care and obstetrics.

Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, received a Volunteer Lawyers Project Pro Bono Publico Award for donating the most Lawyer of the Day hours of any Maine law firm as well as an Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project's Pro Bono Firm of the Year award at the annual Maine State Bar Association meeting.

The Lewiston-Auburn CA$H Coalition was recognized by The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University as one of 124 innovative government initiatives in its 2015 Bright Ideas Program.