Newsworthy people and performances

New hires

Legacy Properties Sotheby's International Realty in Brunswick recently hired Dennis Duggan as a vice president specializing in Midcoast real estate sales.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust recently hired Laura Hiestand as vice president/residential lender at its Topsham branch. Hiestand was most recently with Primary Residential Mortgage in Bath.

cPort Credit Union in Portland recently hired Benjamin Guerette as training coordinator. Guerette was previously operations coordinator at Tilson Technology.

Unity College recently hired Mary Saunders Bulan as director of Half Moon Field Station and assistant professor of sustainable agricultural enterprise; Jennifer Cartier, director of teacher education and science; Matthew Chatfield, assistant professor of conservation biology; Zachary Falcon, assistant professor of conservation law and environmental policy; Jeffrey Kahl, director of sustainability; James Killarney, assistant professor of environmental chemistry; Bill Kovarik, professor of environmental writing; Sheryl Spann, director of marketing and communications; and James Spartz, assistant professor of environmental communications.

Pierce Atwood LLP, a law firm in Portland, recently hired Richard Novak as a partner in its real estate practice. Previously, Novak was a partner in the real estate practice group at K&L Gates.

The MEMIC Group, a workman's compensation insurer in Portland, recently hired Timothy Cook, Michael Diamond and Scott Meinke as senior production underwriters in Virginia, Maryland and Florida respectively.

KMA Human Resources Consulting in Falmouth recently hired Amber Barbere and Lynne Gawtry as human resources consultants.

The Talus Corp., an organizational, comfort and convenience products supplier in Portland, recently hired Michael Doyon as supply chain manager.

The Millinocket Regional Hospital recently hired Robert Peterson as CEO. Peterson was previously patient care administrator for surgery and women and children's services at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

The Portland Harbor Hotel recently hired Stuart Barwise as general manager. Barwise was previously director of hotel operations and general manager for US Hotels.

Day One, a nonprofit agency in South Portland that works to prevent and treat adolescent substance abuse, recently hired Christie Whitten as a substance abuse counselor at Mountain View Youth Development Center and John Emerton and Jessica Meehan as care associates in the organization's Residential Treatment Program.

Preti Flaherty, a law firm in Portland, recently hired Shana Solomon as of counsel in its Boston office.

The ACLU of Maine recently hired Alison Beyea as executive director. Beyea was previously director of admissions and adjunct professor of juvenile law at the University of Maine School of Law.

Catholic Charities Maine in Portland recently hired Dean LaChance as director of strategic growth and business development and Tara Hajas as a payroll specialist.

Putney Inc., a pet pharmaceutical company in Portland, recently hired Kevin Woods as director of supply chain. Woods was most recently manager of distribution supply chain operations for Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals.

Community Partners Inc., a nonprofit in Biddeford that supports adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities, recently hired Peter Rand as CFO. Rand was previously CFO at MAPS/Stepping Stones.

Diversified Communications, an international media company in Portland, recently hired Andrew Ward as a group exhibit sales manager. Ward was previously with Camco Seafood LLC.

Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park recently hired Mark Berry as president and CEO. Berry was previously executive director of Downeast Lakes Land Trust.

The Maine Health Management Coalition in Topsham recently hired Lorrie Marquis Potvin as director of its health care measurement and public reporting initiatives known as Pathways to Excellence. Potvin was previously director of strategic planning and chronic disease service lines at St. Mary's Health System in Lewiston.

Promotions

Day One, a nonprofit agency in South Portland that works to prevent and treat adolescent substance abuse, recently promoted Cheryl Daly to program manager at its Teen Center.

WEX Inc., a provider of corporate payment solutions in South Portland, recently promoted George Hogan to senior vice president, international. Hogan was previously the company's general manager of fleet over-the-road and partner channels.

The Maine Correctional Center recently promoted Leigh Adams to assistant classification officer. Adams was previously an office associate II.

University of Maine in Orono recently promoted Judy Ryan to vice president for administration and finance and Megan Sanders as associate vice president for human resources and administration. Ryan was previously associate vice president for human resources and administration while Sanders was previously the associate director of human resources.

Penquis, a Bangor nonprofit that addresses poverty, recently promoted Kara Hay to president and CEO. Hay was previously a deputy director and operations manager in the child development department.

Machias Savings Bank recently promoted Danielle Caricofe to senior vice president of human services, Amanda Look to vice president of cash management solutions, Charity Dennison to vice president of marketing and project management, James Gehrke to vice president of business banking and Wendy Schors to vice president of asset management.

Appointments

The American Camp Association, New England recently elected Steve Sudduth as board president. Sudduth is the owner and co-director of Wyonegonic Camps in Denmark.

Blue Marble Geographics in Hallowell recently announced that President Patrick Cunningham was appointed to the Maine Library of Geographic Information Board.

Scarborough Land Trust recently appointed Melissa Anson and Gil Paquette to its board of directors. Anson is a public access specialist at the Maine Coastal Program in Augusta and Paquette is director of environmental energy services at VHB in South Portland.

Kleinschmidt Associates, an engineering, science and regulatory professionals firm in Pittsfield, recently announced its board of directors. Tom Kahl was elected chair; Andrew Qua, vice chair; Paul Cyr, secretary; Scott Ault and Kelly Schaeffer. In addition, Josh Broder and Larry Warren were elected as outside directors.

MaineGeneral Health recently elected Allyson Hughes Handley and Janice Armo Kassman to its board of directors. Handley is president of the University of Maine at Augusta while Kassman is the founder of Janice Kassman Consulting. William Sprague is the board chair while Peter Alfond, Conrad Ayotte, Stephanie Calkins, Douglas Cutchin, Mark Ford, Peter Guzzetti, David Hay, Chuck Hays, Jeffrey Hubert, Mark Johnston, James LaLiberty, Barbara Mayer, Roy Miller, Gary Peachey, Gordon Pow and Tobi Schneider also serve on the board.

Achievements

The Maine Department of Labor recently announced that Pleasant River Lumber in West Enfield, Community Living Association (Green Center) in Houlton, Artisan Boatworks in Rockport and Yachting Solutions in Rockland earned the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program Award.

WEX Inc., a provider of corporate payment solutions in South Portland, recently announced that President and CEO Melissa Smith was honored with the inaugural 2014 Women Driving Payments Innovation Award by PYMNTS.com and Women's Network in Electronic Transactions. The award is presented to the top female leader in the fields of payments and commerce innovation.

The U.S. Small Business Administration recently announced that Alan Spear and Mary Allen Lindemann, owners of Coffee by Design in Portland, were selected for the Small Business Person of the Year Award for Maine. Other Maine and SBA Region 1 winners included: Josh Davis and Bruno Tropeano, The Gelato Fiasco, Young Entrepreneurs of the Year Award; Cyndi Price, Loo-Hoo LLC, Home-Based Business Champion Award; Deblois Electric, the Jeffrey Butland Family Owned Small Business of the Year Award; Brian and Kimberly Plavnick, G-Force Laser Tag, Maine Micro-Enterprise Award; Peter McVety, McVety's Hearth and Home, Veteran Small Business Owner of the Year Award; and Amy Bouchard, Isamax Snacks Inc., Woman Small Business Owner of the Year Award.

Elizabeth Moss Galleries in Falmouth was recently named a top 500 art gallery in North America by Louise Blouin Media's Modern Painters publication and artinfo.com.

Payscale.com, a national firm providing data and insights about salary and careers, recently named University of New England as the top career return on investment for colleges and universities in Maine. Nationally, the school placed No. 188 out of 1,310 schools ranked.

Pica Design + Marketing in Belfast recently received the Governor of Maine's Award for Innovation in Tourism for its work on the 2013 Belfast Bay and Beyond visitor magazine and the simultaneous launch of the digital version of the magazine for the iPad.

University of Maine at Fort Kent Professor of Forestry and Environmental Studies Dave Hobbins was recently selected as one of only 18 faculty nationwide to participate in an Integrated Geospatial Education and Technology Training grant. The grant is awarded by the National Council for Geographic Education with funding from the National Science Foundation and with the support of NASA.

Lambert Coffin, a law firm in Portland, recently announced that John Lambert Jr., Samuel Rudman, Teresa Cloutier, Peter Del Bianco and Philip Coffin were named in the latest New England Super Lawyers publication. In addition, Associates Jeffrey Russell and Abigail Varga were named Rising Stars.

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation named The Center for Grieving Children in Portland its Community Hero as part of its 6th annual Community Spirit Awards held recently in Wellesley, Mass. The center serves more than 4,000 grieving children, teens, families and young adults annually through peer support, outreach, and education.

Maine International Trade Center in Portland recently announced the winners of the 2014 International Trade and Investment Awards. Winners included Hydro International, 2014 Exporter of the Year; Husson University, Service Provider of the Year; Cianbro, Innovator of the Year; and J.D. Irving Ltd., Foreign Direct Investor of the Year.

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Science in East Boothbay recently announced that its new LEED platinum building captured an honorable mention in R&D Magazine's 48th Laboratory of the Year Awards.

Lewiston Public Works recently named Alphie Patenaude its Employee of the Year. Patenaude is a landscape/treeworker.

MorrisSwitzer~Environments for Health, an architecture firm in Portland committed exclusively to the design of health care facilities, was ranked 39th in the U.S. in the recently released Construction & Design Survey by Modern Healthcare. The firm had over $175 million of completed health care construction projects in 2013.

The Maine Restaurant Association recently announced that Cross Employee Benefits Division was named Allied Member of the Year. Other honorees included Steve True, Nonantum Resort, Chef of the Year; Mary Dysart Hartt, Dysart's, Restaurateur of the Year; and John Kyle, Pat's Pizza Yarmouth and Grill 233, Lifetime Achievement Award.

Shipyard Brewing Co. and Sea Dog Brewing Co. in Portland recently won three awards at the 9th annual Atlantic City Beer & Music Festival in Atlantic City, N.J. Shipyard Monkey Fist IPA finished third in the IPA category, Shipyard Melonhead was second in the Lambic-Fruit Beer category and Sea Dog Wild Blueberry Wheat Ale finished second in the Wheat Beer category.

Health Data & Management Solutions Inc., a health data analytics software and consulting services firm, recently honored Maine Health Management Coalition in Topsham with its Provider Health Systems Innovator Award for Analytic Alliance for its work in developing and expanding its Pathways to Excellence measures.

The Daniel Hanley Center for Health Leadership in Portland recently recognized Marjorie Withers, Community Caring Collaborative; the Maine Migrant Health Program; United Somali Women of Maine; and Waldo County Dental Care for assuring equitable care for all Mainers.

Marcus Barresi, partner at Barresi Financial Inc. in Bangor, recently earned New England Financial's Leaders Level of Recognition.

The Maine Department of Corrections recently presented its Award of Excellence to Region 2 Probation Officers Michelle Dubay, Mark Fortin, Ashley Gaboury, Mark Gozdecki, Jodie Johnson, Craig Ladd, Robert Lamarre, Robert Omiecinski, Mike Simoneau, Tiffany Simoneau and Don White. Other recipients included Dawn Casey, clerk typist; Robert LaPlante, John Lorenzen and Adam Silberman, regional correctional managers; and Susan Gagnon, RCA.

Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport recently announced that its Birth Center was honored with the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners and International Lactation Consultant Association Care Award. The center was the only health care facility in Maine to receive the award.