Newsworthy people and performances

New hires

Sebago Technics, an engineering consulting firm in South Portland, hired Jessica Jamison as marketing coordinator and Devin Pike as a survey technician. Jamison was previously with S.W. Cole Engineering while Pike was with Bath Iron Works.

NBT Bank hired Kimberly Twitchell as senior vice president and regional commercial banking manager and Hilary Laramore-Jones as commercial banking administration officer. Twitchell most recently was senior lender and commercial relationship manager for TD Bank in Portland while Laramore-Jones was commercial services manager at Northeast Bank in Portland.

Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick hired Katie White as group sales and outreach manager. White was previously with the Portland Sea Dogs.

Stantec, an engineering, consulting and design company in Scarborough, hired David Bernier as a senior principal and discipline leader in its Power & Energy Division. Bernier was previously with Powerspan Corp.

Drummond Woodsum, a law firm in Portland, hired Agnieszka Pinette as a member of its public finance group. Pinette previously clerked for the Hon. Ellen A. Gorman of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court.

Friends of Casco Bay, a nonprofit conservation organization in South Portland, hired Sara Biron as database assistant.

The University of Southern Maine hired Christopher Quint as executive director of public affairs. Quint was most recently executive director of the Maine State Employees Association, SEIU Local 1989.

Kennebunk Savings hired Sherry Simonds as vice president, retail market manager of Sanford and Springvale.

BlueTarp Financial, a Portland-based credit management company that works with the building-supply industry, announced several new hires. Chuck Laber-Smith was hired as a senior software engineer, Andy Winslow as a software development manager, Denise Green as a credit specialist, Deb Kraus as accounting manager, Jacqueline Garan as executive assistant and office manager and Will Stuart and Scott Sargent as members of the customer service team.

Onpoint Health Data, a health data and analytics organization in Portland, hired Melanie Pinette as health data analyst. Pinette previously worked as an internal auditor for Macpage.

Franklin Community Health Network in Farmington hired Anna D'Epiro Cushing as a licensed clinical social worker and art therapist at Evergreen Behavioral Services based at Franklin Health Farmington Family Practice.

The Portland Harbor Hotel hired Aaron Black as general manager of the hotel and its restaurant, Eve's at the Garden. Black was most recently general manager of Topnotch Resort and Spa in Stowe, Vt.

Katahdin Trust Co. hired Sherry Roberts as vice president and business development officer. Roberts was previously with Bangor Savings Bank.

Diversified Communications, an international media company in Portland, hired Brenna Hensley as a conference project manager. Hensley was previously with Bowdoin College.

BEK Inc., a computer and network services company in Brunswick, hired Marc Smith as sales manager and James Devon as senior systems engineer.

Promotions

CBRE|The Boulos Co., a real estate firm in Portland, promoted Tyler Hobbs to associate broker. Hobbs was previously an associate.

University Credit Union in Orono promoted Deb White-Rideout from vice president of operations and human resources to senior vice president of operations and human resources; Renee Ouellette from vice president of finance and technology to senior vice president of finance and technology; April Gleason from assistant vice president of lending to vice president of lending; and Eileen Byram from assistant vice president of risk management to vice president of risk management.

Maine Behavioral Healthcare, a nonprofit mental health organization located in South Portland, promoted Michelle Zichella to director of development. Zichella was interim director of development.

TD Bank in Portland promoted Christopher Brassbridge to retail market manager. Brassbridge was previously vice president and store manager in Portland.

Diversified Communications, an international media company in Portland, promoted Jenna Herbert to manager, project management office.

Appointments

The medical staff of Maine Medical Center in Portland elected its new leadership for a two-year term, including president, Cindy Boyack; president-elect, Lisa Almeder; treasurer-secretary, Steven Hess; and immediate past president, James Zeitlin.

Coastal Studies for Girls, a residential semester school for science and leadership for 10th-grade girls in Freeport, elected Hannah King to its board of trustees. King is an attorney with Drummond Woodsum in Portland.

PORTopera in Portland named Arlene Schwind, Brenda Garrand and Natalie Harris to its board of directors. Schwind is curator of the Victoria Mansion, Garrand is CEO and founder of Garrand and Harris has provided fundraising, development and grant writing for a wide range of organizations.

The Finance Authority of Maine elected its board officers. Raymond Nowak was re-elected to serve as chair and Cheri Walker was re-elected as treasurer. James Violette Jr. was elected as vice chair.

The Environmental & Energy Technology Council of Maine announced term extensions for six of its board of directors, including Jim Atwell, senior project engineer, Sevee & Maher Engineers; John Carroll, director of communications, Iberdrola USA; Phil Coupe, co-founder and managing partner, ReVision Energy; Gary Higginbottom, executive director, Hydrogen Energy Center; Michael Stoddard, executive director, Efficiency Maine Trust; and Bill Taylor, partner, Pierce Atwood.

Achievements

The Maine Water Environment Association, a nonprofit that protects the quality of Maine's water bodies, presented awards to numerous water quality professionals including the Charles Perry award: Mark Holt, superintendent, town of Jay; communications award: Matt Timberlake, vice president, Ted Berry Co. Inc.; David Anderson laboratory analyst excellence award: Stacy Thompson, water quality professional, Saco Water Resource Recovery Department; pretreatment excellence award: Inland Technologies International LLC, Portland International Jetport; young professional award: Rob Pontau, assistant general manager, Brunswick Sewer District; the Roger Gagne award: Phyllis Arnold Rand, water quality coordinator, Greater Augusta Utility District; outstanding service awards: state Sen. James Boyle, state Rep. Joan Welsh and Maine Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Patricia Aho; president's service award: Scott Firmin, director of wastewater services, Portland Water District; lifetime achievement recognition: Jerome Guevremont, town of Rangeley Wastewater Department; and life member status recognition: Richard Darling, retired, Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Joint environmental training coordinating committee awards were presented including the Lee Agger award: Tim LeVasseur, superintendent, Kennebec Sanitary Treatment District; and founder's award: Kirby Pinkham, senior operator, Greater Augusta Utility District. Certificates of achievement were also presented to Rand and the city of Brewer.

Judith O'Dell, president of O'Dell Valuation Consulting LLC CPA in Rockport, was presented with the Braden award by the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The award is presented annually to a leader in the professional practice community who has made contributions to the knowledge and advancement of the discipline of accountancy.

The Maine Center for Creativity in Portland presented actor Patrick Dempsey and The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor with the Maine creative industries award for collaborating to positively impact Maine through art and business.

The National Guard Bureau named the Maine Army National Guard as the winner of the Fred Aron Award for excellence in facilities programs. The award recognizes environmental quality, fiscal management and installation readiness.

The Finance Authority of Maine presented its annual awards to St. Croix Tissue Inc., business at work for Maine award; Harold Alfond College Challenge, education at work for Maine award; Camden National Bank, financial institution of the year; and Hon. Brian Langley of Hancock County, Dirigo legislative champion award.

The VIA Agency, a marketing, advertising and digital agency in Portland, announced placed No. 7 in Advertising Age's “40 Best Places to Work in Advertising & Media.”

Martin's Point Health Care in Portland earned five stars from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for 2015 for its Generations Advantage Prime Plan.

The Maine Tobacco-Free Hospital Network, an initiative of the Breathe Easy Coalition of Maine, recognized 11 MaineHealth hospitals and affiliates through its 2014 gold star standards of excellence program. Gold level facilities were Franklin Memorial Hospital, Lincoln County Healthcare, MaineGeneral Medical Center, Maine Medical Center, Mid Coast Hospital, Pen Bay Medical Center, Southern Maine Health Care and Spring Harbor Hospital; Stephens Memorial Hospital and Waldo County General Hospital were listed silver level; and New England Rehabilitation Hospital was bronze level. In addition, gold star awards were presented to Stephen DiGiovanni and Wendy Osgood, Maine Medical Center; Vicki Koehler, Mid Coast Hospital; and Stacey Schmidt, Mid Coast Hospital.

The Portland International Jetport was honored by two national industry organizations for its service and commitment to sustainability. The Chicago Department of Aviation recognized the facility as an “airports going green” award winner and the airport took top honors in 17 of 34 applicable categories in the latest ASQ Survey, an airport customer satisfaction benchmark program.

American Council of Engineering Companies of Maine announced its 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards. S.W. Cole Engineering captured the “grand conceptor” award for its work on the North Haven Beach Bridge replacement project; special recognition awards for engineering excellence went to Becker Structural Engineers Inc. for work on the Casco Bay Ferry Terminal in Portland, Kleinschmidt Associates for consulting for the Milford fish elevator project and Sebago Technics for work on the Baxter Boulevard north storage conduit combined sewer overflow project for the city of Portland. Honor Awards for Engineering Excellence went to Kleinschmidt Associates for the Holtwood expansion project and to Becker Structural Engineers Inc. for work on the Hyatt Hotel – Old Port.

Maine Preservation presented its 2014 honor awards. Awards for adaptive use went to Gerald Hotel Senior Housing, Fairfield, and Hyacinth Place, Westbrook. Awards for rehabilitation went to Union Hall, Rockport; Winnegance General Store, Bath; Charles B. Clarke House, Portland; and The Turrets at College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor. Awards for restoration were presented to U.S. Custom House, Portland; Bailey Island Bridge #2033 (Cribstone Bridge), Harpswell; Maine State House Dome, Augusta; and Farnsworth Homestead, Rockland. Weston Homestead, Madison won the award for stewardship; Jacob DiGirolamo was named outstanding volunteer; and Terry Helms, Donald Cyr and Linda Grant shared the award for outstanding community service.

Kris Doody, CEO of Cary Medical Center in Caribou, was approved for fellow recertification by the American College of Healthcare Executives, an international professional society of health care executives who lead hospitals, health care systems and other health care organizations. Doody was first certified as a fellow in 2002.

Casco Bay Ferry Terminal in Portland was recognized for design excellence at the 2014 American Institute of Architects New England Design Awards in Providence, R.I.

Hospice of Southern Maine in Portland announced that Bonnie Cloukey was named the 2014 Homecare and Hospice Alliance of Maine caregiver of the year.

Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, received a national ranking for its health care practice and was also ranked in 44 metropolitan practice areas in U.S. News & Best Lawyers Best Law Firms.

Read more

Another thing about Maine: It doesn't shut down after Labor Day