Newsworthy people and performances

New hires

Pen Bay Healthcare in Rockport hired Thomas Crosslin III as a surgeon and Norman Keller as a certified physician assistant at its Pen Bay Surgery and Wound Healing Center practice.

Dream Local Digital, a digital marketing company in Rockland, hired Edward Gaug as a senior marketing strategist. He was previously a social media and content coordinator with CafePress.

Summit Natural Gas of Maine in Augusta hired Sarah Wyman as a residential sales representative and Ron Cote recently as manager of trades and conversions. Wyman was previously a project coordinator at Unitil Natural Gas in Portland and Cote was territory manager for Carlin Combustion Technology.

American Loggers Insurance in Bangor hired Donald Curtis as senior loss control consultant.

Eaton Peabody, a law firm in Bangor, hired Attorney Eric Marshall as resident in the firm's business practice group.

The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland hired Shane Thomas McMillan as a photography teacher. McMillan was previously with the Associated Press.

SymQuest Group, an information technology company in Westbrook, hired Patrick O'Neill and Tony Kalicky as account executives for document solutions.

Maine Behavioral Healthcare, a nonprofit mental health organization in South Portland, hired Amy Safford as director of marketing and communications. Stafford was previously director of development and community relations with Community Partners Inc.

Hancock Gourmet Lobster Co. in Cundys Harbor hired Monique Coombs as wholesale account manager. Coombs was previously an independent contractor serving Maine's lobster and fishing industries as well as the local foods movement.

Clark Insurance in Portland hired Pamla Cyr as an account manager in the business services department and Molly McVetty as a member of the company's reception team.

USI Insurance Services LLC in South Portland hired Amy Deschaines as vice president, employee benefits. Deschaines was previously with The Maine Health Management Coalition.

Sewall, a natural resources, energy and infrastructure consulting firm in Old Town, hired Philip Nash as global economist/consultant.

Berman & Simmons, a law firm in Lewiston, hired Dov Sacks and Travis Brennan as attorneys.

Norton Financial Services in Cumberland Foreside hired Ben Russell as a securities clerk and Krysten Gabri as a group benefits account specialist. The firm also hired Sue Nguyen as personal lines customer service representative in its Monmouth office.

Kennebunk Savings hired Alan Brown as assistant vice president, branch manager and Carrie DiGeorge as vice president, residential lending manager at its Dover, N.H., branch; Cassandra Mosher as assistant vice president, branch manager in Wells; and Steven Smith as branch manager in Eliot.

Bernstein Shur, a law firm in Portland, hired Molly Barker Gilligan, Beth Smith and Michael Siedband. Gilligan joined the firm's health care and litigation practice groups, Smith joined the real estate practice group and Siedband joined the business restructuring and insolvency practice group.

WCSH 6 in Portland hired Todd Gutner as a meteorologist. Gutner was previously with WBZ in Boston.

Community Credit Union in Lewiston hired Isaiah Wright as a member representative.

Machias Savings Bank hired Matthew Veith as a business banker in the Portland area.

Investcomm Commercial Group, a commercial real estate agency in Kennebunk, hired Suzanne McKechnie as a licensed associate broker. McKechnie was previously executive director of Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Arundel Chamber of Commerce.

Promotions

SystemArchitecture.NET, an IT consulting company in Windham, promoted Tony Taylor to manager of software development and David Richardson to operations manager.

Gorham Savings Bank promoted Daniel Hancock to regional vice president, cash management and business development officer. Hancock was previously regional vice president, senior business officer.

The Yarmouth Historical Society promoted Amy Aldredge to executive director. Aldredge was previously interim executive director.

Machias Savings Bank promoted Todd Christiansen to vice president.

Girl Scouts of Maine in South Portland promoted Joanne Crepeau to CEO. Crepeau had previously served as interim CEO.

MaineHealth in Portland promoted Robert Frank to senior vice president and general counsel. Frank was previously deputy general counsel.

Community Credit Union in Lewiston promoted Courtney Sawyer to asset quality specialist. Sawyer was previously a member representative.

Appointments

The Maine Department of Economic & Community Development appointed Adam Hobson of Hobson and Co. in Saco; Heather Sanborn of Rising Tide Brewing in Portland; and Curtis Picard of the Retail Association of Maine in Augusta to the Maine Small Business and Entrepreneurship Commission. The 12-member board oversees the Maine Small Business Development Center program and advises on efforts to strengthen the support infrastructure for entrepreneurship in Maine.

The Maine Center for Entrepreneurial Development in Portland announced Catherine Renault, principal of Innovation Policyworks LLC, as chairman of its board of directors. The organization also added Becky McKinnell, president of iBec Creative; Chris Sauer, president, CEO and a founding member of Ocean Renewable Power Co.; and James DaSilva, vice president of business development at GW & Wade LLC to its board.

Peter Bennett, president of Bennett Law Firm in Portland, was appointed to the board of directors of the Appellate Judges Education Institute and will serve through to its 2015 annual meeting.

Kirsten Hebert was appointed by the Augusta City Council to serve on the Greater Augusta Utility District board of trustees. Hebert is executive director of Maine Rural Water.

Maine Municipal Association in Augusta announced Michelle Beal, Ellsworth city manager, will become its next president and Stephan Bunker, selectman in the town of Farmington, the incoming vice president. The association also announced that Orono Town Councilor Cynthia Mehnert was elected to its executive committee and Kennebunkport Town Manager Laurie Smith and Chapman Selectwoman Patricia Sutherland were re-elected.

The American Heart Association in Maine announced Liz McGlinn, CPA and senior internal auditor with L.L.Bean, will serve as incoming board chair. In addition, Christine Blake, a family practice physician at Portland West Family Practice, will serve as board president and Sarah Grace Alvarez of Mercy Hospital and Kate Luneburg of NL Partners joined the board.

United Way of Greater Portland added Katie Bellerose, assistant vice president at Gorham Savings Bank; Marc Gousse, superintendent, Westbrook School System; Regina Phillips, director, Refugee Services Program, Health & Human Services Division, city of Portland; and Sean Dugan, director of system development, MaineHealth to its board of directors.

Achievements

McTeague Higbee, a law firm in Topsham, announced that Karen Bilodeau, Katherine Gatti, Suzanne Johnson and Janmarie Toker were named to the top 100 injured workers' attorneys in America by the Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group.

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree was recognized by Fortune and Food and Wine magazines' combined list of the most innovative women in food and drink. Pingree was listed second on the list of 25.

Hall Internet Marketing in Portland announced that RC Lations, WordPress project manager, was named among 275 volunteers who helped to write the code for WordPress 4.0, the latest update to the open source content management system.

BerryDunn, a CPA firm in Portland, was listed 65th in INSIDE Public Accounting's top 100 List, reflecting the firm's 17% fiscal-year growth compared with the 6.3% industry average.

Maine Maritime Museum in Bath was named as one of the 15 best maritime museums in the world in the September 2014 issue of Destinations Travel magazine.

Susan Doliner, vice president for development at Maine Medical Center in Portland, was selected by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy to receive the Si Seymour award for excellence and outstanding leadership in fundraising.

Construction Services Group Trust presented Hebert Construction in Lewiston with the Richard J. Haines memorial award for safety excellence for 2013.

Priority Real Estate Group, a commercial real estate investment and development company in Topsham, received a 2014 governor's award for business excellence from the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.

Michelle Raber, owner of the Raber State Farm Insurance Agency in Scarborough, was included in State Farm chairman's circle, which recognizes quality service, multiple-line production and client retention. In addition, Raber was named to this year's State Farm's senior vice president club as a leading agent for financial services on the East Coast and qualified as an aspirant for the million dollar round table, a worldwide organization recognizing top producers of insurance and other financial services.

David Sawyer, assessor for the town of Windham, was recognized by the Maine Association of Assessing Officers as the Maine assessor of the year.

The Sebago Chapter of Trout Unlimited was awarded the gold trout award. This award is presented to the chapter with success in conservation projects that protect and restore trout habitat in its area.

The Maine Grocers & Food Producers Association in Augusta presented its annual awards at the Maine Food Means Business 2014 Summit. Kathy and Ed Bell of Bell's IGA in Calais and Orono, were named the 2014 grocer of the year; Joan and Mike Anderson, Winterport Winery, Penobscot Brewery and Pairings, 2014 producer of the year; and Michael Bozzuto, Bozzuto's Inc., 2014 wholesaler of the year.

Lee Ann Szelog of Simply Put LLC presented the keynote speech at the annual meeting of the Maine Town and City Clerks' Association.

Portland Magazine captured five prizes at the national American graphic design awards for design excellence by Graphic Design USA.

The University of New England honored Brenda Garrand, CEO, Garrand; Kathleen Mazzuchelli, former superintendent of parks and recreation, city of Caribou; Barbara Rice McDade, director, Bangor Public Library; and Rachel Talbot Ross, civil rights leader and president, NAACP, Portland branch, at its Deborah Morton Society's 53rd Annual Convocation and Awards Ceremony.

Burgess Advertising & Marketing in Portland was honored by the Academy of Interactive and Visual Arts with communicator awards for work on the “enroll207.com” and “Save Your Pipes” television campaigns.

Women Against Alzheimer's, a national nonprofit that advocates for policies to help fight and find a treatment for Alzheimer's, honored U.S. Sen. Susan Collins as the first recipient of its out of the shadows award.

Woodard & Curran, an engineering and environmental firm in Portland, was listed No. 67 on Engineering News Record's annual list of the top 200 environmental firms in the United States.

The Maine Water Environment Association in Newry honored Maine Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Patricia Aho for the promotion and support of the 2014 “Save Your Pipes: Don't Flush Baby Wipes” campaign.

The Maine Office of Tourism captured two 2014 Mercury awards during the U.S. Travel Association's annual educational seminar for tourism organizations conference. The National Council of State Tourism Directors recognized Maine in the digital campaign and travel website categories.

Eight Maine companies were recently presented with a 2014 governor's award for business excellence including Priority Real Estate, Topsham; Kepware Technologies, Portland; Winxnet, Portland; Hall Internet Marketing, Portland; Huhtamaki, Waterville; GAC Chemical, Searsport; Fluid Imaging Technologies, Scarborough; and Haven's Candies, Westbrook.

The Hartgen Annual Highway Report, released by the Reason Foundation, ranked Maine No. 1 in New England and No. 4 in the United States for having the lowest administrative disbursements per mile in 2012. Additionally, the report ranked Maine No. 16 in the nation in overall highway performance and cost-effectiveness. In 2011, the state was ranked No. 18 overall and in 2009 the ranking was No. 29.

BerryDunn, a CPA and consulting firm in Portland, announced that Ryan Warren, a senior-level accountant in the firm's commercial services group, was selected as a member of the 2014 leadership academy class of the American Institute of CPAs. The academy is comprised of rising stars under age 36 in the accounting profession.

Maine Cancer Foundation in Falmouth received a 2014 top rated award from GreatNonprofits, a provider of user reviews about nonprofit organizations.

Summit Natural Gas of Maine presented the Neal W. Allen award for leadership in the public sector to Bill Shane, town manager in Cumberland; Nathan Poore, town manager in Falmouth; and Nat Tupper, town manager in Yarmouth.

Trask-Decrow Machinery in Scarborough announced that Georgia Glasgow completed Ingersoll Rand's parts basic training; Andy Mains and Jesse North completed Bauer Compressor's breathing air and industrial training; and North, Scott Wight and Don McCarty completed Ingersoll Rand's Nirvana compressor recertification training.

The Franklin Community Health Network Spirit Committee presented its quarterly EPIC awards to TJ Lambert, maintenance; Jamie Medrano, Franklin Health Women's Care; Kellie Donahue, Franklin Health Pediatrics; and Marian Hastings, Franklin Health Women's Care.

The Bangor Region Leadership Institute, a regionally-oriented leadership development program of the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, announced those selected for the class of 2015, including Caitlin Brooke and Laurie Linscott, city of Bangor; Jodie Burckhard, YMCA; Sue Busque, WLBZ 2; Anne Cambridge, Greater Bangor Convention and Visitors Bureau; Jennifer Curtis, People's United Bank; Jon Davis, Barresi Financial; Sandy Fortin, L.L.Bean; Joseph Gagnon, TD Bank; Lisa Gallant and Tracy Tenney, Camden National Bank; Pauline Higgins, Sutherland Weston; Sarah McCarthy, Bangor Symphony Orchestra; Sarah Nichols, St. Joseph Healthcare; Jessica O'Neill, Machias Savings Bank; Kevin O'Connell, Emera Maine; Keith Piehler, Jobs for Maine's Graduates; Joanna Rousey, N.H. Bragg; Joshua Saucier, Bangor Gas Co.; Benjamin Smith, Woodlands Senior Living of Brewer; Sheila Thibodeau, Workforce Performance Solutions-Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems; Mike Wilcox, Wilcox Wellness & Fitness; and Lorri Wright, Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems.