Newsworthy people and performances for April 1, 2019

New hires

Bar Harbor Savings and Loan hired Jo Gollapinni as mortgage assistant. Gollapinni was previously employed at Bar Harbor Bank and Trust.

Albin, Randall & Bennett, an accounting firm in Portland, hired Matthew Pore as tax director. Pore previously was a tax senior manager at Baker Newman Noyes.

Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford hired Loretta Pratt as a dermatologist and Paul Segal as a primary care physician specializing in internal medicine.

Northern Light Mercy Hospital in Portland hired Mark Branda as a gastroenterologist at Northern Light Mercy Gastroenterology, Ashton Piers as a nurse practitioner at Northern Light Mercy Women’s Health, Daniel Stone as a physician’s assistant at Mercy’s spine surgery practice and Ginger Layton as a family nurse practitioner at Northern Light Mercy Ear, Nose and Throat Care.

One River CPAs in Oakland hired Michael McKenney as an audit manager. McKenney has worked in public accounting 10 years.

Clark Insurance in Portland hired Lisa Belisle as a senior account manager in the business insurance department. Belisle has 35 years of experience in the insurance industry.

Maine Capital Group, a commercial real estate lender in Portland, hired Russel Oakes as vice president of commercial lending.

Approved Home Mortgage, a residential real estate lender in Portland, hired Meg Faulkner as senior loan officer and branch resource manager and Terry Robinson as senior loan officer.

Strout & Payson PA, a law firm in Rockland, hired Laura Shortill Curtis as an attorney focusing in trust, estate and probate law, including guardianships and adoptions.

Bristol Seafood in Portland hired Mark Fratiello as business development manager covering the Northeast and John Riffle as business development manager covering the South and Southeast. Fratiello was previously with Town Dock while Riffle most recently was with Clear Springs Foods.

Steward Partners, an independent private financial services firm in Portland, hired Adam Dunbar as partner, senior vice president and wealth manager.

F.L.Putnam Investment Management Co. in Portland hired Meghan Civiello as an investment advisor. Civiello most recently served as a research analyst at H.M. Payson.

Protect Our Care Maine hired Vivian Mikhail as state director. Mikhail previously worked in the Maine Attorney General’s office.

Northern Light Internal Medicine in Bangor hired Manoj Chawla as medical doctor and Stephanie Bosse and Dina Cole as family nurse practitioners.

Androscoggin Home Healthcare and Hospice in Lewiston hired Cindy Letourneau as director of human resources. Letourneau most recently served as senior HR partner for Covenant Health/St. Mary’s Health System in Lewiston.

Maine Medical Partners in Portland hired Cameron Donaldson as a vascular interventional cardiologist at Maine Medical Partners – MaineHealth Cardiology and Amanda Goddard as a medical doctor at Maine Medical Partners – Pediatric Specialty Care, Division of Infectious Disease.

Fluid Imaging Technologies, a biotechnology company in Scarborough, hired Stefanie Hebert as accounting assistant.

MaineHousing in Augusta hired Ruth Lawson-Stopps as director of homeless initiatives, Cara Courchesne as public information and social media coordinator and Sheila Nielsen as director of information technology.

Creative Office Pavilion in Portland hired Tara Cimini and Amy Bergeron as interior designers and Hana Martinez as marketing administrator.

The city of Portland hired Hanna Pickering as director of information technology and Lena Geraghty as director of innovation and performance management. Pickering was previously an IT consultant while Geraghty was a senior advisor for Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Government Excellence.

Bowman Constructors in Newport hired Rebecca Adams as director of marketing and business development. Adams was previously corporate development director for the American Heart Association.

Portside Real Estate Group hired Liam McCoy as a broker in its Cape Elizabeth office. McCoy specializes in luxury properties.

Bar Harbor Savings and Loan Association hired Ray Chalifour responsible for human resources and marketing. Previously, Chalifour was vice president of physician practices and ancillary services at Mount Desert Island Hospital.

Northern Light Infectious Disease Care in Bangor hired Eugene Liu as a physician to provide consultation, evaluation and treatment for infectious diseases. Liu was previously with the CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service.

Promotions

Bar Harbor Savings and Loan promoted Rhonda Sawyer to mortgage department manager. Sawyer was previously mortgage loan specialist.

SMRT Architects and Engineers in Portland promoted Jeana Stewart to lead the firm’s newly formed Workplace Studio. Stewart has 10 years of experience in the research, planning and design of workplace environments for clients in the corporate, education, science and technology, and government sectors.

The Opportunity Alliance, the state’s designated crisis services provider for Cumberland County headquartered in South Portland, promoted Joseph Everett to president and CEO. Everett was previously chief program officer and COO and has been with the agency for 20 years.

Norway Savings Bank promoted Sharon Breytenbach to vice president, controller; Ryan Dillingham to assistant vice president, assistant network manager and administrator; Frank Farrell to assistant vice president, systems administrator and assistant mainframe manager; Jessica Lilly to assistant vice president, Sageworks administrator; and Vincent Osgood to assistant vice president, commercial lending.

Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in Portland promoted William Engelberger to associate vice president, Gary Bergeron of the Breakwater Group at Morgan Stanley to senior vice president and James Olson of the Casco Bay Group at Morgan Stanley to vice president. Engelberger and Olson were previously financial advisors with the firm and Bergeron was a financial advisor and portfolio management director.

Sunday River, a resort in Newry, promoted Steve Boulanger to vice president of mountain operations. Boulanger was previously ski operations director.

Mortgage Network Inc. in Freeport promoted Spencer Plante to loan officer. Plante was previously a sales assistant.

Baker Newman Noyes, an accounting and consulting firm in Portland, promoted Dayton Benway to managing principal. In addition to leading the firm, Benway will continue to serve as director of the firm’s health care advisory group.

Appointments

AARP Maine in Portland selected Patricia Pinto to serve as its volunteer state president. Pinto brings a diverse background to her new role including experience in nonprofit management, entrepreneurship and education.

United Midcoast Charities in Camden added Jim Hengerer and Steve Kemple to its board of directors. Hengerer is a retired physician while Kemple is a retired aircraft financing executive.

Chris Fogg, CEO of the Maine Tourism Association in Hallowell, was elected to the U.S. Travel Association’s board of directors as an at-large director for 2019-21. Fogg is the only representative from Maine on the board.

Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, said that the Maine Employee Benefits Council elected Kenneth Ginder as president. Ginder is a partner in the firm’s employee benefits and executive compensation group.

Qualidigm, a national health care consulting company in Wethersfield, Conn., added Joanne Bean, Mylan Cohen and Jess Maurer to its board of directors. All three previously served on the Board of Directors for Maine Quality Counts and were nominated as representatives for the combined board of directors as a result of a merger between the two organizations. Bean is vice president and chief advancement officer at Saint Joseph’s College in Standish, Cohen is medical director for cardiology imaging and diagnostics at Maine Medical Center and for cardiovascular informatics at MaineHealth and Maurer is executive director of the Maine Council on Aging.

Dan Leclair, director of unmanned aircraft systems education and research at the University of Maine at Augusta, was appointed by the U.S. Coast Guard federal maritime security coordinator to a five-year term as a member of the Sector Northern New England Area Maritime Security Executive Steering Committee.

Achievements

The Junior League of Portland recognized Quincy Hentzel with its “2019 Junior League of Portland Award” for community engagement and leadership in Maine. Hentzel is CEO of the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The board of the Ellsworth Area Chamber of Commerce named Coastal Auto Parts NAPA stores, a family run group of NAPA branded locations that has grown to 25 locations across Maine with over 270 employees, as its “2019 Top Drawer Award” winner and Jacqueline Wycoff, founder of the Community Closet Thrift Store, as its “Citizen of the Year 2019.”

Berman and Simmons, a law firm in Lewiston, said attorney Mike Bigos presented a legislative and political update to the Council of Presidents of state trial lawyer associations from across the country at the American Association for Justice winter convention. Bigos discussed the recent election results, including a pro-civil justice Governor and majority in the State Senate as well as the impact of rank choice voting in Maine’s second congressional district and 2019 legislative proposals.

Kara Hay, president and CEO of Penquis, was recognized by the National NeighborWorks Association as one of three leaders nationwide to receive an “Excellence Award,” which honors outstanding practitioners in the field of housing and community development.

Portland International Jetport was named “Best Airport by Size and Category (under 2 million passengers in North America)” and “Best Customer Service by Size (under 2 million passengers)” in the Airports Council International Airport Service Quality Awards.

Kathleen Pearson of Readiness Associates in Portland spoke about “Workplace Violence in Health Care” at the American College of Health Care Administrators at its 2019 Convocation & Expo in Louisville, Ky.

Morgan Stanley announced that Jeremiah Burns, Todd Doolan, Jay Cross, Gary Bergeron and Mark Leighton were named to Forbes Magazine’s 2019 list of “America’s Best-in-State Wealth Advisors.” Burns, Doolan, Cross and Leighton are senior vice presidents, financial advisors in the firm’s Portland wealth management office; and Bergeron, of the Breakwater Group at Morgan Stanley, is financial advisor and portfolio management director at the office.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released updated hospital quality ratings and Northern Light Mercy Hospital in Portland retained its top score of five stars. Hospital Compare, a website maintained by CMS, makes quality ratings for more than 4,500 hospitals accessible to consumers.

Independent We Stand, a national small business movement, nominated Rockland Main Street Inc. as a nominee for its fourth annual America’s Main Streets contest. The winner will receive $25,000 in cash and sponsor-related prizes.

Baker Newman Noyes, an accounting and consulting firm in Portland, received ClearlyRated’s “Best of Accounting Award” for providing superior client service. Winners have proven themselves as industry leaders in service quality, based entirely on satisfaction ratings provided by their clients. The firm said it received a Net Promoter Score of 81.1%, more than three times the industry’s average of 24%, in 2019.

RE/MAX Shoreline in Portland announced Peter Hawkes was named the “#5 RE/MAX Individual Agent in Maine for 2018” and Donald & Lord were named the “#5 RE/MAX Team in Maine for 2018.” In addition, the agency said Colleen Bedard, Derrick Buckspan, Collette Conley, Richard Deering, Richie Garrett, Hawkes, Kate Kerkam, Scott Kerr, Jane Leonard, Duncan MacDougall, John Robinson and Karen Thompson were named to the “2018 RE/MAX 100% Club.”

Verrill Dana, a law firm in Portland, was recognized by corporate counsel and other legal decision makers for the second year-in-a-row for providing superior client service in the BTI Client Service A-Team 2019 report. The rankings were determined through feedback from 350 legal decision makers who provided direct, unprompted feedback and evaluated performance across 17 activities identified as driving superior client relationships.