🔒Newsworthy people and performances for Jan. 9, 2023

New hires

Affinity Care of Maine, a hospice provider in South Portland, hired Ashley Baker as clinical director and Christa Sparks as office manager. Baker previously worked at Northern Light while Sparks was at 75 State Street Assisted Living.

The Maine Senior Games hired Karen Reardon as games coordinator. Reardon recently retired from South Portland High School.

Ethos|VONT, a marketing agency in Westbrook, hired Amanda Allen as digital client strategist, Abigail Baum as an account manager, Allison Blackstone as creative director, Jeffery Cobbett as UX analyst, Emily Earle as social media content strategist, Lauren Healy as PR and influencer marketing manager and Peter Peterson as digital advertising specialist.

Verrill, a law firm in Portland, hired Maye Emlein, Brody Haverly-Johndro and Abby Plummer as associates. Emlein will be completing a rotation for the remainder of 2022, Haverly-Johndro joined the firm’s energy, telecommunications and natural resources group and Plummer joined the business law group.

Spinnaker Trust in Portland hired Taylor James and David Phelps as assistant portfolio managers. James was previously a client relationship associate at Vigilant Capital Management LLC in Portland while Phelps was a project finance analyst at ReVision Energy in South Portland.

The Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Service hired John Hudak as director of the Office of Cannabis Policy. Hudak, who is considered an expert on state, national and international cannabis policy, was with the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. where he served as deputy director of the Center for Effective Public Management and as a senior fellow in governance studies.

Maine Source Homes & Realty in Auburn hired Dawn Lopez as a sales agent/realtor.

Portland Ovations hired Elizabeth Schildkret as director of school and family programs. Schildkret was previously assistant manager for theater education at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Waban Projects, a social services organization in Sanford, hired Pamela Zagorski as director of operations.

Baker Newman Noyes, a CPA and accounting firm in Portland, hired John Hurley joins as chief people officer.

Promotions

Ethos|VONT, a marketing agency in Westbrook, promoted Robyn Dionne to COO, Hannah Richards to director of brand engagement, Sarah Price to director of behavior change marketing and account director, Sol Dostilio to director of media services, Kiersten Scarpati to director of finance, Nicole Sacco to director of digital advertising, Joanna Woods to social media and content team lead, Lauren Girouard to SEO team lead, Amy Steenstra to account manager, Morgan Houk to PR and social media coordinator and Justin Lumiere to video editor and motion designer.

Norway Savings Bank promoted Savannah Rioux to supervisor in Bridgton. Rioux was previously a customer relations representative.

Gov. Janet Mills promoted Scott Ogden to deputy chief of staff and Ben Goodman to deputy press secretary. Ogden was the Governor’s director of communications while Goodman was legislative liaison for policy and external communications for the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.

Zachau Construction in Freeport promoted Drew Wing to president, Bruce Hilfrank to senior vice president and project executive, Curtis Thormann to vice president of operations and Michael Packard and Daryl Norton to senior superintendents.

WBRC, an engineering-architecture firm in Bangor, promoted Ray Bolduc to president and CEO. Bolduc, a senior principal, was previously director of the firm’s education studio.

The Finance Authority of Maine in Augusta promoted Jay Beck to commercial loan officer, Shelly Desiderio to director of finance and Scott Weber to senior credit and risk officer. In addition, Jennifer Cummings, director of business, has taken on additional responsibilities in overseeing the organization’s business finance programs.

HM Payson, an integrated financial advisory firm in Portland, promoted David Hines to deputy chief investment officer and Benjamin Michaud to director of research. Hines was director of research and Michaud was head of equity research.

Appointments

The Maine State Chamber of Commerce elected LuAnn Ballesteros as board chair, Bob Montgomery-Rice as first vice chair and Ann Robinson as second vice chair of its board of directors. Ballesteros is vice president of external and government affairs for The Jackson Laboratory, Montgomery-Rice is president and CEO of Bangor Savings Bank and Robinson is a partner at Pierce Atwood.

Finance Authority of Maine elected the Hon. Richard Trafton as chair, Dustin Brooks as vice chair and Rebecca Asen as treasurer. Trafton is a partner at Trafton, Matzen, Belleau & Frenette; Brooks is vice president of market strategy at Unum Group; and Asen is director of attorney recruiting and professional development at Bernstein Shur.

Husson University in Bangor elected Dan Hutchins as chair and Phil Harriman as vice chair of its board of trustees. Hutchins is a retired accountant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers while Harriman is the founding partner of Lebel & Harriman LLP.

WBRC, an engineering-architecture firm in Bangor, elected Rob Frank, senior principal and chief business development officer, board chair and Doug Whitney, senior principal and former president and CEO, chair emeritus effective Jan. 1, 2023.

Achievements

Evergreen Credit Union in Portland said it received the “Lender at Work for Maine Award” from the Finance Authority of Maine in the category for lenders with less than $1.5 billion in assets. In the past year the two organizations partnered on 12 loans to Maine companies totaling $7 million that helped create 34 Maine jobs and retain 132 jobs.

Good Shepherd Food Bank of Maine’s frozen vegetable company Harvesting Good, in partnership with Sodexo, Native Maine, W.R. Allen and Jasper Wyman & Son, was awarded a “2022 New England Food Vision Prize,” funded by the Henry P. Kendall Foundation. The award included a $200,000 grant to support the marketing of locally grown and frozen broccoli florets and expand the food processing infrastructure in the Northeast.

MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta won four “2023 Women’s Choice Awards,” including recognition as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Patient Experience and best hospital honors in cancer care, orthopedics and mammogram imaging.

Redbird Media Group LLC, a video production company in Freeport, announced it is now a Certified B Corp.

NOAA and the American Fisheries Society named Ciona Ulbrich the “2022 Dr. Nancy Foster Habitat Conservation Award” winner for demonstrating exceptional achievement and dedication to habitat conservation. Ulbrich is a senior project manager at Maine Coast Heritage Trust in Mount Desert.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust recognized 12 employees during its Employee Appreciation Week for outstanding contributions to the organization in 2022. Michelle Butler and Heidi Grindle won the “Communication Award;” Mariah-Ann Lunderville and Kara Page, “Initiative Award;” Lara Horner and Penny MacFarlane, “Positivity Award;” Deb Johnson and Kim Wright, “Professionalism Award;” Keri Denis and Leanne James, “Quality Award;” and Jenna Beal and Heather Brackett, “Teamwork Award.”

Maine Medical Center in Portland and Southern Maine Health Care in Biddeford were each named a “2022 Top Teaching Hospital” by The Leapfrog Group. The two hospitals were also included on a list of “Best Hospitals in America for Billing Ethics” by Money.com, in partnership with Leapfrog.

The American Heart Association named Jeanine Jarowicz, CEO of New England Rehabilitation Hospital of Portland, and Mike Vail, president of Hannaford Supermarkets, as its “2023 Crystal Heart” award winners.