Newsworthy people and performances for March 22, 2021

New hires

American Heart Association hired Brian Shankey as executive director for Northern New England. Shankey was most recently executive director for the Northern New England Chapter of JDRF International.

Machias Savings Bank hired James Edwards as senior vice president of cash management solutions in Portland. Edwards worked most recently at Camden National Bank.

Chair, a salon in South Portland, hired Jennifer Jaye Leigh. Leigh previously was owner and lead stylist at O2 Salon.

Franklin Community Health Network in Farmington hired Ryan Mastrangelo as director of communications and public affairs. Mastrangelo previously led the marketing and communications efforts at the University of Maine, Farmington.

RE/MAX Shoreline in Portland hired Scott Sheppard as a real estate agent.

New Dimensions Federal Credit Union in Waterville hired Teresa Gagne as digital branch manager. Gagne has 30 years of industry experience.

Mascoma Bank in Portland hired Tad Atwell as COO of Mascoma Community Development. Atwell has 25 years of financial services industry experience, including middle market and small business commercial banking and tax credit financing.

The Maine Jobs Council, a nonpartisan business advocacy organization in Readfield, hired Ben Lucas as executive director. Lucas previously served as a member of re-election campaign staff for U.S. Sen. Susan Collins.

Fontaine Family — the Real Estate Leader hired Rachel Grignon and Tiffany Poland.

Northern Light Health in Brewer hired Tyler Bernaiche as a colorectal surgeon. Bernaiche will practice at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and Northern Light AR Gould in Presque Isle.

Husson University in Bangor hired Steven Soba as vice president for enrollment management. Soba was previously a vice president for enrollment and marketing at Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio.

The Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor hired Lyle Cairdeas as director of collections and exhibits. Most recently, Cairdeas taught art, art history and managed gallery internships at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.

Northern Light Mercy Hospital in Portland hired Loretta Hallock as medical director if its women’s health team. Hallock, who is as a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist, was previously an attending physician at Yale Northeast Medical Group Obstetrics and Gynecology in Shelton, Conn.

Verrill, a law firm in Portland, hired Nate Menard as an associate attorney in its environmental and energy law practice. Menard previously served on active duty as a judge advocate and assistant to the general counsel in the Army Office of the General Counsel Honors Program.

Promotions

Kaplan Thompson Architects in Portland promoted Richard Lo, Adam Wallace and Rachel Redfearn to associate.

Norway Savings Bank promoted Janice Brown to vice president, commercial loan administration manager; Kurt Garascia to vice president, senior investment officer; Michelle Morse to vice president, internal auditor; Christine Munroe to vice president, Mid-Coast market manager; Todd Schryer to vice president, commercial appraisal review; Dana Fields to assistant vice president, commercial loan administrator III; Joseph Leland to assistant vice president, market manager Falmouth/Gray; Brian Siebert to assistant vice president, commercial portfolio manager; and Jane Watson to assistant vice president, market manager for the Windham-Naples area.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust promoted Rebecca French to branch relationship manager in Rockland. French was previously a customer service representative.

Atlantic Federal Credit Union in South Portland promoted Amanda Peacock to director of retail services, Robyn King to marketing content manager, Lisa Kennie to video banking supervisor, Leya Villacis to senior consumer loan officer and Stacey Murdock to deposit operations specialist II.

Benchmark, a Westbrook-based construction company, promoted Justin Gammon to assistant project manager. Gammon was site superintendent.

Morgan Stanley promoted Eric Blakeman to first vice president; William Engelberger and Stephen Roop to vice presidents; Mark Leighton to executive director; Steven Marsanskis and James Olson to senior vice presidents; Peter Metcalf to associate vice president; and Tammy Weston to a senior portfolio manager. Blakeman, Engelberger, Leighton, Marsanskis, Metcalf, Olson, Roop and Weston are financial advisors in the firm’s Portland wealth management office.

Appointments

University Credit Union in Orono elected Peter Reid as chair of its board of directors. Reid is assistant dean of the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture at the University of Maine.

Achievements

The Maine Downtown Center in Hallowell, a program of Maine Development Foundation, announced awards for three projects and individuals for their efforts during 2020 to enhance and support downtown revitalization. The Saco Scoop, a project of Saco Main Street, won the “Downtown Project Award;” MacKenzie Cayford, board member and committee chair of Main Street Skowhegan, captured the “Downtown Hero Award;” and Beacon Park in Bath was the recipients of the “Innovation Award.”

Vance Gray Wealth Management in Bangor announced that Andrew Laslie obtained his Certified Financial Planner designation.

Spurwink, a Portland-based nonprofit that provides behavioral health and educational services for children, adults and families, named Cullen Ryan, executive director of Community Housing of Maine, its “Humanitarian of the Year.” Ryan will be recognized, along with the organization’s “Frontline Heroes,” during a virtual celebration on April 7.

The Maine Real Estate & Development Association recognized five individuals for their contributions to real estate development in the state of Maine. William Shanahan, president of Northern New England Housing Investment Fund, was selected as the “Robert B. Patterson Jr. Founders’ Award” winner; Elizabeth Frazier, an associate at Pierce Atwood, and Tom Schoening, an associate at Drummond & Drummond, shared the “President’s Award;” Kevin Sutherland, director of business development at Hardypond Construction, received the “Public Policy Award;” and Mark Stasium, senior vice president in the commercial real estate lending division at Camden National Bank, won the “Volunteer of the Year Award.”

Maine Community College System in Augusta said Eastern Maine Community College’s nursing program ranked No. 1 by RegisteredNursing.org. in its “Best Nursing Schools in Maine” list based on program completion rates, the pass rate for the national licensing exam and job placement rates. Other system members ranked included Kennebec Valley Community College, fourth; Southern Maine Community College, fifth; Central Maine Community College, seventh; and Northern Maine Community College, eighth.

KeyBank announced it was named by the Human Rights Campaign as one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality” and recognized within the “2021 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index.”

Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International selected Pat Niboli, a team member at Riding to the Top in Windham, as the “Region I Volunteer of the Year” and Luke, one of the organization’s Haflingers, as “Region 1 Horse of the Year.”

Pine Tree Society, a disability services and support organization in Bath, announced that Julie Brennan, director of behavioral services, earned her Licensed Clinical Social Worker certification.

Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, Maine Maritime Academy in Castine and the University of Maine at Augusta were all named a “2021-22 Military Friendly School,” awarded by VIQTORY to institutions for their commitment and dedication to students who have served in the military.

Geiger, a promotional product distributor in Lewiston, named Gemline as its “2020 Production Partner of the Year.” The company presented its quarterly “Geiger Star Awards” to Chris Pomerleau, facilities manager, “Community Service;” Frank Pagano, digital marketing manager for the Farmers’ Almanac, “Business Achievement;” Seanna Morris, Crestline Resolutions, “Process Improvement;” Tara Praven, Jason Linneken, Joanne Hadfield, Deanna Pelletier, Jackie Asselin, Linda Darling, Julia Gavin, Sarah Whitcher, Cheryl Mercer and Ann Marie Payne, accounts receivable, “Customer Satisfaction” and “Business Achievement;” and Evan Smith, Sean Berce, Becci Cayer and Devon Irish, IT, “Business Achievement.”

Northern Light Health in Brewer named Nirav Shah, Jeanne Lambrew and Ntension Corp. as recipients of its inaugural “True North Community Partner Awards.” Shah is the director of Maine CDC, Lambrew is Maine commissioner of Health and Human Services and Ntension Corp. is a Hermon-based fabricator of exhibits for tradeshows, museums and permanent environments.

RE/MAX Shoreline in Portland announced that Erin Finley and Peter Hawkes each received a “2020 RE/MAX 100% Award,” Harper Lee Collins was named “RE/MAX’s No. 1 2020 Luxury Specialist in Maine” and Alex Kappelman and Scott Kerr were both presented with the “100% Club Award by RE/MAX LLC for 2020.”

The Land Trust Accreditation Commission, a program promoting the highest national standards for ensuring permanence in the conservation of American lands, announced that Presumpscot Regional Land Trust achieved first-time accreditation and Harpswell Heritage Land Trust and Orono Land Trust achieved first renewal of accreditation.

Northeast Hearing & Speech in Portland recognized Laurie Mack, executive director, and Jackie Reifer, speech-language pathologist, each for 30 years with the organization and Tara Jacquet, speech-language pathologist team leader, for 25 years.

Brian Bernatchez, founder and managing director of Golden Pond Wealth Management in Waterville, was named to Forbes Magazine’s 2021 list of “Best-In-State Wealth Advisors” for the second consecutive year. The firm also announced it was included in LPL Financials’ “Executive Council,” an award presented to less than 1% of the firm’s more than 17,000 financial advisors nationwide and that Katie Brann, a financial advisor, has been authorized by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards to use the Certified Financial Planner and CFP certification.

Brann & Isaacson, a law firm in Portland, said attorney Peter Brann will teach a course at Harvard Law School on “The Role of the State Attorney General” for the Spring 2021 semester marking the 10th consecutive year he has taught the course at either Columbia, Yale or Harvard Law.

Allen Insurance and Financial in Camden said Anna Moorman was recognized for Medicare supplement sales in 2020 by Anthem. Moorman is one of two agents at the firm who specialize in Medicare insurance.

Androscoggin Bank in Lewiston announced it was one of only nine banks in the U.S. to become a Certified B Corp., a designation awarded for meeting the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability.

The Portland International Jetport announced that it was named “Best Airport in North America” for the 2-5 million passenger category in Airport Council International’s Airport Service Quality program for a fourth consecutive year.

The Portland Water District was awarded the “Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting” by the Government Finance Officers Association. The certificate is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting.

Morgan Stanley announced that Gary Bergeron, Josh Burns, Jay Cross, Todd Doolan and Mark Leighton were named to Forbes Magazine’s 2021 list of “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors.” Bergeron, Burns, Cross and Doolan are senior vice presidents, financial advisors and Leighton is executive director in the firm’s Portland Wealth Management office.

Marshall Communications in Augusta was honored with two “Golden Arrow Awards” from the Maine Public Relations Council at the 2020 Virtual MPRC Awards Ceremony. The firm won gold in the video/podcast category for “The PR Maven Podcast” and silver for its media relations campaign for Trek Across Maine.