🔒Newsworthy people and performances for May 15, 2023

New hires

Machias Savings Bank hired Jay Hood as chief lending officer. Hood worked most recently as senior vice president regional commercial banking manager at NBT Bank.

Haley & Aldrich, an environmental and geotechnical consulting firm in Boston, hired Eric Hunstein as a staff geotechnical engineer in the firm’s Portland office.

Pulse Marketing Agency in Bangor hired Julienne Bulley as a senior account manager.

The Maine Brewers’ Guild in South Portland hired Shea Cusick as executive director. Cusick was previously sales manager at Scarborough’s Nonesuch River Brewing.

Kennebec Savings Bank hired Dan Swindler as chief banking operations officer.

Legacy Properties Sotheby’s International Realty, a luxury real estate company in Portland, hired Kali Pratt as a Real Estate Professional in its Portland office.

Maine Community Bank in Westbrook hired Todd Savage as regional vice president of commercial banking for central Maine. Savage was most recently with First National Bank.

Maine Behavioral Healthcare in South Portland hired Stephanie LeBlanc as senior director of behavioral health systems and integrated services. LeBlanc was previously executive director of Oxford County Mental Health Services.

Colby College in Waterville hired Gustavo Burkett as dean of the college. Burkett, who will start the new position in July, is currently senior associate dean of diversity and community involvement at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Springworks Farm, an organic lettuce producer in Lisbon, hired Brady Sinclair as head grower. Previously, Sinclair was operations manager at Village Farms.

Promotions

Haley & Aldrich, an environmental and geotechnical consulting firm in Boston, promoted Bryan Steinert to program manager in the firm’s Portland office.

Pulse Marketing Agency in Bangor promoted Amanda Millay to senior account manager. Millay was previously a marketing and design specialist.

Bangor Savings Bank promoted Rachel Bunker to branch manager in Bar Harbor. Bunker was previously assistant branch manager in Machias.

Maine Community Bank in Westbrook promoted Jeffrey Gosselin to senior vice president, chief commercial officer; Jennifer Sirois to regional vice president of commercial banking for Southern Maine; Suzanne Carney to chief administrative officer; and Matthew Boynton to assistant branch manager at its Main Street branch in Biddeford.

Bar Harbor Bank & Trust promoted Susan Albee to vice president, branch relationship manager in Machias; Courtney Belanger to assistant vice president, branch relationship manager in South China; William Bennett to vice president, community banking relationship manager; Rebecca French to assistant vice president, branch relationship manager in Rockland; Cheryl Gray to assistant vice president, branch relationship manager in Brewer and Orono; Stacie Madrid to assistant vice president, branch relationship manager at its Stillwater Avenue and Union Street branches in Bangor; Kara Page to assistant vice president, brand relationship manager at its Main Street branch in Bangor; Aaron Small to vice president, mortgage loan originator; and Andrew Somes to vice president, branch relationship manager in Milbridge and Winter Harbor.

The Lynch Group, a family-owned, integrated group of logistics businesses in Bangor, promoted Ryan Lynch to president, Dana Burleigh to executive vice president of business development for all company divisions, Chris Haynes to vice president of operations, Nicole Kelley to vice president of human resources and safety and Roland Gendreau to controller. As part of the leadership change, Ray Lynch, owner and former president, transitioned to chairman.

Good Shepherd Food Bank promoted Bryan O’Connor to interim president, effective July 1. O’Connor is currently vice president of finance and administration. He takes over from longtime President Kristen Miale, whose tenure ends June 30.

OceanView at Falmouth, a retirement community, promoted Rita Dennis to independent sales consultant. Dennis was previously marketing and advertising coordinator.

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay promoted Beth Orcutt to vice president for research. Orcutt was a senior research scientist.

The Maine Community Foundation in Ellsworth promoted Laura Lee to vice president of community impact. Most recently, Lee was director of grantmaking.

Wright-Pierce, an environmental engineering firm in Portland, promoted Paul Birkel to president and CEO. Birkel, who has been with the firm for three decades, most served as executive vice president and wastewater practice group leader. The firm also promoted Ryan Wadsworth to wastewater process engineering manager, northeast.

Appointments

Skowhegan Savings added Stephanie Johnson to its board of directors. Johnson is executive director of Skills Inc. in St. Albans and is the firm administrator and manager of Austin Associates in Skowhegan.

The American Bankruptcy Institute selected Bernstein Shur shareholder Lindsay Zahradka Milne as co-chair of the Unsecured Trade Creditors Committee for a two-year term. In this role, Milne will lead the committee responsible for creating the educational content for the institute’s 11,000 members on issues impacting the bottom line in a bankruptcy case — recoveries to unsecured creditors.

Achievements

Golden Pond Wealth Management in Waterville announced that Brian Bernatchez was named to Forbes’ “Best-In-State Wealth Advisors” list for the fourth consecutive year. Bernatchez is the firm’s founder and managing director.

Perkins Thompson, a law firm in Portland, said it was invited to join Meritas, a global alliance of independent business law firms.

SCORE Maine, a nonprofit organization in Portland dedicated to helping entrepreneurs and small business owners succeed, announced that it ranked No. 1 in the nation for client impact in 2022. The organization provided business mentoring to more than 4,300 entrepreneurs and small business owners in 2022, helping to start 225 new businesses and create 1,258 non-owner new jobs.

Skowhegan Savings recognized outgoing board members Claire Theriault-Perkins for 16 years of service and Howard Sevey for 18 years of service on its board of directors.

Words from the Woods, an advertising agency in Portland, said that its 2022-23 work for Saddleback Mountain was named a finalist for “Best Overall Campaign” at the annual National Ski Areas Association awards.

Maine Historical Society in Portland will honor Earle Shettleworth Jr., state historian, at its annual Maine History Maker event. Shettleworth has led the charge to preserve and celebrate Maine’s historical record and built environment over the past 60 years – including a 40-year tenure as director of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission.

Voices for National Service announced that U.S. Sen. Susan Collins will receive the “Edward M. Kennedy National Service Lifetime Leadership Award” in recognition of her support for AmeriCorps.

Andy Yau of RE/MAX Shoreline in Portland was named as a “2022 RE/MAX Torchbearer.” The honor recognizes top agents, all age 40 and younger, across its U.S. and Canada regions based on transaction side counts in 2022.

The Maine Downtown Center, a program of Maine Development Foundation in Hallowell, announced that Teresa Valliere, Friends of Woodfords Corner, was named its “Downtown Hero Award” winner; Manifesting Main — Asset Mapping downtown Ellsworth was its “Downtown Project Award” winner; and Charlie Spies, retired CEO of CEI Capital Management, was named “MDF’s Champion for Forest Communities Award’ recipient.

Northern Light Mercy Hospital in Portland said it was named to Newsweek’s “Best US Hospitals” list, based on patient satisfaction, surveys of health care professionals and safety and quality measures.

The Maine Public Relations Council announced the winners of its annual Golden Arrow Awards. Individual award recipients included: “2023 Edward L. Bernays Award,” Carol Higgins Taylor; “2023 Midge Vreeland Public Service Award,” Julia Munsey; and “2023 President’s Award,” Rebecca Emery. Organizational award recipients were: Annual Reports, Maine Credit Union League, Gold, Connections Fuel Success; Communications Campaign: University of New England/TVP Communications, Gold, UNE to build broader awareness of health and medical programs; and Serra Public Affairs, Bronze, AVANGRID Aid to Canada; Crisis Management: Serra Public Affairs, Bronze, Maine Work Boots Alliance; Editorial/Op-Ed Columns: University of New England, Silver, Fortune: Doctors must get political to get the politics out of medicine; Employee Communications: Integral, Gold, Lam Research Intranet Legislative Development Series; Innovative Use of Social Media: Rinck Advertising, Gold, Sipping Point Alcohol Awareness Campaign; Integrated Communications: Rinck Advertising, Gold, Keepers of the Maine Outdoors; and Broadreach Public Relations, Gold, Maine Tax Portal; Magazines: University of New England, Silver, UNE Magazine Fall 2022: How Do We Prepare Students to Succeed in a Fractured Society?; Marketing Collateral: Serra Public Affairs, Bronze, 1820 Spirits Brand Book; Media Relations Campaign: Broadreach Public Relations, Gold, Hope Acts Funding, and Gold, SPHA Senior Home Modification Program; Marshall Communications, Gold, Maine Grains 10th Anniversary Celebration; and University of New England, Gold, Biomedical Research To Better Our World; News Release: Longfellow Communications, Gold, Communicating a New Vision for West Bayside with Port Property; Paid, Earned, Owned: Serra Public Affairs, Silver, Cobbossee Lake Association: Milfoil; Podcast: University of New England, Silver, UNE researchers on the Academic Minute; Reputation/Brand Management: Longfellow Communications, Gold, Forming an Alliance: The Impact of Rebranding the Southern Maine Landlord Association; Special Events: University of New England, Gold, Groundbreaking for the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences; Video Production: Serra Public Affairs, Bronze, CMP & Operation Reboot, Make-A-Wish: David’s Wish and Safety City at the Fair; and Best in Show: Broadreach Public Relations, SPHA Senior Home Modification Program.

Maine Coast Monkfish Stew, a product of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, was awarded a “2023 Good Food Award” by the San Francisco-based Good Food Foundation.

Ecomaine in Portland announced that Aurora Milton, a junior at Cape Elizabeth High School, won its annual Upcycle Challenge for her design and manufacturing of a jumper made from other old clothing and fabric.