In short from April 5, 2010 | A roundup of new hires, promotions, accolades and appointments from Maine's business community

New Hires

Next Day Art, an art licensing company in Portland, recently hired Laura Serino as licensing account manager.

Androscoggin Head Start and Child Care in Lewiston recently hired Donna Driscoll as disabilities manager. It also promoted Susan Staples to family services manager.

Gould Academy in Bethel recently hired Chris Hayward as assistant director of admissions. Hayward previously worked as program director at Summit Achievement, a residential treatment center in Stow.

Fendler Communications, a public relations and marketing firm in Yarmouth, recently hired Tim King as senior public relations counselor. King previously worked as account manager and PR specialist at Ethos Marketing and Design in Westbrook.

Oxford Networks in Lewiston recently hired Russell Andrews as sales engineer and project manager.

Patient Advocates, a community of nurses and other professionals helping employers navigate the health care system in Gray, recently hired Renee Lizotte as wellness program manager.

Jan Jacques & Co. of Keller Williams Realty Mid-Maine in Auburn, recently hired Marnie DuBois as buyer specialist and Marnie Coleman as listings manager.

Putney Inc., a pet pharmaceutical company in Portland, recently hired Anthony Lucas as director of product development. Previously, Lucas was the group leader for companion animal acquisitions for Elanco, headquartered in Greenfield, Ind.

Legacy Publishing Co. in Westbrook recently hired Meaghan Moughty as e-mail marketing manager.

Maurices, a national specialty store in Topsham, recently hired Karami Ham as store manager.

TD Insurance Inc. in South Portland recently hired Leah Halsey as an account executive in employee benefits.

The Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce recently hired Johann Sabbath as director of program development and membership value. Previously, Sabbath was a field organizer with Change That Works in Augusta.

Promotions

The Institute for Financial Literacy in Portland recently hired Mitch Ronco as the director of business development and Margaret Huber as call center supervisor. It also promoted Rachael Stevenson to program services manager and Aaron Smith to operations manager.

Sage Data Security Inc., an information security firm in South Portland, recently promoted Joe Kurlanksi to vice president.

Katahdin Trust Co. in Houlton recently promoted Brian Gardiner to senior vice president, commercial services officer.

Willis of Northern New England Inc., an insurance broker in Auburn, recently promoted Andre Schehr to vice president, client advocacy.

Appointments

Gov. John Baldacci recently appointed Samuel Collins, Michelle Hood and Benjamin Goodman to the University of Maine System Board of Trustees, and also reappointed Paul Mitchell and Victoria Murphy to the board. He recently appointed Kenneth Hoeflick and Christopher McCormick to the Maine Community College System Board of Trustees, and reappointed Robert Clark, Dennis King and Cynthia Phinney to the board. In addition, he appointed Mark Sampson to the Board of Directors of Maine State Housing Authority, John Dority to the Maine Turnpike Authority and Dale Gordon and Craig Kesselheim to the Maine School of Science and Math board. He also reappointed Richard Oravetz to the board.

The Maine Marketing Association in Portland recently appointed Susan Foote as secretary. Foote previously worked in the marketing department of Jenner & Block, a law firm in Chicago.

HealthReach Community Health Centers in Waterville recently appointed Steve Ball and Gaetane Johnson to its board of directors.

The Construction Management Association of America recently appointed JP Schwartz as president for the Maine Student Chapter in Scarborough.

Dennis King, CEO of Spring Harbor Hospital in Westbrook, recently became a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a professional society for health care leaders.

Clark Insurance in Portland recently appointed Kenneth Ross as president and treasurer by its board of directors. The company also elected F. Dale Hudson as chairman, Gail Lind as vice president of operations and secretary and G. Jeffrey Shaw as vice president of sales.

Hospice of Southern Maine in Scarborough recently appointed Edward McGeachey, president and chief executive officer for Southern Maine Medical Center in Biddeford, and Roland Eon, senior vice president of Paquin & Carroll Insurance in Biddeford, to its board of directors.

Carolyn Krahn, director of sales at the Comfort Suites Hotel of Freeport, was recently nominated to the Freeport Merchants Association Board of Directors.

The Portland Water District Board of Trustees recently re-elected William Lunt as president and elected Gary Lorfano as vice president. David Kane was reconfirmed as treasurer and Donna Katsiaficas was reconfirmed as clerk.

Spotlight

BitSec Global Forensics, a computer forensics and information security trainer in Augusta, recently provided anti-cyber terrorism training to members of the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok.

The U.S. State Department’s Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program, which trains civilian security and law enforcement personnel from friendly governments, sponsored the training.

BitSec Global Forensics authored the information security training for the Royal Thai Police and delivered the five-day special program in March. The program focused on management issues related to special police units that are tasked with conducting cyber investigations and computer forensics.

Through the Anti-Terrorism Assistance Program, BitSec Global Forensics has trained law enforcement units in more than 15 countries on five continents.

Company News

RE/MAX By The Bay in Portland recently announced that its commercial division will be a full-service brokerage, specializing in the sale and leasing of commercial real estate in Greater Portland and southern Maine.

Penobscot Environmental Consulting Inc. recently announced it is moving its offices from Yarmouth to 420 Belfast Road in Camden.

Add Verb Productions in Portland recently announced the launch of its new website, www.addverbproductions.org, in conjunction with a new logo.

State Credit Union in Augusta recently announced it distributed $43,250 to local hunger organizations in Kennebec and Somerset counties.

The TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank in Portland, recently donated $30,000 to the Preble Street food program to help with the organization’s increased demand.

KICTeam, a manufacturer of cleaning cards in Auburn, recently announced the release of its new Waffletechnology Smart Card Reader Cleaning Card.

Maine & Maritimes Corp. in Presque Isle recently announced that it has entered into a merger agreement with BHE Holdings Inc., a subsidiary of Emera Inc. in Bangor. Emera plans to purchase all outstanding shares of Maine & Maritimes common stock for $45 per share.

U.S. Cellular recently announced the addition of two new cell sites in Casco and Waterford. The new site in Casco will increase its coverage and network capacity in town along routes 11, 121 and 302, and along Route 85 in Raymond. The new site in Waterford will increase U.S. Cellular’s coverage in that town and along routes 35, 37 and 118.

Goodwill Industries of Northern New England recently celebrated the grand opening of its new South Portland store.

Bowdoin College in Brunswick was recently awarded a $50,000 grant from the Maine Public Utilities Commission toward the installation of a solar hot water project for the college’s largest dining hall.

Southern Maine Community College in South Portland and Saint Joseph’s College in Standish recently signed a transfer articulation agreement that will allow justice majors at the two-year school, Southern Maine Community College, to enroll in the four-year bachelor’s degree program at Saint Joseph’s without losing credits.

The Maine Technology Institute recently awarded seed grants of up to $12,500 to the following organizations: JK Enterprises in Bangor; RainStorm Inc. in Orono; Environetix Technologies Corp. in Orono; Swans Island Blankets in Northport; Compost Maine in Union; American Solartechnics in Searsport; Maine Blue Stream Power in Blue Hill; Advanced Technologies for Forestry and Agriculture Maine Coast Heritage Trust in Topsham; Kennebec Cider Co. in Winthrop; Torrefaction Technologies USA in Portland; Technological Innovations in Sanford; Flagsuit in Southwest Harbor; Atayne in Brunswick; and Biovation in Boothbay. The University of Maine in Orono received two separate grants, one for biotech and another for environmental technology.

University of Maine at Farmington has been awarded a $1.154 million grant, in software and services over five years, by the CampusEAI Consortium to support the creation of a web 2.0 myCampus portal that will provide the university’s campus community with an Internet gateway to information.

The Maine Real Estate Investors Group in Auburn recently announced it has begun operations with the following nine chapters: Androscoggin; Augusta-Waterville; Bath-Brunswick; Norway-Paris; Western Maine; York; Bangor-Brewer; MidCoast; and Windham.

Integral Consulting Inc. recently announced the opening of its new office at 45 Exchange St. in Portland.

WGME-TV and WPFO-TV in Portland recently announced that they will be expanding FOX23’s weeknight local news and adding a morning news segment.

Efficiency Maine, a program of the Maine Public Utilities Commission, recently awarded a total of $1.3 million in grants to the following four Maine community colleges to support their work in energy efficiency and renewable energy programs: Northern Maine Community College; Eastern Maine Community College; Kennebec Valley Community College; and Southern Maine Community College.

Boothbay Harbor Sewer District is receiving a $250,000 grant from the Department of Agriculture as well as a $342,000 loan for repairs to its downtown sewer system.

Great Falls Construction in Gorham was recently awarded a contract to remodel the Cookie Jar Bakery in Cape Elizabeth.

The First Bancorp, headquartered in Damariscotta, recently declared a quarterly dividend of 19.5 cents per share. This first-quarter dividend, which is payable April 30 to shareholders of record as of April 5, is equal to the 19.5 cents per share declared in the previous six quarters.

United Way of York County recently awarded $820,000 in community grants to nonprofit organizations.

Fox Intercultural Consulting Services in Falmouth recently launched the Maine China Business Center in Beijing and Shanghai with receptions for Mainers in China. The goal of the center is to build Maine-China business and cultural ties.

Zeomatrix, a developer of clean technology products in Orono, recently announced that it has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovative Research award from the National Science Foundation for $489,645 to further advance its Z-SEP patent pending ceramic filtration technology.

Occupational Medical Consulting in Leeds recently announced it has added Sebasticook Valley Hospital in Pittsfield and Barber Foods in Portland to its list of Wellness Works clients.

Turn Key Homes of Maine in Oxford recently announced it has begun to sell modular homes built by Keiser, a modular home manufacturer in Oxford.

The Maine Innkeepers Education Foundation, affiliated with the Maine Innkeepers Association, recently announced it is accepting applications for its 26th annual scholarship program. Applications must be received before April 9 and will be reviewed by a selection committee.

Bangor Savings Bank recently celebrated the grand opening of its branch in Old Town on Stillwater Avenue.

Berry, Dunn, McNeil and Parker, an accounting firm in Portland, recently announced that Anita Langley, a senior consultant in the firm’s management and information technology consulting group, was awarded the certified information systems auditor credential from the Information Systems Audit and Control Association.

Robert Meyer, a physician at MaineGeneral’s Workplace Health in Kennebec Valley, recently renewed his qualifications as medical review officer with the Medical Review Officer Certification Council, an independent physician-based certifying body.

The Maine Humanities Council in Portland recently presented Joseph Conforti with the Constance H. Carlson Public Humanities prize for recognition of exemplary contributions to public humanities in Maine.

Accolades

Penobscot Bay Medical Center in Rockport recently received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Stroke Silver Plus Performance Achievement Award.

The Maine Dental Access Coalition recently named Barbara Covey, emergency medicine physician at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Waterville, as one of its oral health heroes. MaineGeneral Medical Center’s CarePartners staff were also recently recognized by the Maine Health Access Foundation.

NUA Advisors in Portland, an investment advisory firm, was recently named a 2010 Five Star Wealth Manager by Crescendo Business Services, an independent research firm, which included a survey of high-net-worth investors, as well as financial industry professionals.

Trapper Clark and Thomas Sturtevant, president and corporate vice president, respectively, of Alcom Inc. in Waterville, were recently named Maine Small Business Persons of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The U.S. Small Business Administration also awarded the following: Ruth Cash-Smith, women’s business counselor at the Women’s Business Center at CEI in Machias, Women in Business Champion of the Year; Phillip Lander, president of Atlantic Defense Co. in Westbrook, Veteran Small Business Champion of the Year; and Becky McKinnell, creative director/founder of iBec Creative in Portland, Young Entrepreneur of the Year.

Tiffany Hampton, sales associate at Century 21 Samia in Westbrook, recently earned the Century 21 System’s Centurion Producer Award following her 2009 sales success.

Bill McQuaid, assistant vice president and CIO at Parkview Adventist Medical Center in Brunswick, was presented with ComputerWorld Magazine’s 2010 Premier 100 IT Leaders award.

The LimeRock Inn in Rockland was recently chosen as “Most Affordable Luxury Inn” by readers of The Complete Guide to Bed & Breakfasts, Inns and Guesthouses International.

Jan Jacques of Jan Jacques and Co. in Auburn was recently awarded sales agent of the year for 2009 by Keller Williams Realty Mid Maine.

Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington recently announced it is one of five hospitals statewide to receive the gold star award for the 2010 Maine Tobacco-Free Hospital Network Gold Star Standards of Excellence Recognition Program.

The Junior Achievement Maine Business Hall of Fame recently welcomed the following as laureates: Michael Dubyak, chairman and CEO of Wright Express in South Portland; Harold Pachios, senior partner at Preti Flaherty in Portland; and Joan Benoit Samuelson, founder and chair of the TD Bank Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race.

R.J. Grondin and Sons, a construction firm in Gorham, recently received the National Safety Excellence Award from the Associated Builders and Contractors.

Legacy Publishing Co. in Westbrook recently announced that employees Anne Peabody in Westbrook and Charlie Glavin in Brunswick achieved diamond sales status.

Leslie Morissette, founder and executive director of Grahamtastic in Springvale, a nonprofit that provides laptops and Internet connection to critically ill children nationwide, recently became a TD Bank home court hero.

Pender Lazenby, chief risk officer at Northeast Bank in Portland, was recently named volunteer of the year by the Portland chapter of the SCORE Association and awarded the Chairman’s Cup for work as a presenter for the organization.

Pen Bay Healthcare in Rockport recently announced that Barbara Flint, receptionist for Pen Bay Orthopaedics, is the organization’s employee of the month for February 2010.

Jamie Belleau, a partner at law firm Skelton Taintor & Abbott in Auburn, was recently named the Bob Boucher Coach of the Year for the East Region by the Maine Class A Coaches Association.

Haven’s Candies, with locations in Portland, Scarborough, and Westbrook, was a recent award winner in the best new specialty food category at the 2010 New England Products Trade Show held in Portland.

Lisa Bonci of Bonci Design, a strategic graphic design and marketing firm in Kittery Point, recently earned two national graphic design awards from the Service Industry Advertising Awards.

Simply Divine Brownies, a brownie company in Freeport and Portland, recently announced that it will be making its third appearance on The Food Network in a new episode of “Unwrapped” called “21st Century Chocolate” scheduled to first appear April 12.

The Gardiner Board of Trade recently presented Maine Drilling and Blasting in Gardiner with the President’s Award; Paul Pidgeon and Kathleen Peters of Gardiner Family Chiropractic in Gardiner with the Director’s Award; Black Diamond Consultants in Gardiner with the Technology Business of the Year Award; and Dennison Lubricants in Gardiner with the New Business of the Year Award.