In Short from Dec. 15, 2008 | A roundup of new hires, promotions, accolades and appointments from Maine's business community

New Hires

The Maine Institute for Human Genetics and Health recently hired biomedical research scientists Roger Phipps and Xiong Li to build its translational research programs.

Sue Medley was recently hired by Literacy Volunteers of Bangor as assistant to the executive director. Medley was previously president of Gladjean Consulting Inc., a consulting firm specializing in organizational, group and team dynamics.

Baker Newman Noyes, an accounting firm in Portland, recently hired the following: Stephanie Svenonius as tax supervising senior, Brandi Campbell as tax senior accountant, Rebecca Carrier as tax senior accountant, Susan McHugh as healthcare management consulting division staff II consultant and Stephanie Richio as healthcare management consulting division staff I consultant. Previously, Svenonius worked as a manager at Vitale, Caturano in Boston, Campbell worked for William Steele & Assoc., Carrier was general manager at Liberty Tax Service, McHugh was a Medicare auditor II at Anthem and Richio was an operations and cash administrator at Ram Trust Company.

Allen & Selig Realty recently hired Allison Pilitsis. Previously, Pilitsis was a business owner in the Hospitality and Travel Industry serving Fortune 500 companies with their incentive travel programs around the world.

Portland’s Downtown District recently hired Katie Booker as administrative assistant and special projects coordinator. Previously, Booker worked for the CW, WPXT and My TV WPME Portland/Lewiston.

Yes! Marketing Group of Yarmouth recently hired Eric Hoffsten as creative director. Previously, Hoffsten worked as a freelance designer from his office in Freeport.

Macdonald Page & Co LLC, a certified public accounting firm with offices in South Portland and Augusta, recently hired Luanne Hovey as a senior accountant in its Augusta office.

Licensed sales agents Jubal Zimmerman and Megan Brackett were recently hired at Weichert Realtors — Waterglen Group in Portland. Previously, Zimmerman was an engineer in the gas and oil industry in Texas and Brackett worked as a sales and customer service representative with a local retailer.

Portland law firm Drummond Woodsum recently hired the following attorneys: Brianne Martin as a member of the trial services group, Christopher Stevenson as a member of the business services group, Jordan McColman as a member of the business services group and Mark Paige as a member of the school law practice group.

The Acadia Hospital in Bangor recently hired David Proffitt as its president and CEO. Previously, Proffitt worked as superintendent at the Riverview Psychiatric Hospital in Augusta.

Berry Talbot Royer, a full-service certified public accounting firm in Falmouth, recently hired Todd Desjardins as the new senior audit manager.

Pen Bay Healthcare recently hired Jessica Andrews, a pediatric occupational therapist, in its Mid-Coast Speech and Hearing division. Previously, Andrews worked at North Shore ARC Family Support and Early Intervention Center in Danvers, Mass.

Norway Savings Bank recently hired Janet Ross as vice president and special assets officer in its Portland office. Previously, Ross was a special assets manager with another local financial institution.

Christine Mecham recently was hired at Uhl-Melanson Investor Services in Waterville as marketing coordinator. Previously, Mecham was a marketing officer for a federally chartered credit union.

Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution recently hired Allison Steele as the assistant manager of its new Westbrook branch. Previously, Steele was the assistant manager of the Saco branch of the Savings Bank of Maine.

Kepware, a software developer in Portland, recently hired Brett Austin as CFO. Austin previously worked for CB Richard Ellis/The Boulos Co.

The Maine Bar Foundation recently hired Meghan Smith as campaign coordinator for the foundation’s Campaign for Justice. Smith will head efforts to raise funds for Maine’s six legal aid providers: Cumberland Legal Aid Clinic, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, Legal Services for the Elderly, Maine Equal Justice Partners, Maine Volunteer Lawyers Project and Pine Tree Legal Assistance.

Attorneys Chelsea Fournier and Anthony Ten Haagen recently were hired by Preti Flaherty as associates in the firm’s Portland office. Fournier will practice in the firm’s Business Law Group with a concentration in business planning and intellectual property law. Ten Haagen will practice in the firm’s health law and litigation groups. Previously, Fournier worked with Gosselin & Dubord PA in Lewiston and Ten Haagen was a legal intern with the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.

Merrill Bank recently hired Allen Campbell as vice president and regional manager of the Merrill Bank branch. Allen will specialize in small business lending and business development. Previously, Allen worked as branch manager and business development officer at TD Banknorth.

Jacquelyn Watson-Arsenault recently joined the dental staff of Bingham Area Health Center.

Tom Hansen was recently hired at Chartrand Imports in Rockland as director of sales and marketing. Previously, Hansen was the fine wine buyer at Hannaford Bros. Co.’s corporate office in Scarborough.

Promotions

Leann Sebrey has been named clinical nurse manager at Kno-Wal-Lin Home Care and Hospice in Rockland. Sebrey has been at Kno-Wal-Lin since 1996, beginning as a staff nurse.

Saco & Biddeford Savings Institution recently announced the following promotions: Joe Reardon has been promoted to customer service representative, Stephanie Bailey has been selected as the customer service officer and Jeff Roberts has been promoted to network/telecom manager. Previously, Reardon was head teller, Bailey was a customer service representative and Roberts was a senior network support specialist.

Kennebunk Savings Bank recently announced that William Saufley has been named chief risk officer. He will be responsible for overseeing all compliance, audit and legal services for Kennebunk Savings Bank and its subsidiaries. Saufley was previously senior vice president.

First Wind, an independent North American wind power company, recently promoted Kurt Adams from senior vice president of transmission to executive vice president and chief development officer. He will be responsible for the development of First Wind projects nationwide. Prior to joining First Wind, Adams served as chairman of the Maine Public Utilities Commission.

Appointments

College of the Atlantic recently announced that William Foulke Jr. is now chairman of its board of trustees. In addition, three members have joined the board: Tom Cox, Wing Goodale and Hank Schmelzer. Jay McNally has returned to the board after stepping down to help launch the college’s green business program.

Androscoggin Head Start and Child Care’s directors recently announced officers for 2008 through 2009: Matthew Mastrogiacomo as chairperson, Elwood Trask as vice chairperson, Todd Abbotoni as treasurer and Catherine Yamoah as secretary. Joining Androscoggin Head Start and Child Care’s board of directors are Elaine Makas, Douglas Henry, Carlene Iverson, Rene Dumont and David White.

Bernstein Shur attorney Jeffrey Thaler was recently elected co-chair of the Environmental and Energy Technology Council of Maine. A shareholder at Bernstein Shur, Thaler has been on the board of the Council since its founding last year.

David Hartley of the University of Southern Maine Muskie School of Public Service has been appointed by Secretary Mike Leavitt of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services. The 21-member panel provides recommendations on rural health and human services issues to the secretary.

Spotlight

Michael LaCombe, a cardiologist at MaineGeneral Medical Center in Portland, has co-edited three collections of poems and stories by and about physicians published by the American College of Physicians. “On Being a Doctor 3” is a collection of short stories, essays and poems by physicians and patients that originally appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine, a medical journal. Selections cover many themes, including death and dying; learning and teaching medicine; aging; and how doctors relate to their patients. His other anthology, “Whatever Houses We May Visit” is a collection of poems and a companion piece to “The Last Half Hour of the Day,” an anthology of inspirational stories and essays. LaCombe is also the author of “Medicine Made Clear: House Calls from a Maine Country Doctor,” “The Pocket Doctor” and “The Pocket Pediatrician.”

Company News

Maine Traditional Karate recently opened a new location in Orrington. The school teaches beginner and advanced kickboxing, kettle bell training, yoga and specialty black belt classes.

PATCO Construction, a Sanford-based company, recently secured the exclusive rights to design and build woman-centric homes in York, Cumberland, Sagadahoc and Androscoggin counties in Maine and Belknap, Strafford and Rockingham counties in New Hampshire.

University Credit Union of Maine recently announced an Alternative Education Loan Program. This new program is designed to address the gap between the cost of school attendance and traditional financing options.

Golden Pond Wealth Management in Waterville recently announced that Stephanie Czado has passed her Series 7 and Series 66 exam and has been promoted to financial advisor.

Virtual Managed Solutions of Caribou is collaborating with Prometric, a global provider of technology-enabled testing and assessment services. VMSUS will offer Prometric testing and certifications for Information Technology arenas in northern Maine.

MMG Insurance Co. in Presque Isle recently announced the transfer of Paul Kinney from commercial lines lead underwriter to examiner in the property claims department.

The Portland office of Canada-based engineering firm Stantec is designing a major portion of a multimillion-dollar expansion of the international airport in Nassau, Bahamas.

Green Acres Kennel Shop in Bangor recently announced the following employee certifications: Rachael Bridges, a pet care technician, has earned Level I certification through the Pet Care Services Association and Angela Allen, a dog trainer, has earned Level I certification through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers.

Coastal Enterprises Inc. a nonprofit community development and finance organization based in Wiscasset, recently received a $50,000 grant from The Home Depot Foundation to make improvements to the Western Glen development in Farmington.

The nonprofit Wintergreen Arts Center in Presque Isle plans to move from the Aroostook Center Mall to downtown Presque Isle. Tony Burgess and Glenn Capp made the relocation possible by  offering a 10-year lease agreement to the Wintergreen Arts Center in their downtown building.

Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington has implemented a new remote intensive care unit monitoring system, Franklin eICU, to help doctors and nurses monitor patient care.

Norway’s Main Street Maine community has launched a major fundraising drive to help save the historic Opera House. It is selling “The Duncan E. Slade Paints Norway, Maine: a Year in a Small Town 2009” calendar, which is available in many outlets on Main Street and on www. norwaydowntown.org.

Aroostook County has received $290,000 from two Community Development Block Grants from the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. Northern Maine Development Commission will be the administrative agent of the grant for various Small Business Development Centers to provide training and counseling to micro-enterprise businesses.

Osram Sylvania in Danvers, Mass. has outfitted Pineland Farms, a 5,000-acre working farm, business campus and educational and recreational venue in New Gloucester, with more than 200 LED street-lighting fixtures.

Martin’s Point Health Care, based in Portland, has expanded the coverage area for Generations Advantage, a Medicare health plan for Maine seniors, into four more counties. Generations Advantage is now available in Androscoggin, Aroostook, Cumberland, Franklin, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Sagadahoc, York and Waldo counties.

Pittston Farm in Rockwood is using wind and solar power to decrease the use of fossil fuel emissions at its year-round resort, formerly the home of Great Northern Paper Company’s woodlands operation.

SMRT, an architecture/engineering firm in Portland, has recently completed a design for the renovation of Hebron Academy’s athletic center, adding architectural details like outside panels set up to represent Pi and window glazing set up in the Fibonacci sequence.

Anne-Marie McKenzie of Allen & Selig Realty in North Yarmouth has achieved the “Multi-Million Dollar” level in sales.

Islandport Press, an independent book publishing company, has moved its offices from the Pineland Farms campus in New Gloucester where it was located for four years to 267 U.S. Route One, Unit B, in Yarmouth.

iContact, a provider of e-mail marketing software for small and mid-sized businesses in Durham, N.C., has secured $5 million in funding from Portland-based venture capital firm, North Atlantic Capital.

Gov. John Baldacci recently joined local, state and federal officials to welcome Boston Financial Data Services to Rockland in a ribbon cutting ceremony at the former MBNA facility.

Coastal Enterprises Inc. in Wiscasset has been awarded $112 million in tax credit allocations by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to invest in business expansion in low-income communities in Maine and the Northeast. Under the New Markets Tax Credit Program, 60% of the allocation will be used to target private investments in rural areas.

The Anchorage By The Sea Resort in Ogunquit has retained The Carella Co. of North Hampton, N.H., to produce all of its marketing and sales collateral. The Carella Co. will develop a new brand marketing plan for Anchorage By The Sea.

Allen & Selig Realty of North Yarmouth has opened a branch office in Bath to provide full service real estate brokerage services to buyers and sellers of residential and commercial real estate in the Midcoast. The new office is located at 15 Vine St.

Time Warner Cable Business Class in Portland is now offering area businesses an alternative to private data networking solutions with its Business Class Ethernet. Business Class Ethernet — designed primarily for small- to medium-sized businesses, or those without access to fiber networks — complements Time Warner’s existing fiber-based Ethernet service geared to larger enterprise customers.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has ranked KeyBank N.A. in Portland the top bank in deposits in Maine as of June 2008 in its latest “Deposit Market Share Report.” The last time Key led in FDIC’s Maine deposit rankings was in 1997. The report ranked 39 banks doing business in Maine and said that Key’s deposits totaled more than $2.57 billion as of June 2008 for a total market share of 13.16% in Maine. This was up from 12.96% in June 2007 and 12.77% in June 2006.

Bernard Featherman, president and chief executive officer of the Biddeford Saco Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Saco, retired Nov. 14 after serving as president for the last four years.

Blue Marble Geographics in Gardiner exhibited at the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Symposium in Nashville, Tenn., in late October.

Diana Joyner of Ogunquit has been selected as president of Laudholm Trust, the Wells nonprofit organization that provides financial and in-kind support to the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve.

Educator and artist Kit Munroe-Myers has begun offering classes at the new Waterstone Studio, at 1 Ruppert St. in Waterville. The studio offers classes in acrylics, oils, pastels, drawing, clay work, collage and mixed media, and will invite guest teachers to conduct workshops in jewelry design, water colors and more. Artists and professors of visual art will also give periodic talks.

Donna Boutin of GHM Insurance Agency, which has offices in Waterville, Augusta, and Auburn, has completed the Annual Continuing Education Requirement of the Society of Certified Insurance Counselors in Austin, Texas.

The Maine Historical Society, based in Portland, recently received a $150,000 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services in Washington, D.C.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development, in Washington, D.C., awarded Maine $5,812,513 to fund urban renewal projects, including a $1,026,088 grant to the city of Bangor.

The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor was mentioned in the Princeton Review’s annual rankings guide. The school was ranked eighth for “Students Happy with Financial Aid,” and 10th for both “Class Discussions Encouraged” and “Most Accessible Professors, among other designations.

The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development gave $1.47 million to eight communities through its Municipal Investment Trust Fund.

The Maine Academy of Modern Music, along with the Portland Music Foundation, the local band Paranoid Social Club and The Studio in Portland, will offer a Recording Studio Camp this August. The program will focus on giving students a hands-on education on the recording process.

Amos Bryon, an assistant vice president and trust officer at Kennebec Savings Bank in Augusta, recently qualified to become a certified trust and financial advisor.

Jasper Wyman & Son, a blueberry production company in Cherryfield, recently sponsored the Celebrate MAINE Festival in Eliot.

The Orton Family Foundation, in Middlebury, Vt., gave Biddeford and Damriscotta $100,000 each as part of its Heart & Soul program that aims to help citizens control the growth of their communities.

Berry, Fowles & Co., a CPA firm in Falmouth, recently changed its name to Berry Talbot Royer. The firm’s current partners are Michael C. Royer, MST, CPA, who oversees our corporate and individual tax and accounting team and Donald E. Talbot, CPA, who administers and directs the firm’s auditing functions.

The Muddy Rudder Restaurant in Yarmouth has completed a redesign of its interior.

A recent survey by the Maine Credit Union League in Westbrook, found that two-thirds of Maine credit unions are offering some sort of fuel assistance to customers. The aid will come in the form of low loan rates and special “energy assistance” loans.

Wright-Pierce, an engineering services company in Topsham, recently gave 12 scholarships to children of employees. This year’s recipients, students of engineers and support staff at five of the firm’s seven New England offices, are: Tyler Barnes, McKell Barnes, Andrew Laskey, Jamie Mauro, Kimberly Preble, Benjamin Stiles, Laura Anne Till, Hans Tobiason, Katelyn Taber, Brooke Davee, Erik Anderson and Nathan Braccio.

Kris-Way Truck Leasing Inc., a truck leasing company in South Portland, has opened a new 13,000-square-foot facility in Auburn.

Economic Stewardship, a planning company based in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., recently opened an office in Island Point in Saco.

Junior Achievement of Maine, a local branch of the international educational organization headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colo., elected the following to its board: Clint Davies, Jeff Laniewski, Darren Hurlburt and Paul Clancy.

Angela Adams, a luxury design company in Portland, has joined with the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in Portland to promote the institute. There is a table in the store dedicated to the Salt Institute that displays Salt magazines, information about programs offered and a CD of some of the students’ documentary radio shows.

Cape Madras, a clothing design company in Cape Elizabeth, was recently mentioned in Outside and Family Circle magazines.

The Shaw’s Supermarkets Charitable Foundation recently contributed $10,000 to The Acadia Hospital’s Keep the Promise Capital Campaign. The donation will go towards the creation of a new Pediatric and Family Center that will house Acadia’s youth outpatient programs, as well as classrooms used for the education of day program and inpatient children and teens.

The U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration has awarded a fixed-price services contract to Penobscot Bay Media for geographic information systems and web portal development to support veterans’ health care planning. The contract has a value of $2.1 million, with options for additional support in years 2009 through 2012 based on available funding.

Tilson Technology Management, an IT consulting company based in Portland, now offers HIPAA Security and Privacy services to assist its health care clients.

The Maine Crafts Association, a statewide non-profit organization promoting craft artists, recently announced the opening gala of the Center for Maine Craft in the new Turnpike Authority Travel Plaza in West Gardiner.

Atlantic Pump & Engineering Inc., headquartered in Sanford, has been acquired by Hayes Pump Inc., based in West Concord, Mass. Atlantic Pump & Engineering is the region’s leading value-added distributor of industrial pumps, accessories and replacement parts. Atlantic specializes in Goulds Pumps, and serves the industrial and municipal markets.

Rinck Advertising, a full-service marketing agency, recently relocated its offices to the sixth floor of Two Great Falls Plaza in Auburn. The company was previously located at 86 Main Street in Auburn.

Accolades

Custom Home Theater Systems & Automation, a home theater instillation company based in Brunswick, recently won two awards from the Consumer Electronics Association, a trade group based in Virginia. The company won first place in “best home theater retrofit,” and was a finalist for the “best home theater” category.

Hannaford Bros. Co., based in Scarborough, was recently ranked fifth among the 10 healthiest grocery stores in America, according to a survey in the November issue of Health magazine.

Eastern Maine Medical Center recently won the 2008 Nicholas E. Davies Organizational Award of Excellence, sponsored by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society.

Alfreda Mouland, an Acadia Hospital geriatric nurse practitioner, has earned the Maine Nurse Practitioner of the Year Award from the Maine Nurse Practitioner Association. Mouland, one of the first nurse practitioners in the state of Maine, works with older adults with chronic mental illness.

Houlton-based Harbison Plumbing and Heating Inc. has won the 2008 National Installation Award conducted by Energy Kinetics, a New Jersey-based manufacturer of System 2000, an integrated residential hot water and heating system. Harbison first won the state-level competition, then went on to win the national competition.

KeyBank is Maine’s top small business lender for 2008, according to figures recently released by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The SBA named KeyBank as the top lender in dollars of SBA loans in Maine during fiscal year 2008. KeyBank made 37 loans to small business in Maine totaling over $9 million.

Lia Sophia Fashion Jewelry, based in Wood Dale, Ill., recently gave jeweler Marie Soucy of Biddeford top honors as an Excellent Beginnings Program Achiever for outstanding sales accomplishments and professionalism.

Kno-Wal-Lin volunteer Claire Coffey of Owls Head was honored recently in a State House ceremony where she was named Home Care Volunteer of the Year by the Maine Home Care and Hospice Alliance. Coffey works for Kno-Wal-Lin as the treasurer of Knox/Waldo auxiliary board and is also a visiting volunteer.

WBRC Architects and Engineers, based in Bangor, recently said that John Rohman, principal & CEO, was recognized with a presidential citation at the 2008 American Society of Interior Designers New England gala. In addition to being a licensed engineer, Rohman is an NCIDQ certificate holder and a Maine certified interior designer.

Twenty-three Drummond Woodsum attorneys will be recognized in the 2009 edition of “The Best Lawyers in America.” 

The Center for Entrepreneurship, which honors various York County business owners, held its Fourth Annual Entrepreneur Awards Celebration on Nov. 13. Raymond and Jennifer Leskowsky of Wink’s Deli & Variety won Rookies of the Year and David Capotosto and Timothy Cooke of Flotation Technologies won Employer of the Year. Michael Dickinson of Dickinson’s Candy Factory won Small Business of the Year, and Bonita Pothier won Business Advocate of the Year. The Entrepreneur of the Year award was given to Patrick Corcoran of Corcoran Environmental Services.