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Jennifer Watkins, Sappi North America
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Updated: September 8, 2025
Newsworthy people and performances for Sept. 8, 2025
New hires
Sappi North America hired Jennifer Watkins as director of employee relations and human resources in its Portland office. Watkins was most recently assistance vice president, managing senior HR business partner at Unum.
Keller Williams Realty Maine in Portland hired Manny Paolucci, Jack Leonard, Mackenzie Wight, Ricky Nadeau, Leianne Messina, Matthew Narowetz, Austin Weymouth, Meagan Smith and Sam Carpenter as real estate agents.
Fontaine Family, a real estate firm, hired Madison Dutil and Hannah Milliken as agents in Auburn.
Teens to Trails in Brunswick hired Nate Snow as executive director. Previously, Snow was Youth-Build Program director at LearningWorks in Portland.
Island Housing Trust in Bar Harbor hired Sherry Billings as executive director. Most recently, Billings was executive director of Hancock County Habitat for Humanity.
Eagle Bank in Kennebunk hired Ryan Kelly as senior vice president, chief credit officer and Robert Hanson Jr. as senior vice president, commercial banking. Kelly most recently served as senior vice president, senior credit officer and Hanson was senior vice president of corporate banking at Salem Five Bank.
St.Germain, an environmental consultant in Westbrook, hired Sam Appelbaum as an environmental scientist whose background includes a diverse knowledge about the chemistry and environmental parameters surrounding soil and water samples.
Photo / Courtesy Portland Housing Authority
Jeff Tardif
Photo / Courtesy Portland Housing Authority
Nadege Umukunzi
Portland Housing Authority hired Jeff Tardif as property manager at Franklin Towers and Nadege Umukunzi as property manager for Bayside Anchor and Solterra. Tardif was previously an outreach case manager at Rumford Group Homes Inc. and Umukunzi was with Avesta Housing.
Promotions
The County Federal Credit Union in Presque Isle promoted Ethelyn Murchie to vice president of compliance and BSA and Jacob Kinney to vice president of information technology. Murchie was previously assistant vice president of compliance and BSA while Kinney was assistant vice president of information technology.
Northern Light Health in Brewer promoted Marie Vienneau to president of Northern Light Mercy Hospital. Vienneau is currently senior vice president and regional president, Northern Light Health, and president, Northern Light CA Dean and Mayo Hospitals. In addition, Randy Clark, senior vice president of Northern Light Health and president of Northern Light Sebasticook Valley Hospital and Northern Light Continuing Care, Lakewood, will add CA Dean and Mayo Hospitals to his areas of oversight and Cynthia Faulkner, vice president of philanthropy services, Northern Light Health Foundation, will become president of the foundation. The promotions are effective Oct. 5.
Gateway Community Services Maine in Portland promoted Nathan Davis to executive director. Davis was previously director of programs.
The MEMIC Group, a workers’ compensation insurance company in Portland, promoted Katrice Kelley to director of business analysis in underwriting.
Portland Housing Authority promoted Charles Owens Jr. to property manager at Harbor Terrace and Mike Mills to manager of its Front Street property. Owens most recently served as a housing officer at Kennedy Park while Mills was property manager at Franklin Towers.
Franklin Savings Bank in Farmington promoted Caulin Parker to commercial lender and Amy Hebert to vice president, director of commercial credit administration.
Appointments
Rotary Club of Waterville elected Michele Prince as president and Tina Chapman as secretary while Sarah Wadick will continue to serve as treasurer. Board members include Andrea Pasco, John Dalton, Lindsey Cameron, Jordyn Woodard, Jim Chapman, Jennifer Casey, Roger Crouse, Karen Normandin, Dan Eccher and Jeff Melanson.
Verrill, a law firm in Portland, announced that attorney Jonathan Dunitz was elected to serve on the Executive Council of the National Conference of Bar Presidents.
The Maine Historical Society in Portland added Stacy Stitham and Jacob Soley to its board of trustees. Stitham is managing partner at Brann & Isaacson, a law firm in Lewiston, while Soley is director of development for East Brown Cow, a community investment firm in Portland focusing primarily on real estate investment, management and development.
Delta Dental Plan of Maine added Benjamin Lamarche and Genko Stanilov as directors to its board, each for a three-year term that began on July 1. Lamarche is co-owner/dentist at four dental clinics in Southern Maine while Stanilov is chief dental officer at Community Dental Maine.
Portland Ovations added Atiim Boykin, Sherouk Fetaih, Bryan Matluk, Joy McManigal and Liz Cotter Schlax to its board of directors. Boykin is a mental health clinician, social worker, community organizer and creative professional; Fetaih was most recently vice president of strategic initiatives at IDEXX; Matluk is a nonprofit fundraising consultant and a classically trained ballet instructor; McManigal has experience as a teacher, administrator, consultant, manager, fundraiser, writer, editor and producer; and Schlax was president and CEO of United Way of Southern Maine.
Achievements
Compotech, a defense technology and manufacturing company in Brewer, earned national recognition on the “2025 Inc. 5000” list of America’s fastest-growing private companies. The company ranked 1,014 overall, No. 31 in manufacturing nationwide and No. 3 among all Maine companies, with a three-year revenue growth of 421%.
Morgan Stanley announced that Iain Eldredge, a portfolio management director, financial advisor in the firm’s Portland wealth management office, was named to Forbes Magazine’s list of “Top Next-Gen Advisors Best-in-State.”
The College of the Atlantic Davis Center for Human Ecology in Bar Harbor said it won a “2025 AIA COTE Top 10 Award,” which celebrates design excellence in sustainability, resilience and innovation. The college was also named the No. 1 “LGBTQ-Friendly” college and the top school for “Green Matters: Everyone Cares About Conservation” in the 2026 edition of the Princeton Review’s Best 391 Colleges.
Haley Ward Inc., an employee-owned professional services firm in Bangor providing engineering, environmental, surveying, planning and architecture services, announced it was ranked No. 3,667 on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies. The company was also recognized with a “Trade Partner of the Year Award” at the 2025 Lee Building Industry Association Honor Your Partners’ Excellence Awards.
Southern Maine Agency on Aging in Biddeford said that its Housing Connections pilot program received an “USAging 2025 Aging Innovations Award.”
Aroma Joe’s, a handcrafted beverage franchise, announced that Caroline Riley, chief marketing officer, was named a “Top 25 Franchise Marketing Leader” by 1851 Franchise.
Town & Country Federal Credit Union in Scarborough was named “Best Credit Union” in the annual Best of Portland awards.
Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor received the American Heart Association’s “Get With the Guidelines — Resuscitation Gold” quality achievement award for its commitment to treating in-hospital cardiac arrest, ultimately helping to improve patient survival rates.
The Portland Water District received three “Peak Performance Awards” from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies. The Peaks Island Wastewater Treatment Facility and the Westbrook Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility each received a “Gold Award,” while the Cape Elizabeth Wastewater Treatment Facility earned a “Silver Award.”
Pierce Atwood LLP, a law firm in Portland, announced that many of its Maine-based lawyers were recognized by Best Lawyers in America 2026. Five were named “Lawyer of the Year,” 33 were recognized in the “Best Lawyers” category and 13 were identified in the “Ones to Watch” category.
Drummond Woodsum, a law firm in Portland, announced that many of its Maine-based lawyers were recognized by Best Lawyers in America 2026. Nine were named “Lawyer of the Year,” 43 were recognized in the “Best Lawyers” category and 28 were identified in the “Ones to Watch” category.
Preti Flaherty, a law firm in Portland, announced that many of its Maine-based lawyers were recognized by Best Lawyers in America 2026. One was named “Lawyer of the Year,” 21 were recognized in the “Best Lawyers” category and three were identified in the “Ones to Watch” category.
Central Maine Power, a subsidiary of Avangrid Inc., celebrated the graduation of five high school students from its inaugural Union Trade Internship Program, the first-of-its-kind opportunity in Maine’s electric utility industry.
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