NEW FACES

• Nick Sikorski and Jason Tomasacci joined Winxnet, a Portland-based IT solutions provider.

Sikorski was hired as a sales representative to cover territory from Hartford, Conn., to Boston. Sikorski recently worked for CBE Technologies.

Tomasacci was hired as a technical support specialist. He was recently an IT administrator at TruChoice Federal Credit Union. He has more than 15 years of network engineering and technical support experience.

• Sarah Ruef-Lindquist was named chief executive officer of the Maine Women’s Fund. Ruef-Lindquist served in 2009 and 2010 as gift planning adviser to Colby College in its successful $376 million Reaching the World Campaign, and in 2011 and 2012 as gift planning adviser at Pen Bay Healthcare Foundation.

• Uli Stewart joined Vantage Point Recruiting as a technology recruiter. Stewart previously worked at Systems Engineering in account management.

• United Way of Greater Portland added the following staff members:

Alice Kornhauser of Portland was hired as vice president, marketing and communications. Kornhauser was previously the director of marketing and communications at the Portland Symphony Orchestra.

Dan Coyne of Westbrook was named director of public policy. Coyne had served as legislative director of the Maine Center for Economic Policy.

Suzi Piker of Freeport was hired as an engagement specialist/chief storyteller. Piker was previously a digital content producer for The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.

Valerie Yates of Cumberland Foreside was hired as executive assistant. She was previously commercial sales assistant with TD Bank.

Melodye DeBeradinis of Scarborough was hired as a finance specialist. She was previously the director of finance for the Institute for Financial Literacy.

Rhiannon Robnett of Portland was hired as a relationship manager. She was previously a creative project manager with Pierce Promotions.

Michelle Ramirez of Portland was hired as an administrative assistant for Community Impact. She previously worked as a consultant for the York District Public Health Council and served on the Governor’s Commission for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault from 2009 to 2011.

Erica Paradis of Dayton was hired as an administrative assistant and finance associate. She was previously with Teller University Credit Union.

 

• Daniel M. Shea was named director of the Goldfarb Center for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement at Colby College. Shea was previously at Allegheny College, where he served as professor of political science and director of the Center for Political Participation. Shea will also teach in the government department at Colby. He will join the faculty Aug. 1.

 

• Keith Smaldon joined Great Falls Insurance Co. as director of business development. Smaldon, of New Gloucester, previously worked as an insurance agent/broker focusing on sales across a broad spectrum of risks throughout New England.

 

• Matt Dawes was hired as director of partnership development at Shamrock Sports & Entertainment. Dawes previously worked for Diamond Resorts International in Hawaii as the marketing and sales director, along with serving in various sales roles with Idexx.

 

• Dr. Francis A. Bellino joined Professional Disability Associates as its chief medical officer. Bellino was vice president and chief medical officer of specialty benefits at United Healthcare Group in Portland for more than seven years.

 

• Michael Sullivan joined Willis of Northern New England, Inc. as a property casualty commercial insurance account executive. He is responsible for new business sales and is based in the agency’s Portland office.

 

• Sarah Cook and Craig Morency joined the staff of the Maine Red Claws.

Cook was hired as the director of operations. She previously worked with luxury jewelry, running an office for Sidney Garber in Chicago.

Morency, of Freeport, is a senior account executive. He previously was director of game operations for an expansion hockey team, the Missouri Mavericks.

• Lynsey Wood was hired as a student success adviser at the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College. Wood most recently worked as the registrar for Kaplan University’s Maine campuses.

PROMOTIONS

• Catherine Valenza was named executive director of True North. She has served as interim director since September 2011. Valenza has been with True North since 2002. She was most recently director of development and operations.

Valenza has served as an executive director in the arts community, most recently with the Portland Arts & Cultural Alliance.

• Sue Lessard and Gail Nason were promoted at Biddeford Savings Bank.

Lessard was named vice president and residential lender at the bank’s main office at 254 Main St. in Biddeford. She was previously the vice president and branch manager of the bank’s Waterboro branch. She has been with Biddeford Savings for 30 years.

Nason, of Arundel, was promoted to vice president/branch manager and loan officer at the Alfred Street branch. Nason has worked with the bank for 29 years.

• David T. Edson was named president and chief executive officer of James W. Sewall Co. Edson has held several leadership roles with the company as president, executive vice-president, chief of operations and vice president of forestry and natural resources. Edson joined Sewall in 1974 as a forest technician.

• Pamela Doughty was appointed a quality systems officer at FHC Inc. Doughty, of Vassalboro, joined the firm in 2009 and has 20 years of quality experience. She will continue in her role as a quality and regulatory affairs manager.

• Carl G. Gercke, chief investment officer at HeadInvest, LLC, was appointed managing director of the firm. Gercke joined HeadInvest in 1999 and has led the investment process since that time.

• Michael Hendrix was named chief financial officer of Maine Coast Memorial Hospital. Hendrix has served as controller at MCMH for five years. Previously, he served 12 years as controller at Mayo Regional Hospital and at Penobscot Valley Hospital.

• Derek Simkowitz was promoted to financial consultant and LPL registered representative at Kennebunk Investment Services. Simkowitz, of Saco, has worked in the financial services industry since 2007. He has previous experience at Kennebunk Savings and a local credit union.

AWARDS and RECOGNITION

• The Maine International Trade Center recently announced the winners of the 2011 International Trade and Investment Awards. The four companies will be recognized during Maine International Trade Day on May 24, at the Samoset Resort in Rockport.

Hancock Lumber was named exporter of the year. Bernstein Shur was named service provider of the year. Falcon Performance Footwear was named Innovator of the Year. Molnlycke Health Care was named Foreign Direct Investor of the Year.

• The Gulf of Maine Research Institute named Clark Insurance as its David E. Lawrence Award recipient, which recognizes the agency as its vendor of the year. The recognition is based on a vendor’s “extraordinary service, innovative problem solving and dedicated partnership” to help enable GMRI to make a difference in the world.

• Jean Hoffman, founder, president and chief executive officer of Putney, Inc., was named 2012 Business Leader of the Year by Mainebiz in the category of businesses with 50 or fewer employees. Carol Coultas, Mainebiz editor, said in a news release that Hoffman’s “unwavering drive and focus has led to Putney’s consistent growth, even in a difficult economy.”

• Mary Woodman, a Kennebunkport photographer, recently won a gold award for “Solar Sadie” in the International Single Image 2012 contest published in B&W+COLOR magazine. She also won merit awards for “Wharf Lane” in Kennebunkport and “Solar Panels” at John Hancock Tower in Boston.

• Nancy Strojny was recently recognized by the White House as a Champion of Change for her work with the Small Business Administration’s SCORE Chapter in Portland.

Strojny, of Cape Elizabeth, is the chair of the board of directors for the local SCORE, a nonprofit organization of volunteers who serve as certified mentors to emerging and existing small businesses. She was recognized for her extensive work in helping hundreds of entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses.

• Richard J. LaRue, a professor and NAS Fellow in the University of New England Department of Business and Communications, was recognized by the American Association for Physical Activity and Recreation with the Pathfinder Award, the association’s highest honor. LaRue, of Arundel, is completing his 14th year of service at UNE. He has taught in higher education for more than 30 years.

• Eight Portland-area sales leaders at FairPoint Communications were recognized recently for their top performances in meeting customer needs and outstanding service. They are Andy Mullen of Portland; Mia Perron of Westbrook; Cindy Tucci of Windham; Joe Bourgault of Windham; LuAnn Moore of Buxton; Barry Crommett of Harpswell; Karen Romano of Yarmouth; and Guy Langelier of Portland.

BOARD APPOINTMENTS

• Ellen Niewoehner, vice president of commercial lending at TD Bank, joined the board of directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Maine.

• Joshua Broder was elected to serve on the board of directors of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Broder serves as president of Tilson, an IT and telecommunications consulting firm headquartered in Portland.

• Mark Grandonico was elected to his third term on the Road Runners Club of America Board of Directors.

 

• Officers for the Avesta Housing Board of Directors re-elected Neal Allen as chair; Drew Sigfridson as vice chair; Gren Blackall as treasurer; and Rebecca Greenfield as secretary. Allen is the executive director of Greater Portland Council of Governments. Sigfridson is a designated broker at CBRE|The Boulos Co. Blackall is the chief deposit officer at Gorham Savings Bank. Greenfield is a partner at Pierce Atwood LLP.

• United Mid-Coast Charities named four new members to its board of directors:

Eric Belley of Rockport is a business banking officer at Bangor Savings Bank, based at the Rockport branch. Nancy Boyington of Monroe is assistant director at the University of Maine’s Hutchinson Center in Belfast. Marty Martens of Camden is owner of Antique Treasures in Rockport. Joan Phaup of Camden works from her home office as a public relations manager for Questionmark, a software company based in Connecticut.

RELOCATED

• Select Physical Therapy in Brunswick has relocated to a space in Maine Pines Racquet & Fitness Club, 120 Harpswell Road, Suite 2. The new location offers a comprehensive range of rehabilitation services.

• The Advanced Vein Center relocated from 1375 Congress St., Portland, to 210 Western Ave., South Portland. The phone number will remain the same: 207-772-1820.

EXPANDED

• Fluid Imaging Technologies in Yarmouth recently expanded its corporate headquarters. The expansion increases the company’s footprint in the corporate park by more than 35 percent. Most of the additional space is for sales, marketing, product engineering, customer support and for the expansion of the company’s in-house testing laboratory.