NEW FACES
• Cathy Brown and Eric Nixon have joined Kennebunk Savings Bank. Brown will serve as vice president, residential lending manager with her experience in management and sales expertise. Nixon will serve as residential loan officer with five years of experience in mortgage lending.

• Carol Garvan has joined McTeague Higbee, focusing on representing employees subjected to workplace discrimination. She most recently served as law clerk to Hon. Kermit Lopez on the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston.

• Chris Gauvin has joined the staff at Runyon Kersteen Ouellette as an assistant accountant in South Portland. He is a 2010 graduate of the University of Maine at Orono.

• David Jacobs has been hired as development and external relations manager for Portland Public Library. He has 18 years of experience in nonprofit marketing and development consulting and 10 years of experience in political campaign consulting.

• Francesca Bowman has been welcomed to the Back Bay Grill staff as pastry chef. Her experience includes working under renowned chef Tony Mantuano at the four-star Spiaggia in Chicago.

• Denise Wilson, a licensed clinical social worker from Westbrook, has been hired by Counseling Services, Inc. as the community mental health agency’s director of care management.

PROMOTIONS
• Bill Morrell will serve as vice president of business development and administration at Downeast Energy. He has been with the company for more than 30 years and was previously vice president of real estate/building products.

• Jen Pierce was appointed unit director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Southern Maine, South Portland Clubhouse. She has worked in the Boys & Girls Clubs movement for more than 15 years.

• Steve Oullette has been promoted to lieutenant of Sanford Fire Department. He has been with the department for 10 years.

AWARDS and RECOGNITION
• Allen Sockabasin is the recipient of the 2010 Sampson Center for Diversity Catalyst for Change Award for his dedication to preserving the culture, history and language of the Passamaquaddy and Maliseet people.

• Gerald Talbot’s work for social justice and civil rights has been recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award presented by Gov. John Baldacci. Talbot was the first African American to be elected to the Maine Legislature, where he was instrumental in passing several civil rights bills.

• Prentiss & Carlisle received the sixth annual Austin Wilkins Forest Stewardship Award for the company’s leadership in forest land management services in Maine. The award is distributed by the Maine TREE Foundation and Maine Forest Service, under the Maine Department of Conservation.

• The Beadin’ Path has been named Maine Merchant of the Year by the Maine Merchants Association, honoring its customer service, unique product mix and savvy business skills.

• Unum, in Portland, has been ranked number one in “Best Places to Work in Maine” for the large company category. Kennebec Savings Bank took the same honor in the small/medium category.

• Kno-Wal-Lin Home Care and Hospice, a member of the Pen Bay Healthcare family of services, has been named to the HomeCare Elite for the fifth year. The honor is a compilation of the most successful Medicare-certified home health care providers in the country.

GENERAL
•  Ellen Stinson has been elected chair of the University of Maine Foundation Board of Directors for 2010-2011. She is a 1968 graduate of the University of Maine and is a senior associate of finance and administration at Sebago Technics, a consulting engineering firm.

•  Pamela Joy, vice president of community affairs, has been named to serve on the board of directors of the Maine Development Foundation. She has worked at FairPoint for 14 years and in the communications industry for more than 20 years.