Appointments

Junior Achievement of Maine recently announced the election of the following officers for the Board of Directors: Chairman of the Board Darren J. Hurlburt, Vice Chairman of the Board Guy Langeviny, Past Chairman of the Board Jeffrey Laniewski, Treasurer Paul Clancy, Secretary of the Board Scott Twitchell.

Awards

Falmouth by the Sea and Medical Director Richard Marino were recently honored by Beacon Hospice for their commitment to excellence in end-of-life care for their residents.

Pownal Elementary School teacher, Kathi Hardy, of Cumberland, was nominated for the Golden Apple Award. This award is presented annually to ten teachers in the state in recognition of dedication to the intellectual and emotional growth students.  

Financial services firm Edward Jones was named the Advisory Solutions Firm of the Year by the Money Management Institute as the firm that most exemplified overall excellence and contributed to the long-term success and sustainability of the wealth management industry. The Money Management Institute is the national association for the managed investment solutions and the wealth management industry. This award recognizes the features and benefits of both of the firm’s advisory platforms. 

Elizabeth Liscomb, sales director and senior trainer with BeautiControl, was recently awarded Top Director Overall in her national unit at the company’s celebration conference. Liscomb leads a team of over 70 skin care and spa consultants based in Maine.

New Hires and Promotions

Albin, Randall & Bennett, a full-service certified public accounting firm based in Portland, recently announced that Holly D. Ferguson has been named as a principal in the firm. Ferguson specializes in working with manufacturers, credit unions and not-for-profit organizations, providing business consulting, tax, accounting, and assurance services.

Vreeland Marketing & Design, a full-service marketing and public relations agency in Yarmouth, has recently hired Shireen Shahawy as an account executive, Erich Pobatschnig as digital and social media manager, and Betty Turina as office coordinator.

ecomaine, a nonprofit municipally-owned recycling and waste-to-energy organization, announced the following new employees:  Human Resources Accountant Carolyn Knights, Relief Operator Winslow Pillsbury, Accounting Assistant Kathleen Snyder, Truck Driver Steve Pearson, and Equipment Operator Matt Dibiase.

BerryDunn recently announced that Richard Stevenson has been hired as a senior proposal writer in the management information technology group at BerryDunn, a CPA and consulting firm. BerryDunn, established in 1974, is the largest certified public accounting and management consulting firm headquartered in northern New England,

Good Deeds

Avesta Housing, northern New England’s largest nonprofit affordable housing developer, has been awarded a $20,000 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation to support its new home ownership center. Recently launched, the center helps families stabilize their housing costs and increase their economic self-sufficiency through homebuyer education, individual counseling and foreclosure prevention counseling. The center serves as a one-stop shop for low- and moderate-income families looking to buy their first home, improve the home they own or avoid foreclosure.

Bob’s Discount Furniture has awarded Longfellow Elementary School in Portland a $1,000 donation. The money will be used for technology. Longfellow is one of seven schools in Maine that received $1,000 awards from Bob’s in a ceremony at the South Portland store. Money comes from donations made by the public to jars located in the stores’ cafes.

Bangor Savings Bank and the American Red Cross recently announced a new partnership that will provide bank employees with training in cardiac pulmonary resuscitation, as well as equipping 62 statewide Bangor Savings Bank branches with, and certification in the use of, automatic external devices in order to combat the life-threatening effects of sudden cardiac arrest.

New Business 

Lux Realty Group is a partnership between two real estate brokers, Daren Hebold and John Golden. The firm, licensed in both Maine and New York, will transact commercial and high-end residential real estate and sponsor investment opportunities in both states. The firm is focused on office, hotel, multi-family and luxury residential properties in the range of $5M to $100M.

New Location

Kate Meyers, president of Brown & Meyers, recently announced the acquisition of a new facility and impending relocation of the Brown & Meyers headquarters from Portland to Scarborough. The move follows several years of steady growth in data management systems in response to business trends toward more efficient and cost effective methods for storing vital information.

Expansion

USDA Rural Development has selected Casa to receive a Community Facilities Direct Loan in the amount of $6.2 million. Casa serves both children and adults with a broad variety of needs throughout Cumberland and York Counties. Their new facility will be a  20 bed long-term intermediate care facility with 24-hour nursing services. The new building will replace the older 16-bed facility, and create room for additional parking. Casa’s intermediate care facility for mental retardation is the only facility of its kind in Southern Maine and its location benefits the family members who would have to travel greater distance for services.