Awards

Linda J. Piper, of the financial services firm Edward Jones in Brunswick, recently won the firm’s Edward Jones Sr. Founders Award for her exceptional achievement in building client relationships.

Staff and volunteers from the Portland-based Center for Grieving Children were among those honored recently at a Pentagon ceremony attended by officials and guests representing all four branches of the U.S. military. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and 1st District Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) contributed remarks. The ceremony marked America’s Camp: Rebuilding Lives After 9/11, an exhibit at the Pentagon of transformative artwork created by groups of children and teens at America’s Camp, a summer camp that served for 10 years as a beloved gathering place for young people whose parents or siblings died as a result of the attacks on 9/11. From the camp’s start, through its final year last summer, the Center created and led a program of peer grief support for campers.

Designations

The Maine State Council of the Society for Human Resources Management has announced that 42 companies have been named in the seventh annual Best Places to Work in Maine program. From Portland: Bernstein Shur, Bonney Staffing Center, CashStar Inc., Consigli Construction Co., Garrand, Hall Internet Marketing, Holden Agency Insurance, Hurley Travel Experts, Kepware Technologies, Maine Credit Union League/Synergent, MPX, PRC Industrial Supply, Putney, Turner Barker Insurance, Unum, and Winxnet were selected. Also listed were Tyler Technologies Inc., of Yarmouth, and Town & Country Federal Credit Union, of South Portland.

Extended Hours

Portland Public Library recently announced that the Riverton Branch will be expanding its hours open to the public starting Oct. 6. The Riverton Branch will be opening on Saturdays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. adding to the current hours of Mondays and Wednesdays 1–6 p.m., Thursdays 1–8 p.m., and Fridays 9 a.m.–noon.

Good Deeds

Verrill Dana was recognized for being the first firm to reach and exceed its 2012 Campaign for Justice fundraising goal at the Maine Bar Association’s Summer Bar Meeting. The firm has raised more than $30,000 for Campaign for Justice, exceeding its fundraising total from last year by more than 20 percent, with individual attorneys pledging on average 49 percent more than they did last year.

New Hires and Promotions

Richard Daigle recently joined Martin’s Point as the new vice president of support services. Daigle has responsibility for developing short and long term strategies for Martin’s Point facilities and purchasing functions. He will have responsibility for locations ranging from Pennsylvania to Bangor and will have capital asset oversight.

Gail E. Lind was recently named senior vice president of Clark Insurance. Lind, who has worked for the employee-owned insurance agency for 25 years, began as a personal insurance agent and has been promoted to various management positions during her career at Clark. She currently serves as agency manager and is a stockholder of the eighty year old insurance agency.

The Maine Humanities Council recently hired Hayden Anderson as its new executive director. Anderson was interim executive director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project in Portland for the past year and since 2009 had served as the development director for the nonprofit immigration legal aid organization. A certified fund raising executive, he has more than a dozen years of nonprofit experience.

Michelle Giard Draeger was recently appointed as an assistant United States attorney for the District of Maine. Giard Draeger will be handling financial litigation and bankruptcy for the U.S. District Attorney’s Office. She recently served for eight years as a senior counsel for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Boston and in Washington, D.C., where she investigated and litigated complex securities fraud.

New Members

MaineShare, the payroll-giving program that links donors to progressive Maine causes, recently announced it is adding new organizations to it’s lineup of members. The groups gaining access to new funding through MaineShare are: Center for African Heritage, Portland; Community Financial Literacy, Portland; Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, Portland and Ellsworth; Hardy Girls Healthy Women, Waterville; Maine Citizens for Clean Elections, Portland; League of Young Voters Education Fund, Portland; and Mano en Mano– Hand in Hand, Milbridge.

Competition Participant

Portland-based Pulp+Wire, a branding, marketing and package-design firm, is one of four national agencies selected to compete in Package Design magazine makeover challenge. The winning design and agency will be announced in Package Design November issue. The industry magazine’s competition pits selected agencies against each other in a package design project for a real client. This year client, Klara’s Cookies, requested a design overhaul of the packaging for its gourmet line of traditional European sweet and savory cookies. The winner will be selected by popular vote, the magazine’s editorial staff, and input from the client.