Recognition

Waynflete School math, business and personal finance teacher Steve Kautz was announced as the first-ever recipient of the Maine Jump$tart Coalition Financial Educator of the Year Award. He was also the coach of Maine’s First New England Federal Reserve Cup Team in 2011. Kautz will be formally presented with his award at the annual Fostering Financial Literacy in Maine Schools Conference in Augusta May 2. The Maine Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy Board of Directors created the award to recognize an educator who has distinguished themselves through their efforts to improve the financial capability of the students and families that they serve.

Appointments

University of New England Vice President for Clinical Health and Director of Public Health Programs Dora Anne Mills will be joined by Joann B. Ingram, Anne-Marie Davee, Leslie Ouellette and Kim Bowie in administering a $3.6 million grant of U.S. Department of Agriculture funds passed on by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to provide nutrition education to Mainers living with low incomes. The grant, renewable for up to four years, was awarded by the Office of Family Independence in the DHHS and is comprised of USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education, or SNAP-Ed, funds. 

Bernstein Shur announced the election of Karen S. Aframe and Joshua T. Silver as shareholders. Aframe is a member of Bernstein Shur’s Labor and Employment Practice Group and is based in the firm’s Manchester, N.H. Joshua T. Silver is a member of the Business Law Practice Group and Data Security Team and is based in the Portland office.

United Way of Greater Portland recently announced the election of four new board of directors members. Included are Portland Public Schools Superintendent Emmanuel Caulk, Association of Junior Leagues International Chief Officer for Strategic Initiatives Anne Dalton, Maine Community Foundation Director of Grantmaking Services Lelia DeAndrade and Unum Senior Vice President for Benefit Operations Diane Garofalo.

Duane Gregor recently became the newest trustee for the Portland Water District.

The Greater Freeport Chamber of Commerce has appointed Carolyn Krahn
as interim executive director to replace Doug Porter. Porter recently resigned from the chamber for personal reasons. Krahn had been the member relations manager for the chamber. 

The Community Financial Literacy Board of Directors recently elected Eugene G. Ardito as chairman. Ardito is cPort Credit Union President and CEO. Community Financial Literacy, a leading organization in financial education for Maine refugees and new immigrants, offers financial literacy classes, workshops and individual counseling covering topics such as savings and basic money management.

Partnerships

Markings Gallery, in Bath, announced Patty Olds as a new partner of the gallery. Olds began making silk and cotton batik scrolls about 15 years ago, and pressing leaves and flowers for unique framed pictures about three years ago. Her work has been featured in galleries and juried exhibitions nationally, in the Smith and Hawkins catalogue. Last year at Portland Stage Company, she transformed 10 actors into flowers for the holiday production of “The Snow Queen.”

Good Deeds

Members of the Portland Rotary Club recently sent 150 sets of crutches, 175 walkers and 51 canes donated by Scarborough-based Partners for World Health to Saco for shipment to Africa as part of the Crutches 4 Africa project. The project was founded by Dave Talbot, a fellow Rotarian from Colorado and a polio survivor. Talbot believes that mobility is a human right and founded the organization  to get the discarded devices and wheelchairs to mobility-challenged people in Africa. Rotary collects the devices, stores them until a quantity has been accumulated, then ships them for free distribution. Rotary Club of Portland International Services Committee chairwoman and chairman Jan Chapman and Bruce Moore coordinated this event.

Grants

The Maine Appalachian Trail Club recently received a $20,000 grant from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund. The grant supports club resource protection work in 2013 at the Gulf Hagas region, a National Natural Landmark consisting of a five-mile loop trail in the central Maine mountains. MATC’s Maine Trail Crew volunteers will perform three weeks of intensive rock work to help stabilize the Gulf Hagas Rim Trail. From May through October, a club ridgerunner will provide stewardship and Leave-No-Trace education to hikers. Grant funds will also be used to send a pre-season packet to approximately 100 colleges, high schools and summer camps using the Appalachian Trail in Maine.

Promotions

Darlene Chalmers has been named vice president of elder and home care services for Mid Coast Health Services. As vice president, Chalmers will continue to provide executive leadership and direction for the Mid Coast Senior Health Center and CHANS Home Health Care, a leadership position she has held for many years. Her new title reflects the addition of broader system responsibilities as a member of the Mid Coast Health Services senior leadership team.

Expansions

The Boulos Company announced recently Allagash Brewing is expanding into a new 70,000-square-foot warehouse at 765 Warren St. in Portland.

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