Appointments 

Tom Federle has been appointed by the Yarmouth Town Council to serve as a member of the Yarmouth Planning Board. Federle is an attorney with extensive experience in land use law and zoning and works in the Portland office of Federle Mahoney.

Maine Media Women announced its recently elected officers and board members, who will each serve a two-year term with the organization. They are: president, Genie Dailey; vice president, Janice Lindsay; secretary Patricia Ondek; treasurer/immediate past president Carol Jaeger; and members-at-large Louise King, Sherry Hanson and Cynthia Carney.

The North Yarmouth Academy Board of Trustees recently elected Steve Bachelder as president. Bachelder is a partner in the Portland law firm of Bachelder & Dowling, P.A. , founded in 1997. Elected to the board were Carrie Lonsdale, Alison Prawer, and David Williams. Lonsdale is a current parent who serves on the Parent’s Association executive council.  She was director of clinical research for Ophthalmic Research Associates at Central Maine Eye Care in Lewiston. Prawer is a current parent with an extensive background in development. She has served on numerous boards and has volunteered for several non-profit organizations. Williams, an NYA alumnus, and his wife Rebecca own and operate Doc’s Café and Marketplace in Cumberland Center. He recently returned to Maine following his time in the Navy as an officer in the Naval Special Warfare community.

New Hires and Promotions

Avesta Housing, northern New England’s largest nonprofit affordable housing developer, has recently hired Mindy Woerter as its new communications manager. In this newly created position, Woerter will oversee the organization’s media relations, online presence and branding initiatives. She has more than 10 years experience in journalism and most recently was online editor at Mainebiz in Portland. 

Richard Ferstenberg, a gastroenterologist, was recently appointed to the Central Maine Medical Center medical staff. He is practicing with Central Maine Gastroenterology at Topsham. Prior to joining the area’s medical community, Ferstenberg practiced for nearly 20 years in Freeport, N.Y. He was a member of the medical staff at South Nassau Communities Hospital, Oceanside, N.Y. A graduate of Columbia University in New York City, he earned his medical degree at Faculte Libre de Medecine in Lille, France. He completed internal medicine residency training through McGill University in Montreal and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland. 

CBRE | The Boulos Company recently announced the addition of a new associate, Mackenzie Simpson. Simpson assists with brokerage related duties as an associate on the brokerage team of Andrew Nelson, Chris Paszyc, and Andrew Ingalls. Simpson is a Cheverus High School and Colby College alumnus where he graduated cum laude majoring in economics and business administration before attending the Maine School of Law. He gained real estate experience when he was treasurer of the Maine Association for Construction and Real Estate Law Association for two years.

Awards

The Portland Water District recently was awarded the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from the Government Finance Officers Association. The award represents a significant achievement and reflects a commitment to the highest principles of governmental budgeting. 

New Hires and Promotions

Eric A. Andrews has joined the Gorham Savings Bank’s senior management team as chief risk officer. His background includes more than 13 years at Kennebunk Savings where he held the position of senior lending officer and senior vice president. His banking career includes positions at Maine Bank and Trust, Fleet Bank of Maine, and Maine National Bank. Gorham Savings Bank also recently announced Jim Goodbody has joined the Gorham Financial Group Team at the bank. Goodbody has spent the last three years at Merrill Lynch Financial Services as a financial advisor and, prior to this, 12 years as the business owner of Planetlearn. He earned his master’s from Boston University. 

Southern Maine Community College recently hired Maine journalist Matt Wickenheiser as its director of college relations. In his new role, Wickenheiser will be responsible for both internal and external communications, including working with the media on stories about the state’s largest and oldest community college. He will also help coordinate the college’s social media strategy, working with Facebook, Twitter and other emerging outlets.

St. Ansgar Lutheran Church recently announced that Ellen Schoepf has joined the staff as associate pastor. Schoepf’s duties will include leading the music ministry, as well as worship and children’s ministry. She will also head up a new social justice ministry team. Schoepf received her master’s of divinity from Trinity Lutheran Seminary. She has more than thirty years of experience as an organist. Over the years, Schoepf has held positions of leadership in the ELCA North/West Lower Michigan Synod. 

BerryDunn recently announced that Michael J. Shaw has been promoted to systems specialist in the firm’s IT Department. He has been with BerryDunn for four years, and has earned the Microsoft Certified Professional and Microsoft Certified Desktop Support Technician designations. Shaw’s experience includes a background in audio visual technology, web design, Internet service provider support and photography. He holds a bachelor’s in new media from the University of Maine.

Good Deeds

Sullivan Tire recently presented a $20,000 check to the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon. The donation was part of the every hit helps summer promotion. During that time Sullivan Tire agreed to donate $500 to the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Telethon for every hit Dustin Pedroia got, and increased that amount to $1,000 for each home run hit by Pedroia. By the end of that time frame Pedroia had 26 hits, 3 of which were home runs. This led to a total of $14,500 but Sullivan Tire decided to round up so the final donation was $20,000.

People’s United Community Foundation, the philanthropic arm of People’s United Bank, announced recently that it has awarded a $2,500 grant to Seeds of Independence in support of its rebound program, a mentoring program for juvenile offenders who have been convicted of a criminal offense. Seeds of Independence is a mentor and volunteer-based non-profit organization committed to helping at-risk youth in Maine reach their full potential as independent, productive members of society. The organization works to combat juvenile delinquency and positively affect the school dropout rate in Maine by operating numerous programs aimed at mentoring at-risk youth.