Appointments

Andrea Killiard, marketing director at Piper Shores, will be accepting a three-year term on the board of directors and marketing committee for the Scarborough Economic Development Corporation. Killiard currently serves on the Scarborough Community Chamber as secretary and chairwoman of the marketing committee. She will continue in these roles in addition to her work with SEDCO.

Awards

The Maine Education Association recently awarded Maine Sen. Justin Alfond, D-Portland, the MEA 2012 Friend of Education Award for his leadership and achievements in the Maine Legislature. The MEA Friend of Education Award recognizes an individual currently holding an elected or appointed public position and currently making a significant contribution to public education. Alfond currently serves on the Education and Cultural Affairs committee.

The Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine received the MetLife Foundation Promising Practice Award and a $10,000 grant in recognition of the Museum & Theatre’s innovative cultural policies. The Museum & Theatre was among four children’s museums selected from an international pool of applicants to receive the honor. This year’s theme was the important role of children’s museums in nurturing global citizens.

The Virginia Hodgkins Somers Foundation has provided a $5,000 grant to support Community Financial Literacy’s general operations.  CFL is committed to serve refugees and immigrants with targeted culturally-appropriate financial literacy courses. CFL offers classes and workshops about savings, money management and analyzing credit reports.

At the Maine Credit Union League’s Annual Meeting & Convention recently, eight Maine credit unions were honored. Of local credit unions, Five County Credit Union, which has branches in the greater Portland area in Falmouth, Portland and Scarborough, received three awards including a first-place Dora Maxwell, a second-place Louise Herring and an Honorable Mention Desjardins Youth Financial Education Award. The State Awards are part of a national awards program coordinated by the Credit Union National Association.

Maine First Lady Ann LePage recently joined the Maine Health Care Association to honor the accomplishments of 36 people living in the state’s long term care facilities, including: Sister Anne Fitzpatrick, 70; Frank Fowles, 94; and Doreen McCann, 87, all of Portland. LePage offered opening remarks at the 10th annual ceremony and photography exhibit, entitled “Remember ME”, which featured the black and white photographs and biographies of these citizens in nursing homes and assisted living facilities statewide.  She also helped present Certificates of Lifetime Achievement during the ceremony held in the Hall of Flags at the State House.

People Plus recently received two grants: The John T. Gorman Foundation awarded $5,000 for support of the Volunteer Transportation System which provided rides for local seniors who demonstrate need in the Brunswick, Topsham and Harpswell areas, and the Maine Community Foundation approved a grant of $10,875 for People Plus to evaluate, revamp and expand the Homebound Outreach Programs serving homebound seniors and elders in the local area.

Breast Care Specialists of Maine was recently recognized as a certified participant in the National Quality Measures for Breast Centers Program. Breast Care Specialists of Maine is the first and only breast center in Maine to receive certification. The National Quality Measures for Breast Centers were developed by referencing the Health Care Advisory Board’s Clinical Quality Dash Board for breast centers published in the fall of 2004.

Designations

Winxnet, a provider of consulting, application development, and network services, recently earned preferred IT vendor status from eClinicalWorks. To achieve the preferred status, Winxnet completed an extensive training program at eCW headquarters in Westborough, Mass. eCW is a privately-held provider in ambulatory clinical solutions that extend the use of electronic health records beyond practice walls with the latest technologies.

Opening

Dragon’s Eye Ventures is expanding into Maine with a new summer program for the 9-12 age group on the Bowdoin campus for July and August.  The program offers “mythical expeditions for mavens of mystery.” Rebecca McNulty started the Dragon’s Eye program in 1989 in Ithaca, N.Y.

Karen Johnson’s sea glass jewelry business, All Washed Up, is now open for business. It’s located next to the Maine Maritime Museum at 237 Washington St in Bath. Johnson has been designing sea glass jewelry for 10 years.

New Hires

Maine Archives and Museums recently announced that it has contracted with Erin Bishop, of Falmouth, to be its first director. Bishop will succeed Julie Rabinowitz, MAM’s Business Manager from 2011-2012, who has taken a leadership position in the Maine Department of Labor.  Bishop will guide the long-term activities and oversee the day-to-day operations of MAM, a membership organization whose purpose is to develop and foster a network of collecting institutions and individuals in Maine.

Michael R. Stevenson was recently named provost and vice president for academic affairs at the University of Southern Maine. He replaces John R. Wright. As dean at Northern Arizona University, an institution of more than 25,000 students, Stevenson managed a college of 150 full-time faculty in 11 academic departments and three research and service units. He facilitated an $8 million campaign for the design and construction of the university’s Native American Cultural Center.   

Vendean Vafiades, a lawyer, public servant and longtime advocate for justice, recently became the University of Maine School of Law Director of Advancement and External Affairs. She left her post with the Maine Public Utilities Commission, on which she has served as a commissioner since January 2007. She previously served as a Maine District Court Judge, Chief Judge of the Maine District Court, Chief Counsel to the University of Maine System, Chief Deputy Attorney General for the State of Maine, attorney at Bernstein Shur Sawyer & Nelson, and executive director of the Maine Women’s Lobby.

Dana Marcoux, who began one of Portland’s early trendsetting hair salons almost 30 years ago, has returned to join O2 Salon on Congress Street. Marcoux opened Akari Hair Salon on Fore Street in 1983. He had studied advanced cutting in London in 1979, and in 1982 he worked and trained at Vidal Sassoon in New York City.

Promotions

CBRE|The Boulos Company recently promoted Drew Sigfridson to principal. Sigfridson joined CBRE | The Boulos Company as an assistant broker in 1998 and has worked in the industry for 13 years. Last year, he was awarded Maine Today’s inaugural 40 Under 40 Award.