People and Business

New Hires, Promotions and Appointments

The law firm of Verrill Dana has added Joanna S. Bowers and Nora C. Lawrence to its Portland office. Bowers, of Portland, is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Law, where she interned at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. Lawrence, also a Portland resident, earned her law degree cum laude at Boston College Law School, and interned with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office.

Jennifer S. Riggle, of Cape Elizabeth, has joined the Portland law firm of Bernstein Shur as a shareholder. A business and health care attorney with more than 25 years of experience, she earned her law degree at the University of Maine School of Law and a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University.

Creative Work Systems, a Portland-based nonprofit human services agency serving people with disabilities, has appointed Heidi Howard as executive director. Howard brings more than 25 years of experience in the human services field, and has held leadership positions at organizations including The May Institute, The National Autism Center, The National Center on Family Homelessness, Diabetes Charities of America and The Brain Injury Project.

Grants

The International Rotary Foundation recently awarded a grant of nearly $36,000 to the Rotary Club of Brunswick. Together with another Rotary club in the West African country of Zambia, the Brunswick club will use the grant to fund training for Zambian teachers in recognizing common illnesses. The collaboration is organized through “Healthy Kids/Brighter Future,” a nonprofit started by recent Bowdoin College graduate Lonnie Hackett after attending a meeting of the Brunswick club.

Recognition

The city of South Portland presented its inaugural Business Awards during an Oct. 9 reception at Southern Maine Community College’s McKernan Center. Honored as Business of the Year was Casco Bay Steel Structures, while Otto Pizza was named New Business of the Year. Scratch Baking Co. received the Small Business of the Year Award, and Willow’s Pizza won the Community Impact Award. Michael E. Dubyak, executive chairman of WEX Inc., was named Business Leader of the Year. The winners “signify the best of the best in helping to make the South Portland business community thrive,” said South Portland Mayor Jerry Jalbert.

Real estate agent Laura Russell, of Cumberland, has earned her associate broker license. Russell is a member of the Ann Cianchette Real Estate Group at RE/MAX By The Bay in Portland. She has worked in real estate since 2011, and specializes in buyer representation.

Portland resident Christian Rodriguez, a utility asset coordinator with the Portland Water District, has successfully completed the Management Candidate School for water and water pollution control professionals. The school is an intensive, year-long training program, coordinated by the industry and state agencies.

The Cape Elizabeth office of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage recently named Molly McGuire as the September Broker of the Month for achieving superior sales. The Scarborough resident has served as an associate broker with the firm since 2003.

New Beginnings

Mobile Fitness Personal Training has changed its name to Back Cove Personal Fitness. The studio, at 50 Cove St. in Portland’s East Bayside neighborhood, offers group exercise classes, personal training and fitness rehabilitation services for adults and seniors.

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