Pantry Project underway
at Portland businesses

PORTLAND — United Way of Greater Portland has teamed up with Preble Street for the third year in a row to implement the Pantry Project, a program that collects food items for the needy at local companies.
 
Special shelving units will be hosted for one month at companies around greater Portland, including United Way headquarters, MaineHealth, People’s United Bank and Woodard & Curran. Employees will fill the shelves, box the food and deliver it to Preble Street for redistribution.

Since 2008, the Pantry Project has been hosted 65 times by 25 companies and has collected 1,184 boxes of foods.

For more information on the Pantry Project or to host a Pantry Project, please contact Mary Beltrante at United Way of Greater Portland at 874-1000 ext. 2309.

Nominations open for
Maine fitness awards

AUGUSTA — The Maine Governor’s Council on Physical Activity is currently accepting nominations for its 13th Annual Maine Fitness Awards.  

The awards are presented to people and/or programs that play an outstanding role in supporting  health in Maine through physical fitness and sports programs.

Awards are given in six different categories: youth, both school and community, adult, special populations, community, healthy workplace (small, medium, and large companies), and lifetime/program achievement.

A celebration and award presentation will be held on Tuesday, April 26, at 11 a.m. at the State House Hall of Flags in Augusta.
 
Nominations will be accepted until March 7. Criteria and nomination forms can be downloaded at maineinmotion.org/contest_communities.asp.

New Ventures

Local author John Moon recently had his latest book, “City by the Sea: A Photographic History of Portland, Maine,” published by Elysium Press. He previously wrote “Portland, Then and Now,” and specializes in local history books. His latest book features over 180 images of Portland with vintage black and white images contrasted with full color, contemporary images of the same scene. The book can be found at local bookstores, including The Book Review in Falmouth, and Longfellow Books in Portland.

Kathryn Dobrowolski and Andre Landry, owners of Falmouth Hardware LLC, have signed a lease with Gendron Realty to open Falmouth Ace Hardware in the new Bangor Savings Plaza on the corner of Route 1 and Fundy Road in Falmouth. Falmouth Ace Hardware will occupy a nearly 10,000 square-foot space in the former Saab Dealership building and is scheduled to open in March, 2011.

Christopher Gillard recently opened Indoor Plant Kingdom at 200 Anderson St. in Portland. The store specializes in year-round gardening, growing and hydroponic supplies. For more information, call 332-7988, or visit indoorplantkingdom.com.

Portland graphic and website design company iBec Creative has relocated to a 1,500 square-foot office space at 408 Fore St., suite 302. The larger location reflects the growth in iBec Creative’s client volume and staffing level. iBec Creative was launched in 2006 by Becky McKinnell, the 2010 U.S. Small Business Administration Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Maine.

Breathing Room: Yoga & Movement Studio, recently opened for business at 864 Broadway in South Portland. Various classes of yoga and movement, including restorative yoga, Pilates mat, dance/yoga and more, are available at the studio. Owner/instructor Carissa Ciuca can be reached at 843-906-8784, or you can visit the studio’s website at breathingroomME.com.
 
Wright-Ryan Construction of Portland was recently awarded the construction project for Mount Blue Learning Campus in Farmington with a low bid of $42.8 million. The Mount Blue Learning Campus, the largest state-funded major capital school construction project to date, is expected to be completed in 2013, and will be comprised of 144,000 square feet of new construction and 90,000 square feet of renovated space.

Deb Sileo, of Allen & Selig Realty in North Yarmouth, has recently become an independent agent at the company after working on a realty team for the past 4 years.

Awards

At the Maine Innkeepers Association 89th annual meeting and conference, the Special Service award was presented to Richard Lindgren of Habitat for Humanity in Greater Portland. Lindgren was recognized for his contributions to the improvement of the lodging/hospitality/tourism industry and for his efforts in launching the MEIA Hospitality for Habitat program. Danny and Carla Lafayette of Lafayette Hotels, were awarded the Community Service award. The Lafayettes, who’ve built a chain of 27 hotels, including the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland, recently pledged $2 million to the Champion for the Cure campaign for the new Lafayette Family Cancer Center in Brewer.

The board of directors of The Finance Authority of Maine recently held its annual dinner and awards program, “Showcase Maine.” This year’s award recipients include CPM Constructors of Freeport, for the Business at Work for Maine award; The 2010 Financial Literacy for Maine Youth Summit Planning Committee, for the Education at Work for Maine award; Kennebunk Savings Bank for the Financial Institution of the Year award; and the Hon. Justin Alfond of Portland, state senator and assistant minority leader, for the Dirigo Legislative Champion award. FAME is a quasi-independent state agency that provides financial solutions to help Maine people and businesses pursue educational and business opportunities.  

Betsey Greenstein, president of Bank of America Maine and former Girl Scout, was honored by Girl Scouts of Maine at the 14th Annual Women of Distinction Dinner. The dinner recognizes a Maine woman who serves as an exemplary role model for girls and young women and acknowledges the unique achievements of women in all fields.

The Cumberland County YMCA recently recognized and honored volunteers, partner organizations and employees for contributions to the YMCA and the communities it serves. Long-time volunteer Wendy Bush of North Yarmouth was awarded the Cyrus Hagge Building Strong Communities award. Freeport Community Services and Greater Portland YMCA branch volunteer Anne Archibald were recognized for excellence in encouraging youth development; The Healthy Casco Bay/Healthy Portland and Port Resources were lauded for their excellence in encouraging healthy living; Casco Bay volunteer Joey Burdick, Pineland volunteer Lila Littlefield, and Foundation House in Portland were all recognized for their excellence in encouraging social responsibility. Staff Excellence awards were given to Marilyn Traiser from the Casco Bay branch, Cheryl Johnson from the Pineland branch, and Jesse Wall from the greater Portland branch.

Portland-based Putney, Inc., a pet pharmaceutical company, has earned a Pine Tree Development Zone Certificate from the State of Maine Department of Economic and Community Development in recognition of its planned corporate growth and job creation.

FreeportUSA, formerly the Freeport Merchants Association, recently presented its 2010 Member of the Year award to Carolyn Krahn, director of sales at the Freeport Comfort Suites.

Cape Elizabeth attorney Terry Garmey, a partner at Smith, Elliott, Smith & Garmey, was named Lawyer of the Year for Portland in the area of personal injury law by Best Lawyers in America.

Sidebar Elements

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South Portland’s Trask-Decrow Machinery was recently recognized by Efficiency Maine with its Qualified Partner of the Year Award. Efficiency Maine’s Qualified Partners identify and implement energy savings projects and collect and analyze data related to energy consumption. In the past year Trask-Decrow completed 15 Custom Compressed Air system projects resulting in an energy savings of 1,588,949 kilowatt hours. Pictured here is Michael Stoddard, Efficiency Maine executive director, presenting the award to Trask-Decrow sales manager Greg Scott.

Greenstein