People and Business: June 1

Cumberland Fire Department

holds annual banquet

CUMBERLAND — The Cumberland Fire Department recently held its annual banquet where it presented awards and recognitions with over 100 guests in attendance, including local fire chiefs, town councilors, and many fire department members.

Fire Chief Dan Small was the recipient of the 25-Year Service award; Captain/Chaplain KC Putnam received the 20-Year Service award; Lieutenant Andrew Pollack and Firefighter Jeff Storey received 10-Year Service awards; and Deputy Chief Nathan Schools was presented with a 5-Year Service award.

Officer of the Year was presented to Lieutenant Gerald Croce for his contributions to the department, customer service-oriented style, and overall excellence.

Mike Devoid was awarded the Cumberland Firefighter of the Year for 2011. Devoid received several nominations by his colleagues, who commended his commitment to the fire service by completing Firefighter I and Firefighter II programs, an EMT-Basic rating, among other qualifications.

The 2011 annual Recognition Award was presented to Kevin Foster. For the past several years Foster has organized the Cumberland Firefighter’s For Kids program. The program generates thousands of dollars in gifts and toys that are donated to local charitable programs.

Recognition was given to Firefighter Buddy Copp, to honor his upcoming departure as he begins the U.S. Army Basic Training program.

A new tradition was begun this year with the presentation of commemorative coins marking the 10th anniversary of 9/11 to community members making a difference in the community, including hosting a fundraiser breakfast, collecting toys, distributing gifts, and fulfilling requests from greater Portland charities. The coins were presented to Kevin, Meghan, Don, Joanna, Adam, and Kendra Foster; Craig, Julie, and Stephanie Weeman; Scott, Denise, Megan, and Matthew Morgan; Ashlee Wax, Joe Bell, Sam Hodsdon, Samantha Thoits, and Kim Gilbert.

Yarmouth Fire-Rescue

holds awards ceremony

YARMOUTH — The Yarmouth Fire-Rescue Department recently held its annual awards recognition dinner to honor its members over the past year.

Those in attendance included retired members, active members, family, the town manager, council members, neighboring chiefs and friends.

Awards were presented to the top responders of the year. Recipients include Lieutenant Jim Morrill, 250 hours; Lieutenant Terry Buck, 300 hours; Captain Tom Downing, 350 hours; Al Levenson, 350 hours; and Tom Ginn, 550 hours.

The following members received awards for reaching a milestone in years of service to the department: Al Levenson, Pat Coffey, 5 years of service; Bill Young, Brenda Martin, Rich Imbeault, Marge Dyer, Margaret Downing, Captain Tom Downing, Lieutenant Eric Dunn, and Ross Cudlitz, 10 years of service; Captain Glen Butler, Mark Grover, Retired Captain Carl Hubbard, Phil King, Captain Andrew O’Brien, 15 years of service; and Robert Walker, 30 years of service.

New Hires, Promotions

Wright-Ryan Construction recently promoted several of its long-standing employees. Tom Carey was promoted from assistant project manager to project manager. Carey is currently overseeing the construction of the Maine Street Station Inn in Brunswick and is the ongoing project manager for Maine College of Art. John Moynihan was promoted to assistant project manager from project engineer. Additionally, Rob Barrett was promoted to superintendent and Andy Seymour was promoted to project manager. Lee Proscia has recently joined the Wright-Ryan Homes group as preconstruction manager and is also a millwork manager.

Yarmouth-based IT company Norton Lamb & Company recently hired Ann Beckwith as a help desk support specialist.

Law firm Verrill Dana, LLP, has hired Sara Hirshon as an associate in the litigation and trial group in the firm’s Boston and Portland offices.

Margaret “Peggy” Schick of Topsham has been named director of annual giving and alumni development at the University of Southern Maine. She has served as USM’s interim director of annual giving since December 2010.

The Portland Regency Hotel and Spa has hired Sarah Herklots as its new spa director. Herklots recently relocated to Portland from New York City where she was managing a spa for Equinox Fitness Clubs in Manhattan.

Betteanne Esposito has been hired as the southern Maine district manager for Kelly Services, responsible for Cumberland and York Counties.

First Parish Congregational Church, U.C.C., in Freeport recently welcomed its new pastor, Rev. Peter Heinrichs from Springfield, Mass., where he served as the senior minister of the South Congregational Church, U.C.C., for 21 years.

Yarmouth-based Patriot Insurance Company has hired Jeffrey Nutter as commercial lines underwriter II. Kara Grant and Mary Caswell were both promoted to commercial lines senior field manager positions.

Austin Smith of Portland and Chris Berry of Portland have become partners in the firm of Scott Simons Architects. Smith has been with the firm for 16 years and has served as the project manager for the firm’s major projects, including the Portland Public Library renovation, the Waynflete Arts Center, and the Tilton Academic Building. Berry has been with the firm for seven years and has served as the business and marketing manager.

Cambium Enterprises in Yarmouth has hired Nathan Lewis as director of operations and Matt Reiniger as creative content director. Lewis and Reiniger will focus on the development and launch of PossibilityU, an interactive online program supporting students and families in the college selection and admissions process.

Sally Struever has joined The Portland Museum of Art as the new manager of the museum store.

F. David Walker IV, has joined the Portland law firm Friedman Gaythwaite Wolf & Leavitt as an associate. His practice will focus on catastrophic personal injury defense, medical liability, product liability, and commercial litigation.

Juliana L’Heureux has been named the executive director of the Portland-based Cromwell Center for Disabilities Awareness. L’Heureux, a registered nurse, was most recently the executive director of the Maine Association of Mental Health Services.

The Portland Water District has hired Joyce Beckley as its director of employee services.

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