MITA receives donations,
honors volunteers

PORTLAND — The Maine Island Trail Association has cause for celebration, with a powerboat donation and $35,000 in grant money received in recent months.

MITA received an ocean-going 32-foot speedboat, “Elusive,” donated by Mark Hanley of Bristol at a ceremony held at the Portland Yacht Club.

The boat will be chartered and half of the proceeds will support MITA’s stewardship efforts of the wild coastal islands and mainland sites that comprise the recreational water trail.

MITA also received a total of $35,000 in grants to fund increased volunteer care of the Maine Island Trail.

The William Bingham Foundation donated $20,000 for restructuring and expanding MITA’s Island Adopter Program. The Quimby Family Foundation donated $15,000 to support new stewardship initiatives in the Cobscook Bay area.

In late August, the nonprofit held its annual stewardship party and awards ceremony to recognize its member volunteers.

Tom McKinney of Brunswick received the Spirit of Stewardship Award for his volunteer efforts with outreach events and as apprentice monitor skipper.

MITA elected new trustees to the board, Nicole Connolly of Falmouth, a major gifts officer with the University of New England and Cyrus Hagge of Portland and Little Diamond Island, a real estate developer and philanthropist. The board also confirmed two mid-year trustee appointments, Kelly Boden of Portland, an attorney with Verrill Dana and Lindsay Hancock of Falmouth, assistant director of development at Maine College of Art. Trustees Scott Camlin of Wells and Tony Jessen of Falmouth were re-elected for three-year terms.

Outgoing trustee Greg Barmore of Harpswell, retired chairman and CEO of GE Capital Mortgage Corporation, was recognized for his nine years of service to the nonprofit.

Carson deployed
to Middle East

FALMOUTH — Christian H. Carson, son of Penny and Bob Carson of Falmouth, formerly of Cape Elizabeth, was recently deployed to the Middle East for one year with U.S.C.G. Port Security Unit 301.

Carson is a Coast Guard reservist, who was previously deployed in 2003 and 2006-2007. Before his recent deployment, he was a police officer in Winthrop, where he lives with his wife Lauri and sons, Thomas and Matthew.

KG Partners expands,
opens Manhattan office

PORTLAND and NEW YORK — Advertising, public relations and interactive agency KG Partners has launched a representative office in New York City at 22 East 49th St.

The Portland-based firm has hired Jeff Devlin to conduct new business development from the Manhattan office. Devlin has spent over 25 years in the advertising industry with extensive experience in television and broadcast advertising.

With its new office location, KG Partners plans to access large clients that are seeking a smaller, quality agency that provides strategic and creative marketing.

Scarborough police
present VIPS awards

SCARBOROUGH — Scarborough Police recently recognized four members of the Volunteers In Police Services with the President’s Volunteer Service Award based on hours of service in 2008.

Recipients of the awards are Ralph Masciovecchio, 535 hours, Gold Award; Jane Thurlow, 340 hours and Ed Libby, 275 hours, Silver Award; Pat Becker, 111 hours, Bronze Award.

The VIPS program is part of the USA Freedom Corps designed to promote volunteerism in the community. To become a part of the Scarborough VIPS, call 730-4244.

Appointments

Joan Frustaci of Cape Elizabeth was elected president of the South Portland/Cape Elizabeth Rotary Club for the 2009-2010 year. Also serving on the board is president-elect John LoBosco, vice president Marge Barker, immediate past president Janet McLaughlin, secretary Paul Butler, treasurer Nancy Hawes, club administration chair Tom Meyers, club service director Dave Bagdasarian, membership chair Bob Danielson, international chair Marc Mutty, foundation chairs, Frank Butterworth and Bob Carson.  

Portland’s Downtown District has named the following officers for 2009-2010: Brian Petrovek, president/CEO, Portland Pirates, president; Michael Quinlan, attorney, Jensen, Baird, Gardner & Henry, vice-president; Tamara Gilliam, general manager, Eastland Park Hotel, treasurer. Newly elected to the board serving a three-year term is Brad McCurtain, Maine Securities Corporation and owner of Others! cafe. 

Karen Hart of Portland, a director at Macdonald Page & Co LLC, was elected as president of the board of Maine Estate Planning Council.

Tilson Technology president Josh Broder, was named to the TechMaine board of directors. TechMaine, the Technology Association of Maine, is a statewide trade association for technology industries.

MaineHealth, has appointed Robert S. Frank of Falmouth to deputy general counsel of the healthcare provider and healthcare organization nonprofit.  

At the annual board meeting of People Plus, the following officers were elected: Edward Harris of Harpswell, chairperson; Martha Cushing of Bowdoinham, vice chairperson; J. Gregory Shea of Topsham, secretary; John McCurrach of Brunswick, treasurer. Newly elected to the board of directors are Fraser Ruwet of Brunswick, Gordon Brigham of Topsham, Joan Phillips of Harpswell and J. Gregory Shea of Topsham. Richard Brautigam, Patricia Conner, Thomas Farrell, Charles Frizzle and, Dennis Knox, all of Brunswick, and Deane Lanphear of Topsham will continue to serve on the board of directors. 

Bicycle Coalition of Maine has elected Nancy Grant of Portland as president of the board, and Nancy Stowell White of Bryant Pond as vice president. Julie Osgood of Portland has newly joined the coalition’s board of directors.  

Recently elected to the board of directors of the Maine Philanthropy Center are Anne Dinsmore, executive director, Great Bay Foundation; Carol Berg Geist, trustee, Betterment Fund; Tory Dietel Hopps, senior partner, Dietel Partners; John Kuropchak, president/CEO, United Way of Eastern Maine; David J. Nutty, librarian and director of instructional technology and media services, University of Southern Maine. 

New Ventures

Founders Sarah Nelson and Michael Papi have launched a new marketing firm in Portland called Npress LLC, targeting clients in the healthcare field. Npress will provide marketing systems for medical practioners with a concentration on low cost “guerrilla” marketing and educational marketing tools. 

Portland singer/songwriter Eric Bettencourt marked the release his second full-length cd, the Giraffe Attack Collection, with a release party held at Empire Dine and Dance in Portland. The cd is available at his website, www.eric-bettencourt.com.

Winslow Marine in Falmouth christened the ABS Load line Classed Tugboat the Patricia Winslow. The tugboat is equipped with a towing machine and hydraulic push-winches and will be used for the company’s coastal towing operations in the Eastern seaboard and Gulf Coast. 

Dr. Christine Barth Ramsay, previously of Coastal Neurobehavioral Center, and Leslie Darrell of Effortless Communication, have joined together to open a new practice, Clear Mind Consulting at 20 Independence Dr., Suite 1 in Freeport. They offer a full range of neuropsychological and speech pathology diagnostic and therapeutic services for brain dysfunction and communication disorders for adolescents and adults.  

Arthur Fink Photography, based out of Peaks Island, has opened an online bookstore at his website, ArthurFinkPhoto.com, of personally recommended books on dance photography, general photography, creativity and the creative process, coaching, and more.

Portland based Winxnet, Inc. has launched its new online store that sells Microsoft-certified telephones, headsets, and accessories at www.mscertified.com. 

Carson
Frustaci
Hart
Grant
Osgood
White
Franks

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