Awards

Photographer Tom Jones recently received seven awards for his photography from the Maine Professional Photographers Association at their annual print competition. Jones is the owner of Tom Jones Photography in Brunswick.

The Maine Real Estate & Development Association (MEREDA) recently announced the 2012 winners of awards presented at their annual real estate forecast conference. Jaime Schwartz won the Robert B. Patterson Jr. Founder’s Award for contributions to the industry or to MEREDA on a significant level over many years. Schwartz has been active in MEREDA activities for more than 15 years. The Volunteer of the year Award was presented to Noel Graydon for going beyond the call of duty to help further MEREDA’s mission. Gary Vogel was awarded the Public Policy Award. The award is given to an individual member whose efforts have made meaningful impact on public policy decisions for the benefit of the real estate industry in Maine. The President’s Award, a discretionary award given by MEREDA’s current president, was given to Bruce Jones of Yarmouth.

Maine Equal Justice Partners recently awarded attorney Jeffrey Neil Young of McTeague Higbee the 2012 Equal Justice Hero Award for his commitment and conviction in his pursuit of equal justice for all Maine people. Most notably, Young has worked with Maine Equal Justice Partners, the Disability Rights Center and the National Health Law Program to file a class action lawsuit against the Maine Department of Health and Human Services on behalf of individuals with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and other related conditions to ensure they have access to adequate services and living arrangements to allow them to live more independent fulfilling lives. The case was settled in September and will require the state to implement systematic changes that will benefit the plaintiffs and other similarly situated individuals.

Good Deeds

The Cancer Community Center’s Cycle4Care fundraiser recently raised more than $12,000.

VIP Parts, Tires and Service recently donated $32,000 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. By giving paper and magnetic stars to customers who made donations, they raised not only critical funds for the foundation, but awareness of the tremendous work being done by the organization.

Wright Express recently joined Maine Cancer Foundation’s Tri for a Cure all-women’s triathlon as the 2012 presenting sponsor and will present the Maine Cancer Foundation with a $50,000 sponsorship check. In recognition of their generosity, the Maine Cancer Foundation will present Wright Express with a #1 race bib.

Birthdays and Anniversaries

Gulf of Maine Bookstore in Brunswick opened its doors for the first time on the day of an ice storm in late February, 1979. They are still on Maine Street, in their third location, and celebrating 33 years of independent book selling.

The South Portland Branch of Norway Savings Bank recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. The theme for their anniversary celebration was “Shop Local. Help Local. Bank Local.” The branch hosted a food drive for the South Portland Food Pantry.

Oakhurst Dairy recently celebrated its 90th anniversary in business as an independent and family-owned dairy business. There have been many changes in the dairy business over the years, but Oakhurst still sources its milk from 70 local Maine dairy farms and is committed to delivering quality milk without artificial growth hormones. Additionally, over the past 20 years the company has been a pioneer in adopting green initiatives as a part of its business model.

New Hires

St. Joseph’s Rehabilitation and Residence recently hired Yvette Ramirez as its business office manager and Donna Short as its admissions coordinator.

New Business

Gelato Fiasco recently opened its doors at a new location at 425 Fore St. in Portland. The store features a rotating selection of 30 flavors of gelato and sorbetto made fresh daily from a master recipe collection of more than 1,000 flavors. The store also offers slow-poured coffee, a full espresso bar and a variety of desserts. This is the second location for Gelato Fiasco; its flagship store is located in downtown Brunswick. The store is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

Designations

Tim St. Hilaire, of Custom Property Services, is now one of the select group of professionals nationwide to earn the Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist designation, identifying him as a general contractor with the skills and knowledge necessary to remodel or modify a home to meet the unique needs of the maturing population, disabled owners or their visitors.

Promotions

Preti Flaherty recently announced that Jeffrey D. Talbert and Todd J. Griset are its newest partners. Talbert practices with Preti Flaherty’s environmental litigation and climate strategy practice groups. He represents clients in New England and nationally in matters involving a wide range of federal and state environmental laws in environmental litigation, permitting, compliance and environmental aspects of corporate transactions. He was awarded the EPA’s Gold Medal for Exceptional Service in 2010. Talbert was previously a trial attorney in the environmental enforcement section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment & Natural Resources Division. He currently practices with Preti Flaherty’s energy and climate strategy groups and helps clients make critical decisions on energy and utilities matters in order to maximize their opportunities in power markets across the continent.

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In response to an urgent need to help offset cuts to LIHEAP, Maine’s credit unions made a collective contribution of $30,000 to the “Keep ME Warm” program. The contribution will purchase nearly 9,000 gallons of fuel for families across Maine.

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