Scarborough native rises to the top at country music awards

Cameron Thayer, a 2014 graduate of Scarborough High School, started singing Johnny Cash tunes when he was 16 years old. Four years later, he performs around southern Maine and has parlayed his passion for music into some prestigious Country Music Awards.

Thayer, known for his spot-on renditions of Cash’s popular songs, swept the Downeast Country Music Associations Country Music awards in his age bracket last fall in Litchfield. That success in his first competition earned him a trip to Tennessee and the right to perform on a larger stage.

In Tennessee last month, Thayer collected more hardware at the North American Country Music Association, International’s annual nationwide competition. Competing in the 17-20 year old tier, Thayer rolled out his best Johnny Cash tunes in the Traditional Country categories. The week-long contest culminated in an awards banquet in Pidgeon Forge, where his efforts were rewarded with a second-place finish in the male vocalist group. But the big reward came at the end of the evening, when Thayer won the Traditional Country Entertainer of the Year award 

Hires, promotions, appointments

Bishop Robert P. Deeley has appointed Yvonne Borelli-Chace, Esq. as the new director of the Office of Missions and Catholic Relief Services for the Diocese of Portland. Borelli-Chace succeeds Ruth Oakley, who will depart after 11 years of service to enter Sisters of the Mary Immaculate of Nyeri in Kenya. Through collaboration with parishes and schools, the Office of Missions and CRS promotes awareness and develops a sense of commitment to the missionary work of the church throughout the world.

Deeley also recently named Gerald Coutu as the new director of the Office of Safe Environment for the Diocese of Portland. Coutu, who is the pastoral assistant/central business coordinator at St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish in Sanford, will start April 3. He succeeds Thom Meschinelli, who is retiring after 11 years as director.  The Office of Safe Environment is responsible for assisting the bishop in ensuring the diocese’s full compliance with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, including background checks on all diocesan employees and volunteers who work regularly with minors.

The principals of Macpage LLC, a Certified Public Accounting firm with offices in South Portland, announced that Edward Peterson has been promoted to manager. Peterson, who lives in South Portland, is a certified public accountant. 

Bath Savings Institution’s President & CEO Glenn Hutchinson announced the promotion of four employees: Megan Smith Pinkham, loan servicing officer; Lisa Sargent, assistant manager of Loan Servicing; Daniel Wilson, Deposit Operations officer; Jessica McIntire, assistant manager of Deposit Operations. 

BerryDunn welcomed new hire Andrew Majka as a senior manager in the Healthcare Industry Group. Majka will specialize in rural health, including critical access hospitals, rural health clinics and federally qualified health centers.

Camden National Bank has added Jean Claveau as vice president, Commercial Banking officer. Claveau comes to the bank after working in commercial lending at both Bangor Savings Bank and Androscoggin Bank. Claveau will be serving the central Maine area in addition to Brunswick, Bath and Lewiston/Auburn.

Recognition

The Cumberland County Children’s Advocacy Center has been accredited by National Children’s Alliance, which awards centers responding to allegations of child abuse in ways that are effective and efficient, and put the needs of child victims of abuse first. Accreditation is the highest level of membership and denotes excellence in service provision. 

The Cumberland County Children’s Advocacy Center opened in June 2015. Spurwink Services, the physical site and fiscal agent of the program, maintains the program with the collaborative support of Sexual Assault Services of Southern Maine, Family Crisis Services, the Maine Department of Health and Human Resources, the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office and local law enforcement. The program served over 200 children the first year.

Urban Air, which has a franchise in South Portland, has been honored by Entrepreneur TV as a Top 500 Entrepreneur Franchise in America. Noted as one of the fastest growing family entertainment centers in the world, Urban Air continues to rack up accolades across the board, and was recently featured in episode eight of Entrepreneur TV.

On the Move

Todd Doolan a senior vice president, Senior Portfolio Management director, financial advisor in the Portland Morgan Stanley office, has been named to Barron’s list of America’s Top 1,200 Advisors: 2017 State-by-State. This is the fourth consecutive year Doolan has been recognized by Barron’s and the second year he’s been ranked at the top for the state of Maine.

Clifford P. Ryan, principal of Elder Planning Advisors of Maine in South Portland, qualifies for his 25th year with Million Dollar Round Table, which is recognized internationally as the standard of excellence in the life insurance and financial services business.  

Cumberland-based Sevee & Maher Engineers announced that technology specialist Tyler Dunlea and chemical engineer Laura DeVaudreuil achieved certification upon completing a thermography training course and successfully passing an exam. Thermography, which graphically illustrates heat differentials, is used for a variety of condition monitoring and predictive maintenance applications in engineering.

Borelli-ChaceCoutuCameron Thayer of Scarborough took top billing at the North American Country Music Association International’s annual nationwide competition.