Iconic city hotel launches 90th-year celebration

Celebrating 90 years since Gov. Richard Brewster opened the doors and threw away the key, the Westin Portland Harborview, 157 High St., launched a summer-long series of commemorative activities with Gov. Paul R. LePage recreating the time-honored gesture.

LePage, along with hotel General Manager Jeffery Burrell and others, including Nat Thompson a grandson of the hotel’s founder, Henry P. Rines, hopped a ride to the waterfront in a 1933 Packard to toss a commemorative key into Casco Bay. Hotel industry tradition suggests that because hotels are always open to travelers, they don’t need to lock their doors. Throwing away the key symbolizes a wish that the hotel will remain open for all time.

At a reception marking the occasion with a cake made by East End Cupcakes from 90 Westin-inspired 90th-anniversary cupcakes, Burrell announced a summer-long celebration.

“Historic hotels like the Westin Portland Harborview played an important role in the evolution of the city and it’s important to honor that contribution, share the memories, and tell the stories,” said Burrell. “Our tribute is a nod to the past with contemporary twists that we think today’s guests will appreciate.”

Chronicling the history of the hotel from groundbreaking in 1925, when the Rines family set out to build New England’s largest hotel, to its restoration in 2013 by current ownership group Rockbridge Capital, the exhibit is located in the hotel lobby and highlights the hotel’s evolution over 90 years. The display is enhanced by a jazz-era soundtrack curated especially for the occasion.

To demonstrate its appreciation to the city of Portland and its neighbors, Westin will perform 90 good deeds, large and small. The hotel team launched the effort recently by volunteering time at the Milestone Foundation and participating in a community clean-up, in conjunction with the Maine Innkeeper’s Association.

Recognition

At its annual meeting in June, workers compensation specialist The MEMIC Group presented awards for workplace safety to 10 of its more than 20,000 policyholders, including A.H. Grover, Inc., a family-owned excavating company in North Yarmouth, which was recognized for not having a single work-related injury in more than seven years. 

The 2017 recipients of the Dora Maxwell Social Responsibility Community Service Award included first-place winner, Town & Country Federal Credit Union of South Portland, with branches in Portland, Saco, and Scarborough. The 2017 recipients of the Desjardins Youth or Adult Financial Education Award included Atlantic Federal Credit Union, based in Brunswick, with Cumberland County branches in Cumberland and Freeport. Second-place winner was Five County Credit Union, headquartered in Bath, with locations in Brunswick, Falmouth, North Windham, Portland and Scarborough.

Bangor Savings Bank recently celebrated its sixth consecutive honor as Maine’s top Small Business Administration lender at a gathering in Portland.

Giving Back

Flowfold, an outdoor retail brand focused on minimalist gear for everyday adventures, is partnering with Women United Around The World to sell one-of-a-kind handbags to raise awareness and money for skills training and leadership development for Maine-based immigrant women. The limited run are on sale for $40 at www.flowfold.com/product/wuaw.

Yarmouth-based Summit Natural Gas of Maine announced recipients of the company’s 2017 Charitable Giving grants, which included $1,000 donations to Falmouth Memorial Library and Southern Maine Agency on Aging.

Hires, Promotions, Appointments

Macpage LLC, a CPA firm with offices in South Portland, announced that Nadia Batishcheva has joined the firm as an accounting associate. Batishcheva graduated magna cum laude from the University of Southern Maine with a degree in accounting and previously worked at Infinity Credit Union.

The Maine Society of CPAs has elected Karla Brannen of Albin, Randall & Bennett in Portland to serve as president of the organization’s board of governors.  Brannen has also been selected for a designated term as a council member of the American Institute of CPAs.

Systems Engineering, a Portland-based IT strategy and managed services provider, has expanded its leadership team. Eric Tennyson is the new director of Finance and Administration and Mark Benton has been promoted to director of Product Management. Also, Christine Doucette joined the team as the quality assurance manager, a new role at Systems Engineering.

Peter Bennett, of The Bennett Law Firm in Portland, has been re-elected as treasurer of the National Judicial College, effective June 9. The National Judicial College was founded in 1963 and is the nation’s leading provider of judicial education.

Fontaine Family – The Real Estate Leader announced the addition of associate broker Erin Herrick to the Scarborough office. Herrick grew up in New Gloucester and now resides in Cumberland.

Tilson, a national IT services, network deployment and consulting firm, has welcomed Tim Schneider as general counsel and principal consultant, effective July 24.

Certifiable

Apothecary By Design, a specialty pharmacy serving patients nationwide, has for the second time been awarded full accreditation in specialty pharmacy from URAC, the country’s premier healthcare benchmarking organization. ABD’s Portland pharmacy scored 100 percent in its compliance with nearly 400 quality criteria, which include standards for patient counseling, medication handling, client service and other best practices. 

Dr. Caitlin Morrisroe of Absolute Health Chiropractic and Massage in Portland has been certified by the Academy Council of Chiropractic Pediatrics in the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association.

William Tarraza, a Cape Elizabeth native and graduate of Cheverus High School in Portland, was ordained to the priesthood June 10 at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Yonkers, New York by His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York.
Herrick

David Rines, Julie Thompson Fralich, Nat Fralich, Gov. Paul LePage and Westin GM Jeff Burrell at the kick-off to the hotel’s 90th-anniversary celebration June 16.