Faces&Places

April 2008

Peoples Trust Co. of St. Albans announced the expansion of its trust and investment department by hiring Ryan Howrigan and Steve Scrimgeour. Howrigan was named trust and investment officer, and Scrimgeour is senior vice president and investment trust officer. Michael R. Posternak joined the bank as an assistant vice president and commercial loan officer at the main office on 25 Kingman Street.

Maureen Bertrand, RN, was appointed administrator of the Woodridge Nursing Home at Central Vermont Medical Center. She was executive director of the Converse Home in Burlington. She has been a nursing home administrator since 1993.

Jack McKernon, president, and Kevin Birchmore, executive vice president of the McKernon Group of Brandon, announced that the company has opened an office at 2786 Main St. in Crown Point, N.Y. It will be headquarters for the company’s New York operations. The New York office’s phone number is (518) 597-9501.

Brighter Planet of Middlebury appointed Adam Rubin chief technology officer and David Donegan chief marketing officer. Rubin was with Public Interactive; Donegan was with the energy drink company Red Bull GmbH.

Meghan Jenkins joined Hampton Direct importing and distribution firm in Williston as a product sourcing assistant.

William J. Dodge was elected a director at Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC. Working from the firm’s Burlington office, Dodge is a member of the business law, public utilities law, and real estate and environmental law practice groups. He has been with the firm since 2000.

ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain announced the hiring of Vivien Schueler as event manager. Schueler was sales manager for The Ponds at Bolton Valley.

First Choice Communication Services of Brattleboro hired John Keating of Keene, N.H. A certified Nortel technician, Keating has been in the telephone systems and communications business for more than 15 years.

Paul Frank + Collins named Christopher J. Leff one of its 14 director/shareholders. The firm’s president, Alan Port, made the announcement. Leff joined the firm in 2002.

St. Michael’s College named Cheryl Stanley vice president for institutional advancement. Stanley is a fund-raiser with more than 30 years of varied experience in philanthropy and marketing/communications. She was a senior consultant to colleges and nonprofits with a New Jersey firm; before that, she was with the U.S. Committee for the United Nations Population Fund.

Stacy Theberge was hired as the first director of institutional advancement at the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She was a marketing and public relations consultant for large corporations. Vermont College of Fine Arts is a new college that has purchased the master of fine arts programs in visual art, writing, and writing for children and young adults, plus the 31-acre campus of Union Institute & University.

NRG Systems Inc. announced the addition of Carolyn Turk, PE, as a mechanical engineer. Turk was with Becton Dickinson Diagnostic Systems in Maryland. Henry Bush and Mensur Skopljak were hired for the electronics technician team. Bush was with St. Mary’s College of Maryland as River Project research coordinator; Skopljak was with Revision Eyewear in Essex.

The Vermont Golf Association hired Matt Albertazzi of Killington as its P.J. Boatwright Jr. intern for the 2008 golf season. Albertazzi is a senior at Curry College majoring in business management. He will help conduct tournaments, junior golf programs, membership services, and other general activities.

Husky Injection Molding Systems promoted Richard Desouza to manufacturing manager-components. Desouza has been with the company since 1994, and relocated to the Milton facility from Bolton, Ontario, in 1998. Matt Weldon was hired as the manifold/components manufacturing team leader for the weekend shift. He was with UPS.

Stowe’s Green Mountain Inn announced three additions to its executive team. Katrina Gibson is marketing manager, overseeing the marketing department of both Green Mountain Inn and its sister resort, WilloughVale Inns. She has more than 10 years’ experience. Jennifer Libby, revenue manager, develops and manages rates and packages. With the inn since 2006, she was marketing manager. Donald Walker is the event sales manager.

Paul Kaza Associates added two members to its team. Andrea Letourneau was named financial and media administrator. She was with the Vermont Air National Guard’s Adjutant General Office. Ara Hagan is project manager. She was an interactive project manager with Kelliher Samets Volk.

Bill Young, executive director of Maple Leaf Farm, announced that Sondra Mobbs and Erin Durivage were promoted to admissions counselor. Mobbs was the primary care clerk; Durivage was addictions treatment counselor.

Joseph M. Finnigan, president and CEO of Vermont Federal Credit Union, announced that Victoria Norton joined the mortgage team as a mortgage loan officer in the St. Albans branch. Norton was with KeyBank.

Hampton Direct importing and distribution firm in Williston added three individuals to its team. Melissa Hernandez, Sylvie Fretwell, and Brittany Garland. Hernandez, a customer service associate, was with Ferguson Enterprises Inc. in Virginia. Fretwell, a sales and marketing assistant, was with Gaz Metropolitain in Montreal. Garland, an A/R-A/P coordinator, was at United Natural Foods in New Hampshire.

The Philo Center announced the addition of several staff members. Jill Gorman was named executive director; Dawn Holbrook, office manager; Rachel Hallberg, occupational therapist; Hannah Cargill, occupational therapist; Janet Conk, occupational therapist; and Celia Cazayoux, finance. The Philo Center of Shelburne is a nonprofit clinic providing occupational therapy to children and adults with autism and other sensory processing disorders.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont announced an addition to its account management team. Bobby-Jo Salls was promoted to the position of account manager in the sales and service division and will manage the company’s association business. Salls joined the company in 1998.

Sovernet Communications announced the addition of two employees. Jennifer Benard is a customer care center representative. She has eight years’ telecommunications experience and was with Level3 Communications in South Burlington. Evan Moore returned to Sovernet as a network engineer with more than 13 years’ experience. He was with Conversant Communications, SEGnet Technologies and the SymQuest Group.

Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility announced the hiring of Lisa Curtis for the newly created position of internship coordinator. Using a grant from the Vermont Department of Labor, VBSR will create paid internships at companies that are creating new job opportunities. Curtis was with Montclair State University in New Jersey.

William R. Heaslip, president and CEO of Community Financial Services Group LLC, announced that Shellie L. Wright joined the company as a trust officer and investment adviser in the Lyndonville office. She was a financial adviser for Edward Jones.

Kris Surette joined Ecopixel, a Burlington Web development and hosting company, where she will offer public relations, writing and online visibility services. She was PR director at Champlain College. With Surette’s hiring, Ecopixel has added online and traditional public relations and marketing consulting and enhanced search-engine optimization services.

Child Care Resource announced three staff additions. Stacy Bradley is a child care subsidy specialist. She was a certified pharmacy technician and an intern for the Defense Contract Management Agency at the U.S. Department of Defense. Linda Snow was hired as a referral and information specialist. She re-joined the organization after returning to Vermont. Meghan Buckley is an assistant infant teacher at the Williston Children’s Center, a nonprofit center owned and operated by Child Care Resource. Buckley was at The Growing Years in Williston.

Robert D. Demont, president of the fund-raising consulting firm Demont & Associates Inc., announced the promotion of Lauren Geiger Moye to senior associate. Moye is a Certified Fundraising Executive whose association with the firm includes assignments with several Vermont organizations.

Gwendy Lauritzen was named vice president of sales and marketing at Notch Above Tours. Lauritzen was with Lake Champlain Shoreline Cruises.

Linda Martinez, RN, BSM, RRT, joined the Visiting Nurse Association of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties as program manager for the VNA Adult Day Program. She was manager of the respiratory care department and a medical ICU nurse at Fletcher Allen Health Care.

Collegiate Entrepreneurs Painting Services announced the appointment of Taggart Ramsey as branch manager of Burlington’s North End, Winooski, and Malletts Bay areas. Ramsey is a student in the University of Vermont school of business administration.

The board of directors of Merchants Bancshares Inc. announced that Charles A. Davis has given notice of his departure as a director of Merchants to decrease the number of public company boards on which he serves. Davis has served on Merchants’ board since 1985.

Engelberth Construction Inc. announced that Jeff Carlson, Ken Wonsor, Wesley Hastings, and Damon Moseley have joined the company. Carlson, senior project manager, has more than 18 years’ experience in building construction, having managed projects ranging in size from $4 million to $60 million. Wonsor, a project manager, will work primarily from the Keene, N.H., office. He has 30 years’ experience on major corporate, industrial, commercial and residential projects. Hastings was hired as superintendent. He supervised a number of projects at Dartmouth College. Moseley joined the preconstruction team as estimator. He has experience estimating projects ranging from $10,000 to $15 million.

Larry Sudbay, president and chief executive officer of SymQuest Group Inc., announced that Ken Godzik was named regional manager of document and print management solutions for SymQuest’s southern region. Godzik has worked primarily in Rutland and Bennington counties for more than five years and has 20 years’ experience in the document solutions business.

Stantec’s South Burlington office has added two technical professionals. T.J. Melendy joined the firm as an engineer-in-training. Melendy works on public works projects. Ray Paul, a computer-aided-design technician will work on similar projects. He was with a Waterbury consulting firm.

Christopher M. Carrigan was hired as vice president business development for the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. Carrigan was the state project director for Vermont Associates for Training and Development. Michael Belyea was promoted to legislative director at the chamber. He was grassroots advocate. Cindy Carter-Garceau is the VACE-Cigna insurance assistant. She was with Lyndon State College.

Martha Panton joined the Vermont Housing Finance Agency as human resources/office manager. A certified Professional in Human Resources, she was human resources project coordinator at HallerLee Human Resources Consulting LLC in Burlington. •