Augusta Board of Trade to host May 24 success symposium

The Augusta Board of Trade will host the first Success Symposium on from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 24, at the Augusta Civic Center.

The program is designed to help attendees improve personal and organizational performance, learn how to manage change and the importance of developing a positive personal and professional “brand” that will promote success in life and in a profession.

Featured speakers include:

• Ann Atkinson, whose mission is to deliver programs that encourage open communications, inspire shared visions, enhance teamwork, invite creativity and propel people to perform and excel. • Patrick H. McGaughey, an international business speaker with a background of professional success in broadcasting and business association management. McGaughey’s professional experience, combined with a constant examination of historical, current and future trends is the foundation for his presentations on business leadership, management, marketing, sales and personal performance.

• C. Wayne Mitchell, who has addressed groups from Maine to California on topics including motivating volunteers, strategic planning, activating the emerging generations and the importance of managing change. Mitchell, the Board of Trade’s executive director, has extensive experience in nonprofit management and has been CEO of several organizations.

The program will also feature a “Power Panel” discussion at lunch with several current and former business leaders from the Augusta Area. Panelists include H. Allen Ryan, founder and former CEO of NorthCenter Foodservice; Stacey Morrison, CEO & Owner of Ganneston Construction Corp.; and Conrad Ayotte, chief financial officer and vice president of J. S. McCarthy Printers. The cost to attend the program is $59 which includes lunch. Online registrations can be made by going to www.brownpapertickets.com and searching “Success Symposium.” Registration must be made in advance. No tickets will be sold on the day of the event.

Gasper joins medical staff of family practice in Livermore Falls

Dr. Jonathan Gasper has joined the medical staff at Franklin Health Livermore Falls Family Practice, according to a news release from Franklin Memorial Hospital.

Gasper completed his three-year family practice residency at Duke/Southern Regional AHEC Family Practice at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center in Fayetteville, North Carolina, after receiving his medical degree from John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Gasper has practiced family medicine since 1998. Before joining Franklin Health Livermore Falls Family Practice, Gasper provided care for patients of all ages at Winthrop Family Medicine. He is board-certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Gasper resides in Mount Vernon with his family. During his free time he enjoys family activities, reading, woodworking, hiking, archery and being a backyard lumberjack.

Franklin Health Livermore Falls Family Practice is in the Androscoggin Valley Medical Arts Center, at 21 Main St. in Livermore Falls.

Cross becomes Waterville’s deputy city clerk

Sarah Cross has been promoted to deputy city clerk of Waterville and began her new duties Friday.

The city hired Cross in November, 2014 as a finance clerk after she had worked as an assistant customer service manager with Hannaford Supermarkets. She lives in Winslow with her husband, Brycent.

Cross replaces Joyce Tillson, who now works as clerk for the town of Newport.

Speaking Up for Us in Maine hires Olmstead, McGovern

Speaking Up for Us of Maine, a statewide self-advocacy organization for people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has announced the hiring of Avery Olmstead and Jon McGovern.

Olmstead, of Old Town, has been hired to be a media/public relations associate, a new position created by the organization.

Olmstead previously had worked as the organization’s legislative associate.

Olmstead, who uses a wheelchair because of a developmental disability, cerebral palsy, brings 45 years of personal and professional experience in the disability field. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in rehabilitation services from the University of Maine at Farmington, a postgraduate certificate as a mental health rehabilitation technician from the University of Southern Maine and a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of South Carolina at Columbia. His past positions have included academic librarian consultant for the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Project Specialist at the University of Maine’s Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies.

McGovern, of Bangor, has been hired as a program associate.

McGovern’s duties include database management, assisting the program director with daily operations, as well as leading special projects such as conducting focus groups in economically depressed Maine communities, to understand how people with disabilities are affected.

He is a former chairman of the group’s board of directors.

Cancer group awards grant to Franklin County health agency

The Healthy Community Coalition of Greater Franklin County has been awarded a two-year grant from the Maine Cancer Foundation to provide tobacco prevention and cessation programming, according to a news release from the coalition.

The project is designed to promote and support tobacco-free lifestyles and decrease tobacco-related cancer incidence and mortality rates.

People can consult with the coalition’s staff through a variety of options, including one-on-one meetings, group settings, or communications by telephone, text or email. This individualized method allows those in need of support to seek it when it is convenient and receive free local confidential support from professionals trained in tobacco cessation counseling. Continued support beyond the initial quitting period is offered to help people remain tobacco-free.

This free service is available to anyone interested in quitting the use of tobacco. For more information or to connect with a tobacco cessation counselor, contact the coalition at 779-2750.

Developers invited to consult with corporate site selection specialist

The Kennebec Regional Development Authority in Oakland will host Dennis Donovan, a worldwide site selection consultant, May 17-19.

As part of his visit to central Maine, KRDA is offering developers an opportunity to showcase their facilities to Donovan, who specializes in identifying corporate locations.

Donovan is a principal and co-founder of Wadley Donovan Gutshaw Consulting, a leading management advisory firm that focuses exclusively on corporate location. Donovan leads the firm’s worldwide site selection services and has been advising corporations on office and industrial facilities location for more than 39 years.

In recent years, Donovan has counseled companies across the industry spectrum on facilities site selection. His previous clientele includes AFB (pet products), ABB, Barclays Capital, Bank Of America, BOC Group (Linde), Campbell’s, Boston Scientific, Plibrico (refractory materials), Grafco (plastics), Moneygram, Harbor Freight Tools, Nortel, Gardner Denver, Veritas (Symantec), Verizon and York Int’l.

The familiarization tour is part of KRDA’s integrated approach to drive investment into central Maine. A component of that approach is working with site selection consultants to facilitate connections to larger, rated companies like those Donovan represents. By hosting Donovan, KRDA is in effect hosting his vast network of corporate connections and the clients of Site Selection Guild members, demonstrating by proxy the opportunity Central Maine presents to growing companies.

To schedule a meeting and showcase facilities to Donavan, developers can contact Brad Jackson at bjackson@firstpark.com or 859-9716.

Foundation honors CMP for utility’s tree work

A national group has recognized Central Maine Power, a subsidiary of AVANGRID Inc., as a Tree Line USA Utility for 2015, according to a CMP news release.

The designation comes from the National Arbor Day Foundation, the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees.

“We are thrilled to have earned this recognition from Arbor Day Foundation,” said Tom Irwin, head of vegetation management for CMP. “We are proud of the quality tree care that our trained professionals and contractors have provided over the years, and receiving this designation demonstrates that we are doing the right things.”

To receive the designation, utilities must meet five core standards set by the foundation:

• Quality tree care that meets industry standards for pruning, planting, removals and other activity

• Annual worker training in best practices for utility employees and contract workers

• Tree planting and public education programs that demonstrate proper tree planting, placement and pruning while expanding the tree canopy in the community

• Tree-based energy conservation programs that put special consideration on the value of trees in energy conservation

• Arbor Day celebration sponsorship at the community level.

Augusta attorney receives lawyers’ magazine honor

Lipman & Katz attorney Peter Bickerman has been named by Best Lawyers Magazine as one of the Best Lawyers in New England in the area of administrative/regulatory law and appellate practice, according to a news release from Nancy Marshall Communications.

Inclusion in Best Lawyers magazine is based on confidential evaluations by other lawyers.

Peter has briefed and argued more than 60 cases in the Maine Supreme Judicial Court and several cases in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, on matters including criminal law, family law, tort law and employment law.

Compiled from contributed releases