FARMINGTON — Franklin Community Health Network has appointed an experienced communications professional from the Farmington community to the newly created role of director of communications and public affairs.

Ryan M. Mastrangelo, who for the past several years has led the marketing and communications efforts at the University of Maine, Farmington, joined the network on March 1.

Mastrangelo’s experience as a communications leader at UMF dates back to 2017, and overall she has been working in higher education for the past decade. She joined UMF in 2016 in the admissions office and soon after took over the marketing and communications function.

“We were all very impressed with Ryan,” said Trampas Hutches, president of Franklin Memorial Hospital and its local parent, FCHN, according to a news release from the network. “We found her experience and insights from the world of higher education to translate well to the marketing and communications work we must undertake at FCHN. Ryan knows well how to work with a local organization within a larger system, as UMF is part of the state’s university system in much the same way we are a part of MaineHealth.”

Hutches said Mastrangelo knows the Farmington community well and has experience in her current role with marketing, community relations and internal/corporate communications. “I am confident she will be an effective spokesperson for FCHN as we pursue our vision and mission on behalf of the Franklin County community,” he said.

“This is a very exciting opportunity,” said Mastrangelo. “The University of Maine at Farmington has been an incredible place to work, and through this new role, I will continue to serve my community by promoting the health and wellbeing of the people of Franklin County.”

In her new role, Mastrangelo will be responsible for network’s external and internal communications, making sure its patients, employees and the broader community are aware of the high quality work done every day at the network. She will also be responsible for promoting its services throughout the region, and she will sit as a member of the network’s senior executive team. She will also be a part of the MaineHealth marketing and communications team spanning the larger health system.

CEI welcomes new board members, professionals to team

BRUNSWICK — Coastal Enterprises Inc. announces two new members to its board of directors, Jeanette Andre and Devin Cook, and three new staff members, Azenaide Pedro, Linnea Patterson and Peter Piconi.

Andre is the president and CEO of Maine Philanthropy Center. She brings her passion for advancing equity and centering community to her board service at CEI. Her previous experience includes positions at the Lenny Zakim Fund and Social Ventures Partners. She serves on the executive steering committee for the implementation of the Maine Economic Development Strategy 2020-2029. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of Florida and holds a certificate in nonprofit management and leadership from Tufts University.

Cook is associate director at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy and co-founder of the IDE’s Inclusive Innovation Challenge. She brings a strong devotion to entrepreneurship and economic development to CEI’s board of directors. Cook is also a board member of Maine Women’s Fund and serves on an advisory board for Humans for AI. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from Middlebury College and a master of business administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Piconi joins the Small Business Development Center team as a business advisor for the Waterville office. Piconi brings a breadth and depth of business advising and business ownership experience to this role. Originally from Southern California, Piconi worked at his family’s winery in Temecula and also started his own retail saltwater fly fishing business in San Diego, which he operated and grew over the course of 15 years. In 2018, he joined the Island Institute as community development officer – business development specialist, and manager for the Aquaculture Business Development Program. This work established key partnerships, built a collaborative network of farmers throughout Maine and is where he first intersected with CEI’s lending and fisheries and aquaculture teams.

Tiffany Poland joins Fontaine Family Team

Fontaine Family – The Real Estate Leader has announced the addition of Tiffany Poland to the team at their Auburn location.

Poland grew up in Greene, and attended Leavitt Area High School. She then continued her education at University of Maine, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in developmental psychology. She has been in real estate for three years as an associate broker, and is a member of the Maine Association of Realtors as well as the National Association of Realtors.

She has always had a special place in her heart for Maine, residing in Greene, and being a UMaine graduate. She has a wide variety background in marketing, customer service, home insurance and construction management. When she’s not putting all of her energy into her work, she is outdoors with her family enjoying all of Maine’s amenities.

The Fontaine Family Team serves eight counties – Androscoggin, Cumberland, York, Sagadahoc, Oxford, Kennebec, Franklin and Somerset – in two locations, 336 Center St. in Auburn and 432 US Route One in Scarborough.

LPL Financial names Waterville firm to 2020 Executive Council

Brian Bernatchez, CFP, managing director of Golden Pond Wealth Management in Waterville, has announced inclusion in LPL’s Executive Council. This elite award is presented to less than 1% of the firm’s more than 17,000 financial advisors nationwide.

“On behalf of LPL, I congratulate Brian and his team at Golden Pond on reaching this milestone in the growth of their firm,” said Angela Xavier, LPL executive vice president, Independent Advisor Services, according to a news release from the firm. “Business owners, American investors and industries at large faced extraordinary challenges throughout 2020. In the advisor-mediated financial advice market, investors showed how much value they place on a trusting relationship with a financial advisor. We applaud them on their extraordinary commitment to their clients and resiliency as business owners. It is an honor to support Golden Pond and we wish the entire team continued success as they continue to add value for clients and in their business in the years ahead.”

Since 1996, Golden Pond Wealth Management is a family owned and operated firm celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2021, affiliated with LPL Financial since inception.

Gardiner FCU to donate just under $20,000 to several area food banks

Over the last 20 years, Maine’s Credit Unions and the Maine Credit Union League have raised more than $10 million for the Campaign for Ending Hunger. The year 2020 was a record-breaking year for the campaign, which is both surprising and wonderful. In a year with so many more people in need of food assistance, those able to help dug deep and provided the help that was needed.

The pandemic caused Gardiner Federal Credit Union to cancel several planned fundraisers for the Campaign for Ending Hunger, including its annual yard sale and the spaghetti dinner. Missing out on those two fundraisers could have set them way back, but the credit union members and their community supported every remaining fundraiser. Because of their support, Gardiner FCU will donate a total of just under $20,000 to several area food banks and organizations that help provide meals to those who may otherwise go without.

The fact that the credit union and community members fully supported this worthy cause was no surprise to Gardiner FCU staff. Each year when the Maine Credit Union League goes over the fund raising figures, they announce which credit unions raised the most and which had the most generous per member contributions. Gardiner FCU consistently has the most generous, per member contributions. Seven out of the last eight years, their members placed first, the other year they placed second.

“It goes back much farther than that,” said Kelly Marie, marketing director at Gardiner FCU, according to the release. “But we only display the most recent eight plaques.”

Gardiner FCU raises funds year round for the Campaign for Ending Hunger and 100% of the funds go directly into their local community.

“We’re so proud to be able to do our part and proud of the generosity of our members and our supporters,” said Marie.

Aside from the many Ending Hunger fundraisers, Gardiner FCU also has school supply, food and toy drives. They support Special Olympics of Maine, area schools, school sports, and many other local charities and events. This month, the credit union is holding its pet supply drive for the Kennebec Valley Humane Society. Lists of items that are needed are posted in its lobby and under the community tab on its website gardinerfcu.org.

Marshall Communications receives two awards

AUGUSTA — Marshall Communications recently was honored with two Golden Arrow Awards from the Maine Public Relations Council at the 2020 Virtual MPRC Awards Ceremony on Feb. 24. Now celebrating 30 years in the business, Marshall Communications has won 26 awards, including its more recent Golden Arrow awards, since 2010.

The council’s award winners were selected via an extensive peer review process. Marshall Communications CEO Nancy Marshall said, “I’m proud of my talented team members who have risen to the challenge of helping our clients amidst a pandemic and generated impressive results. Personally, I am very pleased The PR Maven Podcast won the top award in the podcast category as creating it has been a true passion of mine, especially during the pandemic,” according to a news release from the agency.

The agency was awarded gold in the video/podcast category for The PR Maven Podcast, a podcast hosted by Marshall featuring interviews with industry leaders, top executives, media personalities and online influencers. The podcast had 20% more downloads over the previous year, and in December 2019, The PR Maven Podcast was listed on Feedspot’s top 10 personal branding podcasts to follow.

The Augusta agency also was honored with a silver award for its media relations campaign for Trek Across Maine. The virtual event raised $550,000. It was successful enough that the Trek will host the event virtually again in 2021. One month after the 2020 event, more than $28,000 had already been raised for the 2021 Trek Across Maine.

For more business news, visit CentralMaine.com.

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