SOUTH PORTLAND – Nine residents of Maine have been named to the advisory board for Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield in Maine.

James T. Parker, vice president and general manager of Anthem BCBS in Maine, said that the advisory board will help guide the Anthem BCBS leadership team in Maine to make decisions which will help keep the company in the forefront of health care leadership.

Parker said several of them previously were members of the board of directors of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Maine. The nine include:

. Dr. John A. Attwood, plastic surgeon with Plastic & Hand Surgical Associates P.A. of South Portland. He is a director of the Maine Medical Center Division of Plastic Surgery and a member of the Maine Medical Center Physician Hospital Organization;

. Martin B. Bernstein, chief executive officer of Northern Maine Medical Center in Fort Kent;

. Dana F. Connors, president of the Maine Chamber & Business Alliance. Previously, Connors was commissioner of the state Department of Transportation, a former city manager of Presque Isle and a former member of the board of directors of BCBSME;

. Dr. Richard M. Engel, internist with the Greater Portland Medical Group in Westbrook. He is a director of the Maine Medical Center Division of Internal Medicine;

. Marjorie Love of Portland, a management services consultant for human service organizations, was previously executive director of The AIDS Project. She also was a former member of the board of directors of BCBSME;

. Dr. Richard L. Pattenaude, president of the University of Southern Maine, Gorham-Portland and a member of the BCBSME board of directors since 1995;

. David L. Reinke of Hallowell, organizational consultant to associations and nonprofit organizations. He was previously the executive director of the Maine Teachers Association, as well as a former BCBSME board member;

. Peter L. Sparta, president of Morse, Payson & Noyes Insurance of South Portland;

. Richard J. Warren, publisher of the Bangor Daily News.

Parker stated that the advisory board would meet regularly to review the company’s activities.