New business? Expansion? Promotions? E-mail information to weekly@bangordailynews.net, or mail it to The Weekly, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, ME 04402; or drop it off at the front desk of the Buck Street entrance of the Bangor Daily News, 491 Main St., Bangor.

Bangor

Law firm addition

Nixon Peabody LLP in Manchester, N.H., has expanded its business litigation practice with the addition of Courtney Worcester, a 1992 graduate of Bangor High School.

Worcester was a litigation associate with Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault LLP in Boston, where she focused on securities matters.

Worcester graduated from Bowdoin College and received her law degree from Boston University School of Law. After completing law school, she was a law clerk at the Supreme Court of New Hampshire for Justice W. Stephen Thayer III and Justice Linda Dalianis. She is licensed to practice law in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts.

Store promotion

Paul Decesere of Kenduskeag has been promoted to assistant store manager at Chez Renee Home Furnishings. Decesere has been with Chez Renee for more than a year and has extensive knowledge and experience in customer service.

Chez Renee Home Furnishings, located on the corner of Hogan Road and Stillwater Ave., specializes in unique furniture fashions. The business now has a Web site at www.ChezRenee.biz. The site features a slide show of the showroom, information about the staff and links to the vendors and catalogs available to Chez Renee customers. The site was completed recently by CM Weston of Bangor.

Sea Dog re-opening

Sea Dog Ventures Inc. will mark the opening of the renovated Sea Dog Brewing Co. 4-8 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, at the restaurant on Front Street.

The event will benefit Shaw House, which provides services to homeless and at-risk youth. Staff will accept donations and hold a 50-50 raffle and a silent auction on items including an original painting by J. Palmer Libby.

After the open house, the Sea Dog will be open at 4 p.m. April 9 and 10, and then start its regular schedule on April 11 – 11:30 a.m.-1 a.m. seven days a week.

New location

Tae Kwon Do USA has opened at a new location in Banair Business Center at 1185 Outer Hammond St.

TKD USA is a martial arts school providing instruction in Olympic-style tae kwon do. It is operated by holders of Kukkiwon-certified black belts.

Chase Poulsen, who holds a third-degree black belt, has 14 years of Olympic-style Tea kwon do experience and has worked with more than 17 junior and senior national medalists.

Jamie Smith, holder of a third-degree black belt, was a 1988 junior national medalist. He has more than 20 years of martial-arts experience and has been the backbone of the Maine Junior-Senior National team over the past decade.

TKD USA provides classes weekdays for children and adults of all levels and abilities. For information and class schedules, call 945-5245 or visit www.gotkdusa.com.

Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger

At a recent ceremony at the Senator Inn in Augusta, attended by hundreds of representatives from food and hunger organizations, credit unions announced that the 2002 Maine Credit Unions’ Campaign for Ending Hunger raised a record-setting $193,640, breaking last year’s record of $170,356.

The ceremony also marked official recognition that Maine’s credit unions have now raised more than $1.32 million to help end hunger since it began its campaign in 1990.

Among those representing area credit unions at the ceremony were Marie Johnson, Bangor Federal Credit Union, and Mary Jo Freeman, Eastern Maine Medical Center Federal Credit Union.

Hampden

Business excellence awards

Gov. John Baldacci presented six Maine companies with the 2003 Governor’s Award for Business Excellence during ceremonies held recently at the 52nd annual Colby Institute for Leadership at Colby College in Waterville. A Hampden firm was among those honored.

The winning companies received awards for demonstrating a high level of commitment to their communities, their employees and to manufacturing or service excellence.

Award recipients were:

. Sargent & Sargent of Hampden.

. The Jackson Laboratory of Bar Harbor.

. Coffee by Design Inc. of Portland.

. Hancock Lumber & Land of Casco.

. Kennebec Savings Bank of Augusta.

. Moody’s Collision Centers of Gorham and Scarborough.

Implemented in 1991, the Governor’s Award for Business Excellence has been presented to 75 Maine businesses.

Grand opening

Curves for Women will hold a grand opening at 9 a.m. Monday, April 7, at the franchise’s newest facility at 83 Main Road North.

The fitness and weight-loss center blends exercise and diet in a program offered through more than 3,500 locations in 50 states, Canada, Mexico and Spain. The concept is built around a 30-minute total workout that alternates hydraulic resistance machines for both cardiovascular and strength training. To learn more, call Curves for Women at 862-6746.

Orono

UM students in marketing

ORONO – When some University of Maine business students sit down for job interviews soon, they can say they’ve had a hand in making a weighty corporate decision.

The students, all undergraduates in marketing classes taught by Harold Daniel, acted as consultants to the Henry Company, a California-based construction materials company. The students are continuing to work on the project this spring, developing a marketing plan for the Henry Company’s possible move into a new market.

The students call it a unique learning opportunity.

“I love having those three sentences on my resume that talk about it,” said Derrek Smith, a senior from Parkman.

Senior Carly Wiggin of Benton said the project helped her get an internship with the Red Cross in Bangor.

Not only did the students obtain and analyze information for a real-life company, they had to present findings to three company executives late last year. They will meet with company officials again this spring.

“It instilled a lot of confidence in us,” said Chris Muffett, also a senior business major. He said recruiters he talked to at campus job fairs were impressed with his Henry Company experience. “I don’t know too many college kids who can say they presented information to the president of a company.”

“Exposure to real-life problems is compelling to an employer,” said their professor, Harold Daniel. “These students have had real experience with a real flesh-and-blood company.”

In the past, Daniel’s classes have done marketing projects for Fresh Samantha, the Bangor YWCA, Stillwater Montessori School, local veterinary clinics and the university’s food sciences department.

Daniel said he seeks out such opportunities because they help “connect the dots” between what students learn from lectures and textbooks and the real world of marketing.

“You can learn a lot about it through lectures and textbooks, but to really do it is an exhilarating experience,” Daniel said.

Compiled by Ardeana Hamlin