Bangor

USDA promotion

Michael W. Aube, state director of USDA Rural Development, has announced that Melinda Hanks of Jackson has been promoted to area specialist at the Bangor Area office.

Hanks’ responsibilities will include providing leadership in implementing Rural Development activities; making and servicing complex and difficult loans, loan guarantees and grants; providing technical assistance to rural communities, individuals, program applicants and borrowers, as well as state, federal and local governments; and conducting group meetings and training sessions.

She was promoted from her previous position as an area technician. Hanks has been with the agency for six years, and has 20 years’ experience in service-related business, including the fields of insurance, legal and banking.

New insurance business

Representatives of the city of Bangor and the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce joined Bangor Insurance Group for the ribbon cutting marking its opening at 108 State St.

Bangor Insurance Group is owned by Bob Guerette. Staff members Guerette, Sirena Sullivan and Gerry Guerrette will market auto, home, personal umbrella and recreational vehicle insurance, as well as Workers Compensation and business insurance.

Independent agents represent many different companies, offering clients a selection of choices for a custom insurance program.

For information, call 947-1800.

Platinum-status agent

Taylor Network Communications, a Verizon agent, has advanced to Platinum Status in the Verizon Agency Program. It took the company 14 months to reach that goal.

In order to be considered for Platinum Status, an agent must meet stringent criteria in an evaluation process that includes performance, customer satisfaction and commitment to continued business growth.

Taylor Network Communications, based in Bangor, also has offices in Presque Isle, Scarborough and Wellesley, Mass. To learn more, call 947-4010, Ext. 1000.

Gift certificate recipient

David McGillicuddy of Houlton was the recipient of a $500 gift certificate to the Bangor Mall. His name was entered in a drawing at the Machias Savings Bank in Bangor after completing a customer survey.

Commercial lending VP

Jeffrey Plourde of Old Town has been named a vice president in the commercial lending department at Peoples Heritage Bank. He will continue to be responsible for commercial lending activities at the 77 Exchange St. office.

Plourde joined Peoples in 1996 and has eight years of banking experience. He served previously as a business development and sales manager. He received a masters degree from the University of Maine in 2002. He grew up in Lincoln and is a 1987 graduate of Mattanawcook Academy.

Brewer

Food drive

Curves fitness centers in Brewer, Bangor and Hampden are collecting food to benefit local food banks. Anyone who joins Curves during the week of March 7 may bring a bag of groceries in lieu of the normal service fee. For more information, call 989-3733 or 862-6746.

Hampden

New massage practice

Becky Nelson, a recent graduate of Downeast School of Massage in Waldoboro, has opened a practice in therapeutic massage in Hampden.

She is licensed in the state of Maine and a member of the American Massage Therapy Association.

For information, call 862-4505.

Old Town

Surveyors society president

The James W. Sewall Co. announced that A. John Lloyd has been elected president of the Maine Society of Land Surveyors. Lloyd, who supervises survey operations and personnel at the Sewall company, has 16 years’ surveying experience on projects throughout the eastern United States. He is licensed to practice surveying in Maine, Massachusetts, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Lloyd received a bachelor’s degree in surveying engineering from the University of Maine. He is a member of the American Congress of Surveying and Mapping, the National Society of Professional Surveyors, the Kentucky Association of Professional Surveyors and the Tennessee Association of Professional Surveyors.

As president of the Maine society, Lloyd will dedicate time and effort to promoting surveying as a profession and will support surveying education within the state. Lloyd also plans to utilize the Internet as a communications and educational tool for surveying professionals within Maine.

The society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the improvement and enrichment of the profession of land surveying in the state of Maine. With a membership of approximately 350 surveyors, the society sponsors conferences and scholarships to promote surveying education.

For more information about the society, visit www.msls.org.

Orono

Advanced yoga training

Sandy Cyrus, certified Kripalu yoga instructor and owner of Full Circle Yoga, recently completed advanced yoga teacher training at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Mass.

Cyrus completed 50 hours of training, “Teaching the Deeper Practices,” which brings her halfway toward completion of the 500-hour professional level teaching certification. While at Kripalu, she also studied meditation practice and the art of combining the teaching of yoga and Pilates.

For information, call 866-4103.