August 12, 2010

BRUNSWICK, MAINE The law firm of Eaton Peabody has announced the addition of Edward F. Feibel to its Employment Practice.

"We are pleased that Ed has decided to join our labor and employment team at Eaton Peabody," stated Matt Raynes, Chair of Eaton Peabody's Employment Practice.

"Ed's employee benefits expertise is highly valued and will allow us to continue providing a full menu of employment law services to our clients."

For over 25 years, Feibel has represented businesses of all sizes, nonprofit organizations, governmental entities, and individuals with employee benefit issues. His practice emphasizes advice to employers dealing with tax-qualified and tax-exempt benefit plans. His experience extends to Taft-Hartley plans, cafeteria plans, health care and other fringe benefit programs. He has extensive experience with ERISA and IRS compliance, as well as executive compensation arrangements.

"We look forward to adding a lawyer with Ed's depth of experience to our statewide employment practice," stated Eaton Peabody President, Dan McKay. "His knowledge in this highly specialized area of practice will bring value to our business clients throughout Maine."

As of September, Feibel will be based in Eaton Peabody's Brunswick office but will provide employee benefit and ERISA advice to the firm's clients statewide.

Feibel started his legal career in the Washington, D.C. office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shiver and Jacobson. In 1987, he returned to Maine where he practiced as an associate at a Portland based firm until the establishment of his solo practice in 1991.

Admitted to practice in Maine and the District of Columbia, Feibel graduated cum laude from the University of Maine School of Law in 1982. He received his B.A. from Bucknell University in 1974.

Active in the community, Feibel has served on the Gorham School Committee and is on the Board of Directors of the Gorham Times, the local non-profit community newspaper. He proudly celebrates his 7th year as a mentor to FRC Team 172, Falmouth and Gorham High Schools' competitive USFirst Robotics Challenge team. Feibel also is on the Board of Directors of Goodwill of Northern New England, Inc. He has two children and resides in Gorham, Maine with his wife Catherine.

by Maine Business Press
Contact: John Diamond, Chair, Board of Directors, 949-4904
Karen Cole, Interim Director, Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce, 947-0307

Jan. 5, 2010 BANGOR, ME - The Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce (BRCC) today announced it has hired John Porter of South Portland as the new President of the Chamber, effective Jan. 25, 2010. As President, Porter will serve as the Chief Executive Officer for the Chamber and its affiliated programs and services.

"John possesses the key attributes that the Board wanted in its new president," said John Diamond, Chair of the Board of Directors. "He understands and has been a high-profile advocate for business and economic development and for collaborative efforts to advance those mutually dependent interests. He has been a strong and effective leader and manager of people and budgets. He knows Maine, and he recognizes the great potential of both our region and our organization.

"The vote to support John Porter was unanimous and enthusiastic," according to Jerry Whalen, who chaired the search committee. "We are confident that he will provide the transforming leadership we need for a much more proactive chamber in the future."

John Porter is currently the principal and founder of John Porter Public Strategies, a communications and government relations firm based in South Portland, Maine. Most recently, JPPS helped to secure a $25.4 million federal grant for construction of the Three Ring Binder, a fiber-optic network aimed at enhancing broadband Internet access in rural Maine.

Prior to forming JPPS in September 2009, John worked for nearly 20 years as a journalist at the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram in Portland, Maine. Porter joined the paper in 1990 as a business reporter. In 1997 he became a columnist and editorial writer, and in 1999 he was named editorial page editor. He left the paper in June when it was sold to new owners.

In his role as editorial page editor, Porter acted as a senior manager in the newsroom, hiring and overseeing the work of the newspaper's opinion writers, managing a budget and handling numerous projects within and outside his department. He was actively engaged in Maine public policy in this role and has extensive contacts among public and private leaders in the state.

His work as a journalist won numerous awards from industry associations, including three first place awards for editorial writing from the New England Associated Press News Editors Association and, along with a colleague, a first place award for editorial writing from the Inland Press Association. Early in his career at the Press Herald/Telegram, Porter was an active leader in the paper's largest union, leading its bargaining efforts. Later, he sat on the other side of the table, helping management to bargain for new job descriptions.

Prior to joining the Press Herald/Telegram, Porter was senior editor at Intercorp, a business magazine covering the corporate community in Connecticut and Westchester, N.Y. He has also worked as a bureau chief at the Norwich Bulletin, a daily newspaper in Norwich, Conn. He began his career as a news reporter working at publications in and around Boston, including the Boston Business Journal, North Shore Weeklies, the Haverhill Gazette and the Wakefield Chronicle.

Porter is a 1982 graduate of Boston University's School of Public Communication and holds a degree in Journalism. He was born and raised in Connecticut. He lives in South Portland with his wife and two children. They will be relocating to the Bangor area in the near future.

In his new role of advocating for the business and economic interests of the Chamber's member organizations as well as the greater Bangor region as a whole, Porter will be introduced to Chamber members and will make remarks at the annual Chamber's Business Breakfast, to be held on Jan. 12 at 7:30am at Spectacular Event Center and at the Annual Awards dinner on Jan. 20 at the Bangor Civic Center.

Whalen, who is vice president for business development for Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems, praised the search committee's efforts by stating, "The Chamber had an outstanding Search Committee made up of highly regarded community leaders, all of whom care deeply about the region and the future of the Chamber."

In addition to Whalen, the search committee consisted of Michael Aube, president of Eastern Maine Development Corporation; Carol A. Epstein, the principal officer of Epstein Commercial Real Estate; P. Andrew Hamilton, attorney with Eaton Peabody; Dr. Joyce B. Hedlund, president of Eastern Maine Community College; Jane Irving, senior vice president of mortgage services for Bangor Savings Bank; Sandra Leonard, a financial advisor with Wells Fargo Advisors; D'arcy Main-Boyington, economic development director for the City of Brewer; Andrew E. Sturgeon, director of business development for James W. Sewall Co.; Miles U. Theeman, president of Affiliated Healthcare Systems and Chair of Bangor Region Community Council.

Diamond explained that the search committee spent "an intense four months" reviewing the credentials of dozens of candidates from within and outside of Maine. He praised Whalen for his leadership, "especially at a time when Jerry was so involved with other business, economic development, and charitable initiatives and causes." He also praised the search committee members, who provided "the desired balance of knowledge, experience, and leadership we needed to find the right person to lead the Chamber in the years ahead."

Diamond also praised Karen G. Cole, the BRCC's director of communications and marketing, who has served as interim Chamber president for the past six months.

"Karen provided a truly outstanding job as interim president," he said. "The Board, staff, and I are extremely grateful for the tremendous job she has done. She will continue to be a great resource for our new president and for the Board."

Established in 1911, the Bangor Region Chamber of Commerce represents nearly 800 member organizations in its service area of 21 communities.