Mainebiz

V O L . X X I I I N O. X I V J U N E 2 6 , 2 0 1 7 12 B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S M A I N E B U S I N E S S N E W S F RO M A RO U N D T H E S TAT E of Kingsville, Ontario for an undis- closed sum. Backyard Farms, which is in Madison, has 215 employees. Mastronardi is North America's leading grower and distributor of specialty and commodity green- house produce. It operates under the Sunset brand. "Backyard Farms will now be a wholly-owned affi liate of Mastronardi," Michael Aalto, spokes- man for FMR LLC, the former owner of Backyard Farms and the parent company of Fidelity Investments, told Mainebiz in an email. "Regarding price, we are not disclosing fi nan- cial terms of the deal." e Backyard Farms brand name will be retained, and the greenhouse operations in Madison will continue uninterrupted, the companies said. Adding Backyard Farms will increase Mastronardi's internal greenhouse network to six locations in North America and boost its headcount to 3,000 employees. Backyard Farms ships up to 500,000 pounds of tomatoes weekly and 30 million pounds annually. Its green- houses cover 42 acres. UMA names new president — its fi fth since 2014 Two months after the announced depar- ture of James Conneely as its president, the University of Maine at Augusta said June 9 it has named his replace- ment. Rebecca Wyke, the UMaine System's vice chancellor of fi nance and administration, will take over as president, succeeding Conneely, who said April 11 he would vacate the post on June 30. Conneely served as president for 18 months. Wyke, an Augusta resident, will start July 1 and has a three-year contract. e board of trustees' executive committee made the decision June 8. She will be the fi fth president since September 2014, the Associated Press reported. Her appointment, the UMaine System said in a press release, "follows an extensive campus and community engagement period to discuss the university's need for stable leadership and opportunities to advance UMA's service and scholar- ship missions." In her role in fi nance and administration, Wyke was credited with saving the UMaine System $82 million a year and developed a state- wide approach to administrative func- tions within the seven-campus system. She joined the UMaine System in 2008 after serving as commissioner of the Maine Department of Administration and Finance. She served as UMA's president for six months prior to Conneely's appointment. N O T E W O R T H Y C E N T R A L & W E S T E R N Skowhegan Savings Charitable Foundation donated $25,000 to Lake George Regional Park in celebration of the park's 25th anniversary. The dona- tion will support the park's mission to maintain year-round access to its lake and trail systems. The Franklin Memorial Hospital Auxiliary donated $11,500 to Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington. The funds will be used for new rocking chairs in maternal and child health services and to acquire new hand- held dopplers and a fetal monitor for Franklin Health Women's Care and new joint models for Franklin Health Orthopaedics. The Maine Development Foundation in Augusta awarded a total of $20,000 to 16 Maine employees who applied for the Next Step Maine scholarship program, a statewide initiative that awards funds to Maine employees who are currently pursu- ing a bachelor's degree, associate degree or certifi cate program. The town of Skowhegan's Run of River Committee received a $15,000 grant from the Davis Conservation Foundation in Yarmouth for its Run of River Whitewater Recreation Area. Kleinschmidt Associates, a Pittsfi eld- based engineering, regulatory and ecological services consulting fi rm to the hydroelectric, renewable power and water resource markets, formed a strategic alliance with Russo on Energy LLC in Arlington, Va. to strengthen its natural gas and oil infrastructure and environmental ser- vices offerings. Bangor mapping fi rm joins forces with Mass. company Kappa Mapping Inc. in Bangor and Cornerstone Energy Services, based in Worcester, Mass., have reached an agreement to consoli- date their companies. Terms of the deal, which was announced in a news release, were not disclosed. e partnership "will enable clients in the energy, municipal 1-800-564-0111 | eatonpeabody.com Augusta | Bangor | Brunswick | Ellsworth | Portland ...for Maine communities. Eaton Peabody assists developers, businesses, and communities in developing alternative energy programs. Whether our clients seek to identify financing options or to negotiate terms and conditions, we can provide crucial guidance. We design an approach unique to each case based on our significant experience across Maine, northern New England, and eastern Canada. 1-800-564-0111 | eatonpeabody.com Identifying Energy Solutions N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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