Dr. Louis “Chip” Thayer Merriam recently joined Dr. Ziedins at Berlin General Surgery, a Fletcher Allen Health Care practice located in Building A on the Central Vermont Medical Center campus.

“We are pleased that working through Fletcher Allen Partners (FAP) we were able to recruit a general surgeon of Dr. Merriam’s caliber to practice in central Vermont,” noted Central Vermont Medical Center President and CEO Judy Tartaglia.

Ann Jones-Weinstock of Middlebury, with over 20 years of high-level fund-raising experience, has been named Saint Michael's College Director of Development. She started at the liberal arts Catholic college of Burlington, Vermont, on July 2.

Most recently, Ms. Jones-Weinstock was Director of Community Initiatives for NRG Systems (2007 to 2012), and before that she was Vice President for Institutional Advancement for the Middlebury College Monterey Institute of International Studies (2004-2007).

There are some new faces at the Vermont Arts Council. Executive Director Alex Aldrich is pleased to announce the hiring of Zon Eastes as Outreach and Advancement Manager and Rachel Feldman as Web and Communications Manager.

The Weston Playhouse Theatre Company Board of Directors last week elected Anthony C. Wood as Chair Designate. Wood will become Chair at October’s annual meeting, succeeding Wayne Granquist, who has held the chairmanship for 17 years and who will remain as an active member of the Board. Wood has been a key member of the WPTC board and its leadership since 2006 and is a longtime Weston theatre lover. His grandparents ran Connecticut’s Cherry Lawn School, which had theatrical ties to the Playhouse, and his mother, Tanya Bogoslovsky, acted at Weston in the late 1940s and early 50s.

Burlington City Arts is pleased to announce DJ Hellerman as the new BCA Center Curator. DJ replaces outgoing Curator Chris Thompson beginning August 1st, 2012.

St Michael’s has named Kate (Powers) Floyd, 2006 graduate of Saint Michael’s College, as assistant director of MOVE, the college’s volunteer service organization. Ms. Floyd was, from 2010 to the present, Social Service Program Coordinator & Educator for Transitional Services for Youth and Families, in Burlington.

Ms. Floyd will focus on working with student leaders in MOVE and will oversee coordination and implementation of the college’s Extended Service Program.

PayData Payroll Services, Inc., a locally owned and operated Vermont company, is pleased to announce the arrival of Jaime Trahan. Jaime is our newest Client Service Representative assigned to the batch clients. Jaime brings several years of customer service experience. Prior to joining the team at PayData, Jaime previously worked for Hickok & Boardman, Inc. as a Junior Accountant. Jaime’s hobbies include spending time with her family and friends, boating, camping and snowmobiling!