Springfield High School Sophomore Sam Hensel-Hunter was selected as the winner of the recent “4-Way Test” Speech Contest sponsored by the Springfield Rotary Club. Thompson received a first place award of $75 and will represent the club in a regional competition in Charlestown, New Hampshire on April 18th.

SHS Junior Kelsey Christensen was the winner of $50 for second place and Junior Laurel Porter received a $25 prize for third. Sophomore Erika Anderson also participated in the event.

Mortgage Financial, Inc. is pleased to announce that Mark Chaffee, Vice President of Mortgage Financial, Inc. has been named one of the top 50 Mortgage Originators in the nation in 2009 by the leading mortgage industry publication, the Scotsman Guide. Mr. Chaffee achieved this professional distinction by closing more than 375 loans last year Chaffee is the only named Vermonter out of more than 250,000 mortgage professionals in the country.

Dr. Arthur Hessler has been appointed Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. Dr. Hessler has been serving as Dean of Burlington College since 2008. Dr. Hessler previously served as the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College at Bridgewater College. Prior to his position at Bridgewater, Dr. Hessler enjoyed a 25 year career at Saint Michael’s College, where he served as Professor of Biology and Associate Dean of the College. He holds a B.S. degree in Biology from the University of Wisconsin, a M.S. degree in Biology from Eastern Michigan University, and a Ph.D.

Susan Stevens formerly of Double Tree Hotels joined the North Star Leasing team as a Documentation Specialist. Prior to joining Double Tree, Stevens worked for Merchants Bank and FiServ in the operations department. Stevens lives in South Burlington with her husband Stuart and two sons, Taylor and Gregory.

Larry Sudbay, President and Chief Executive Officer of SymQuest® Group, announced that Chris Peterman, Network Support Engineer, has received certification as an HDI Support Center Analyst. HDI is the leader in certification and training for help desk, support center and service desk professionals.

Chamber’s new Young Professionals Group Lisa Geisweit, Division Manager for Marketing and Customer Service at Burlington Telecom, is to serve on the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce new networking group for young professionals in the Champlain Valley, the BTV YPG.

Kathryn Leech of Dorset and Buddy Teich of Dorset and New York have been elected to three-year terms on the Board of Trustees at the Southern Vermont Arts Center announced Stanley Stroup, president of the board. Their terms of office begin immediately.

Matt Young, HowardCenter’s Supervisor of Street Outreach, and HowardCenter will receive the Organization / Individual Program Award by the Burlington Partnership for a Healthy Community’s “Roots of Prevention Awards Ceremony” on April 12. BPHC, a coalition of agencies focused on the prevention of substance abuse, announced the awards.

According to the Partnership, the Organization / Individual Program Award is given to a community member or an organization who has “worked consistently in the area of educating our community about the importance of substance abuse prevention.”

Richard Cassidy, a founding partner of Hoff Curtis, was re-elected in March 2010 as the Vermont Bar Association Delegate to the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates. The House of Delegates, which was established in 1936 and meets bi-annually, is the policy-making body of the ABA. Cassidy was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1998. He resigned his seat in 2005 to accept election to the ABA Board of Governors. In 2008, he was re-elected to the House of Delegates and will now serve a new term running from February 2011 through February 2013.