LEWISTON – Peggy Rivard was recently appointed assistant vice president and branch manager at Androscoggin Bank’s main office at 30 Lisbon St.

In addition to managing the daily operations of the branch, Rivard also leads its management team and is responsible for business development in the Lewiston area. Rivard is also responsible for Androscoggin Bank’s Internet Banking and Telephone Banking departments.

An experienced branch supervisor and customer service specialist, Rivard comes to Androscoggin Bank with an extensive background in leadership and management in retail banking operations. Most recently, she served as an officer, remittance processing services product specialist at BankNorth and, before that, as a banking department manager at Advantage Payroll Inc. She has also supervised branch operations for KeyBank in southern Maine.

Rivard, a certified payroll provider, is currently pursuing a bachelor of science degree in economics with a concentration in corporate finance at the University of Southern Maine. She is a member of the Association for Work Process Improvement and attended the 2004 Annual Work Process Improvement conference in Chicago. Rivard resides in Portland.

Center to hold exporting seminar

PORTLAND – The Maine International Trade Center will conduct a one-day educational seminar titled “Essentials of Exporting.”

This program is designed for Maine business professionals who are new to exporting and need to get up to speed quickly and learn ways to avoid potential costly mistakes. The seminar will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Nov. 9 at the Unum Provident Learning Center in South Portland.

This full-day program, part of the Citizens Bank International Trade Series, will cover the key components of arranging export shipments, including the importance of proper export documentation, how to insure against damage or loss in transit, and how to avoid the pitfalls of exporting. Topics include common international terms of payment, export documentation, logistics options and available export finance programs. Program speakers are Joseph Mooney from Citizens Bank, Lynn Easler from Menlo Worldwide Forwarding, and Thomas Cummings of the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

The cost to attend for MITC members is $60 and for nonmembers is $90. Maine state legislators may attend at no charge. A registration brochure for the seminar is available on the MITC Web site at www.mitc.com or may be obtained by calling Cheryl Rau at (207) 541-7455 or sending her e-mail at rau@mitc.com.