FINANCIAL SERVICES
Michael Hawkes has joined Franklin Savings Bank as vice president and commercial loan officer. Most recently as a commercial loan officer with Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, he will be based at the bank’s commercial lending office in Bedford.
Donna Marsh of Stratham and Tricia Morin of Hopkinton have been appointed to the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority board of directors by Gov. Chris Sununu. Marsh is interim director of Home for All/United Way Greater Seacoast, a coalition to end homelessness. Morin is president/owner of Tarkka Homes Inc., a custom homebuilder in serving central and southern New Hampshire.
Chase Bank has leased 4,100 square feet of space at 786 Elm St., Manchester — the former Portland Pie Co. location — to open the bank’s fifth New Hampshire location. Doug Martin and Andrew Robbins, of Colliers’ Manchester office, represented the landlord, 788 Elm Street LLC, and Adam Cirel, of Atlantic Retail represented Chase. The new branch is expected to open in December.
Bedford-based Primary Bank has promoted six team members. Crystal Dionne has been promoted to executive vice president/chief financial officer. Renate Wallem has been promoted to executive vice president/chief operations officer. Dallas Lagerquist has been promoted to senior vice president/business development manager. Scott Van-Vooren has been promoted to senior vice president of operations. Katie McQuaid has been promoted to vice president of business development. Erica Candage has been promoted to vice president/branch administrator.
Tim Connolly has been promoted to assistant vice president manager of Bank of New Hampshire’s Whitefield banking office. In addition, Bank of New Hampshire has promoted Beth Lyons to assistant vice president and manager of the Hillsborough banking office.
New Hampshire Federal Credit Union has been recognized as one of the 2021 Deposit Accounts Top 200 Healthiest Credit Unions, ranking sixth out of over 5,068 NCUA-insured credit unions in the country. The ranking was determined by DepositAccounts.com, which evaluates the financial health of over 10,000 banks and credit unions in the U.S.
Savings Bank of Walpole has announced that Ben Wheeler has joined the bank as senior vice president of commercial lending. He previously was senior vice president of commercial banking for NBT Bank, where he focused on business development and growth of the commercial portfolio in the Monadnock Region. He also worked at TD Bank as regional vice president of commercial banking.
Michael Dalton has joined Northeast Planning Associates as a wealth management representative in the firm’s Nashua office. He has more than 10 years of experience in the financial industry.
BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
The New Hampshire Bankers Association has announced a partnership with Franklin Pierce University that is designed to provide additional benefits to members by serving as a recruiting tool to hire new employees and provide added professional development at a discounted rate for existing staff. FPU will also offer the ability to apply for credits through its Prior Learning Assessment process for specific job-related certifications or training.
The NH Tech Alliance’s next TechWomen Power Breakfast will feature financial advisors Kendra Kearney and Katie Geery, who will discuss financial strategies for women, with a focus on four specific areas that influence financial stress or financial freedom, the social aspect of a longer life span, the income gap for women, and life changes that affect balancing multiple roles and responsibilities that impact financial well-being.
Learn strategies that will promote financial security and confidence. The breakfast will be held virtually beginning at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8.
ACCOUNTING
The Concord-based accounting firm of Nathan Wechsler & Company has announced the promotions of Marissa St. Onge, Callie Chase and Brady Wentworth. Previously a senior, St. Onge steps into the role of supervising senior. Chase and Wentworth both move from associate to senior.
HEALTHCARE
Cassandra M. Godzik, an advanced practice registered nurse at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, has been awarded a research grant from the Rockefeller University Heilbrunn Family Center for Research Nursing Scholars. Godzik, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Dartmouth Centers for Health & Aging, was awarded $20,151 to study the impact of home sleep environments and how they correlate to disease prevention, especially in older adults.
The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth’s Center for Technology and Behavioral Health has received a five-year renewal grant of more than $7.1 million from The National Institute on Drug Abuse to support its research on drug use and its consequences. Geisel’s dean, Duane A. Compton, said the digital tools developed by the center “provide ongoing innovative approaches to help individuals in need manage their disorder.”
LAW
Geoffrey M. Gallagher has joined Sulloway & Hollis as a litigation associate based in the firm’s Concord office. He previously spent five years as an assistant county attorney, and has extensive litigation experience in a wide variety of areas. In addition, Patience E. Carlier has joined the firm as a tax, trusts and estates associate, also based in the firm’s Concord office.
The law firm of Primmer Piper Eggleston and Cramer has added attorney Bailey Robbins, who will work with the firm’s insurance coverage and litigation teams based at the Manchester office.
Joshua Weijer, an attorney with the law firm of McLane Middleton, has been admitted to the Massachusetts State Bar. He is an associate in the firm’s Trusts & Estates Department.
TECHNOLOGY
Claremont-based IT firm Red River has been named to the 2021 Fast Growth 150 List by CRN, which produces the annual list to recognize the fastest-growing technology integrators, solution providers and IT consultants in North America.
Oztek Corp., a Merrimack-based provider of power conversion systems, has announced that its OZpcs-RS40 power conversion system has been added to the California Self-Generation Incentive Program’s Verified Equipment List. The 40-kilowatt OZpcs-RS40 is a rack mounted, three-phase power conversion system designed for grid-tied and microgrid energy storage applications.
Alexandria, Va.-based Advanced Solutions International has acquired WBT Systems of Nashua, a learning solutions provider, the company announced. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. ASI provides subscriptionbased software and services for associations and nonprofits worldwide. WBT helps organizations expand their online learning portfolio.
NONPROFITS
Seacoast area nonprofit Step Up Parents has received a grant of $6,247 from The Fabulous Find, Kittery, Maine, to help it provide financial support to kinship families raising children whose parents struggle with substance use disorder in New Hampshire. The Fabulous Find is a resale boutique that makes grants to area nonprofits.
Merrimack County Savings Bank is the lead corporate partner for Harbor Care’s Dignity of Home Initiative. A three-month campaign during the coldest months of the year, Dignity of Home focuses on moving families and individuals experiencing homelessness in greater Nashua into safe, stable housing.
Newburyport Bank has donated $2,500 to the New Hampshire SPCA’s Auction for the Animals, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 13, at Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle. The auction is the New Hampshire SPCA’s premier fundraising event.
Bar Harbor Bank & Trust recently presented a donation from its second-quarter Casual for a Cause program to West Central Behavioral Health, a nonprofit community mental healthcare provider in the Upper Valley and Sullivan County.
The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation has awarded grants to three nonprofits in New Hampshire: The Birchtree Center, Portsmouth; Fellowship Housing Opportunities, Concord; and the Mayhew Program, Bristol.
Wells Fargo has awarded $15,000 to SENH Habitat for Humanity to help more families in Portsmouth access affordable housing. The Portsmouth-based nonprofit was among more than 220 Habitat organizations receiving a Wells Fargo grant across the country. SENH said the funding will be used to purchase building materials at its current build site in Middleton.
The Friends of New Hampshire Drug Courts has added former state Sen. Jon Morgan and retired Manchester Fire Chief Dan Goonan to its board of directors. The Friends of New Hampshire Drug Courts is a nonprofit that provides financial and educational support to participants of drug courts, an alternative sentencing program operating in 10 New Hampshire Superior Courts.
Monica Labonville is the new board chair of the Queen City Rotary Club, succeeding Leslie Gendron. Joining her on the board are: Tom Stewart, president-elect; Rick Blais, secretary; Melissa Magoon, treasurer; Kim Griswold, past president; Chris Dugan, director; Shilipi Mehrotra, vice president; Ryan Tufts, director; and Ken Yie, director.
Brady Sullivan Properties, Manchester, has pledged $63,000 to purchase New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority tax credits in support of Palace Youth Theatre’s Forever Emma Studios.
The pledge will support safety and accessibility improvements, including installation of a lift and ramp at the facility.
Hundred Nights Inc.’s homeless shelter and housing resource center in Keene has received approval from the Keene Planning Board to start building a new facility early next year, ending its long search for a larger home. Hundred Nights wants to build a new 48-bed shelter and resource center at 122-124 Water St., formerly Tom’s Auto Service, which would include private rooms for families and offer public restrooms and showers.
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING
Appcast, a provider of programmatic recruitment advertising technology and services based in Lebanon, has won a 2021 MarTech Breakthrough Award in the “Best Digital Ad Network” category for its programmatic job advertising exchange, Xcelerate. The annual awards recognize the best companies, technologies, products and services in the global marketing, sales and advertising technology industry.
CONSTRUCTION
Jewett Construction Company, Fremont, has announced the addition of Lynn Palmer as human resources manager. Palmer has over 25 years of experience in the field, Jewett said. The company has also hired Mason Westover as an assistant project manager.
ENGINEERING
GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc. has named certified natural resources professional Deborah M. Zarta Gier to lead its Bedford operations. Gier, who has 28 years of experience in natural resources management and planning, also leads GZA’s companywide natural resources and siting and permitting services, and serves on the firm’s board of directors.
BUSINESS AND CONSUMER SERVICES
Manchester-based Phaneuf Funeral Homes and Crematorium has acquired privately owned Fournier-Hale Funeral Home, located at 144 Main St., North Woodstock. The purchase extends the New Hampshire footprint of Phaneuf, which operates five fullservice funeral homes, four crematories and a cremation society.
REAL ESTATE
James Prieto, Director of Real Estate at Granite Commercial Real Estate in Nashua, recently represented Venair Inc. in the purchase of industrial space at 4 Center St., Merrimack. The 16,040-squarefoot industrial building, which sits on 4.25 acres, is Venair’s first New Hampshire location. Torrington Properties Inc. has purchased Newington Park, a 102,103-square-foot retail/office complex at 2064 Woodbury Ave. in Newington from Urstadt Biddle Properties. Jay Bisognano, CEO of Torrington, said the acquisition “fits our long-term investment strategy in New Hampshire.” The transaction was arranged by Kent White, Christian Stallkamp and Caitlin Burke of The Boulos Company.
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