ACCOUNTING

Merrimack-based Melanson has announced the hiring of CPAs Teressa Bezenar and Garrett Kelly as managers. Bezenar has been in the accounting profession for over two decades and recently joined the firm’s commercial services team. Kelly has been a tax accountant for over five years and also has joined the commercial services team.

ENGINEERING

Jason Cook has joined TFMoran Inc. as a civil project engineer in the firm’s Portsmouth office. Cook, an engineer in training, received his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from Western New England University in Springfield, Mass., and is currently enrolled in the school’s master of civil engineering program.

Fitzmeyer & Tocci, a Woburn, Mass.-based engineering firm, has won a 2021 Bronze Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts for its work on the Hitchiner Manufacturing Plant No. 5 Building in Milford, NH. The new manufacturing facility was designed with energy efficiency, operability and cost effectiveness in mind, the firm said.

HEALTHCARE

Jim Avrett has joined Greater Seacoast Community Health as chief operating officer. His 30-year career in healthcare includes time at the two largest nonprofit healthcare alliances in the country, Vizient and Premier, and the North Broward Hospital District in Florida.

Access Sports Medicine and Orthopaedics, Exeter, has announced the addition of Dr. Whitney Hilton to its practice. She specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of conditions of the shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand. Her clinical interests include arthritis care, fractures of the hand and upper extremity, as well as tendon and nerve injuries of the upper extremity.

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center has been recognized by the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program as one of 90 participating hospitals that have achieved meritorious outcomes for surgical patient care in 2020. As a participant, DHMC is required to track the outcomes of inpatient and outpatient surgical procedures and collect data that assesses patient safety and can be used to direct improvement in the quality of surgical care.

Michael S. Calderwood, chief quality officer at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, has received the 2021 Medical Staff Award from the New Hampshire Hospital Association. The award is given annually to a medical staff member who exemplifies excellence in healthcare, brings credit to their institution and community, and contributes to the effectiveness and efficiency of their institution.

ARCHITECTURE

JSA Design, an architecture, planning and interior design firm in Portsmouth, has added three new staff members: Daniel Lamb, Luke Perczak and Alexandria Conrad. Lamb has over 25 years of experience in architecture and construction administration. Perczak is a recent graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, where he received a bachelor’s degree in architecture, and Conrad is a recent graduate of Tulane University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture.

EDUCATION

Franklin Pierce University has named Willow Henry to the inaugural Dr. Arthur M. Pappas Professor of Health Care Practice Endowed Chair. Henry is a wound-care expert and an assistant professor in the College of Health & Natural Sciences. The endowment is funded by the Arthur M. and Martha R. Pappas Foundation, with the goal to enhance recruitment and retention of faculty members, giving them greater flexibility in pursuing scholarly and teaching innovations, conference presentations and research.

BUSINESS AND CONSUMER SERVICES

Herc Holdings Inc., a publicly held company that owns equipment rental supplier Herc Rentals Inc., has acquired substantially all the assets of Reliable Equipment LLC, a New Hampshire-based equipment rental business with branch operations in Dover and Londonderry. Reliable Equipment’s fleet includes aerial, material handling and earthmoving equipment, as well as specialty climate control and power-generation equipment.

Photo Retro, a new hub for film photography, has opened in Amherst. The business has two film photography darkrooms, a large-format photography studio and a photo gallery, and it also sells film photography supplies. The center grew from Pictoriographica, a dry-plate photography business founded in 2017 by Jason Lane of Brookline, an optical engineer designing lenses for the aerospace and defense sector. Lane and coowner Max Affleck, a mechanical engineer from New Boston, decided to open the center because there’s nothing like it in southern New Hampshire or in the region.

BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS

Coos Economic Development Corp. has launched its new website at coosedc.org. CEDC said the upgraded site features a more user-friendly “Business Resources” page, which outlines the grants and loans available from CEDC and how to apply for them. It also keeps visitors up to date on news and information for Coos County small business owners.

The Business & Industry Association has announced that Angela King of Concord has joined its staff as director of digital marketing.

King previously lived and worked in Boston in arts marketing, trade show management and clinical operations.

Kelley Beavers, assistant vice president and director of business development at Bank of New England, has been named the new chair of the Greater Derry Londonderry Chamber of Commerce board of directors. Joining her on the board in January will be George Fredette, president of SFC Engineering Partnership; Anthony Matrumalo, president of Nutfield Mediation LLC; and Thomas Burns, senior project manager for TFMoran Inc.

CONSTRUCTION

Jewett Construction, Fremont, has promoted director of marketing Kat Howland to vice president of employer brand and talent. In her new role, Howland, who started at Jewett Construction in October 2018, will oversee company-wide recruitment and retention initiatives, nonprofit and communityfacing involvement, company-wide communication and strategic marketing, among other responsibilities. Jewett also announced that David Scott has joined the team as a project manager. He most recently was a project manager with Columbia Construction in Reading, Mass.

LAW

The Crisp Law Firm of Concord recently hired attorney Samantha K. Mills, a recent graduate of the University of New Hampshire Franklin Pierce School of Law. She interned at the firm while completing her final year of law school and also previously worked as an intern at the Portsmouth District Court and New Hampshire Supreme Court.

RYP Granite Strategies, a division of the Concord-based law firm of Rath, Young and Pignatelli, has announced that Gina Powers will assume the role of president at the start of the new year, succeeding David Collins, who is planning to retire at the end of the 2022 legislative session. Powers has been with RYP for 15 years.

Sheehan Phinney attorney Michael P. Panebianco has been elected a fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a national nonprofit association of lawyers and law professors from the U.S. and abroad. To qualify for membership, a lawyer must have no fewer than 10 years of experience in the active practice of trust and estate law or as fiduciary counsel with a fiduciary services company.

Kathleen A. Davidson has joined the Pastori | Krans law firm, where she will focus on employment law, family law, and business and commercial litigation. She has been practicing law since 2009, having graduated from the University of Maine School of Law.

Sheehan Phinney shareholder Katherine M. Hanna has been honored with the New Hampshire Hospital Association’s Leslie A. Smith President’s Award for work championing revisions to New Hampshire’s advance directive laws. Hanna is the former chair of Sheehan Phinney’s Healthcare Practice Group and serves as general and special counsel to hospitals, specialty hospitals, long-term care facilities, home health and hospice organizations, physician practices, dental practices and individual practitioners.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Portsmouth-based FedPoint has been designated a platinumlevel business in the New Hampshire Veteran-Friendly Business Program by the New Hampshire Department of Military Affairs and Veteran Services and New Hampshire Employment Security. Platinum status is the highest level a company can earn in the program, which celebrates and recognizes businesses supporting military and veteran families through their practices and policies. FedPoint also was recently honored by the American Red Cross of Northern New England for its support of the organization and its commitment to supporting the military community.

Meredith Village Savings Bank will be opening a new branch location at 21 Farmington Rd. in Rochester in early summer 2022, the bank has announced. The new building has been designed by Warrenstreet Architects Inc., Concord, and construction will be managed by Conneston Construction Inc., Laconia. A MVSB business banking relationship specialist, Jolene Whitehead, will manage the new location as branch and business development manager.

Chelsea, Mass.-based Metro Credit Union, whose market area includes Rockingham and Hillsborough counties in New Hampshire, has hired Deborah Ferrante as mortgage business development officer. Ferrante, who previously worked at Key Bank, has over 30 years of experience in business development, strategic networking and building strong customer relationships.

New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp has announced that Jay Bisson is the new vice president and information security officer and will oversee cyber- and physical security for the company and its subsidiaries: Meredith Village Savings Bank, Merrimack County Savings Bank, Savings Bank of Walpole and NHTrust. Additionally, Lena Dionna was named the new associate vice president of loan operations.

Franklin Savings Bank announced the recent promotions of five employees to new roles: Joseph Thornton, senior vice president and chief administrative officer; Julie Buker, vice president and retail banking and branch administration officer; Sue Paradis, vice president and BSA, risk management, security and information security officer; Amy Rankins, human resources officer; and Annette Slipp, associate vice president and credit manager.

Sean Skabo of Boscawen has joined Bangor Savings Bank as vice president, commercial relationship manager. Skabo, who has over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently was a commercial loan officer with Merrimack County Savings Bank.

Bank of New Hampshire has named Nicole Reynolds as associate vice president and manager of the Claremont office.

Arnela Lander has joined Optisure Risk Partners as a personal lines account manager. She holds a personal lines producer license in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine.

TECHNOLOGY

Senet Inc., Portsmouth, a provider of cloudbased software and services platforms that enable global connectivity and on-demand network build-outs for the internet of things, has announced enhancements to its IoT Marketplace, which it said makes it easier for solution providers, system integrators and application developers to identify IoT devices that meet the quality standards for commercial operation on LoRaWAN networks, which are key to IoT connectivity.

Position Imaging Inc. of Stratham, a developer of package logistics and asset-tracking systems, has unveiled its new iPickup RooM, an entry-level system that provides secure resident access and pickup convenience. The system provides constant monitoring within the package room and manages items in the room by type (flat, parcel or oversized), using area signage for guidance.

XMReality, Portsmouth, has launched a new app for Microsoft Teams that it says simplifies the transition from Microsoft Teams chats and meetings to an XMReality Remote Guidance call. The company said that the integration is a step toward being part of their existing customers’ workflows, increasing the ease-of-use and reducing the friction of starting a remote guidance call. XMReality also has joined the Microsoft Partner Network as an independent software vendor.

REAL ESTATE

Ontario, Calif,-based Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, has negotiated the sale of Village Shoppes at Salem, a 170,398-squarefoot retail property in Salem. The property was built on 20 acres in 1999 and includes tenants Best Buy, Michaels, PetSmart, DSW, Cost Plus and Five Below. Jim Koury of IPA represented the undisclosed seller and procured the buyer, Academy Hill Realty, in the transaction.

NONPROFITS

Waypoint has named Kerrie Landry of Rochester as its new chief financial officer. Landry previously worked at Cornerstone VNA, where she served as vice president of finance.

Newburyport Bank has donated $5,000 to The Music Hall, located in Portsmouth, in sponsorship of their Director’s Club. Originally founded in 1878, The Music Hall offers a diverse series of music and arts events and attracts over 130,000 patrons every year to historic Portsmouth.

Cambridge Trust has made a $40,000 commitment in support of NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire’s HOMEteam program, which provides homeownership and financial wellness education and counseling services to New Hampshire residents. The contribution will help HOMEteam continue to bring educational resources in a virtual environment so that first-time homebuyers become responsible and sustainable homeowners, as well as help residents improve their financial skills.

Red River Charitable Foundation, which supports veterans and students, has announced the recipients of its Jeff Sessions Memorial Scholarship. The foundation awarded a total of $50,000 to 10 individuals from across the United States, who received $5,000 each. They will use their scholarship to support their educational goals in the technology field. The scholarship program is open to active-duty and retired military personnel transitioning to a career in information technology.

Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, Holderness, has received a $25,000 gift from the Meredith Rotary Club for its Education Matters Capital Campaign, which focuses on giving visitors of all ages a greater understanding of ecology and a respect and appreciation for the natural world leading to active environmental stewardship.

New Hampshire Public Radio has again been awarded a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, an independent nonprofit group dedicated to ensuring organizational transparency and empowering more informed giving. The four-star “exceptional” rating means that NHPR exceeds industry standards and outperforms most charities in its category of cause.

Deborah Mozden, executive director of Turning Points Network, the crisis center for Sullivan County that helps survivors of domestic and sexual violence, stalking and human trafficking, has been named the recipient of the seventhannual Sandra Matheson Award. The award is named for Sandra Matheson, who created the Office of Victim/Witness Assistance at the Attorney General’s Office and was its director for 26 years until her retirement.

Monadnock Humane Society in Swanzey has appointed Jacques Du Preez to the newly created role of director of development and marketing. He previously worked at the Essex County Habitat for Humanity in Massachusetts, serving as its director of marketing and communications.

The American Land Title Association’s Good Deeds Foundation has awarded $6,000 to Neighbor-Works Southern New Hampshire in Manchester. First American Title Insurance Company in Concord nominated the organization for the funding because of the organization’s efforts to provide access to quality housing services and revitalize neighborhoods.

Family services nonprofit Zebra Crossings has selected Aric Morrison as its next executive director. Morrison will succeed Astrid Wielens, who founded the organization in 2009, as a provider of empowerment programs for youth with chronic medical conditions and their families.

Greater Nashua Habitat for Humanity has appointed three new board members: Mary Ann Melizzi-Golja, speech pathologist, Hudson School District; Glenn DeNoble, director of operations, Fulcrum Associates; and Jonathan Brown, clinic director, Harbor Care Health and Wellness Center of Nashua.

Miracle Farms, a lawn and landscape design, build and maintenance company in Moultonborough, has purchased $30,000 in New Hampshire business tax credits to support redevelopment of the Gale School in Belmont into a community facility that will include on the second floor a new program center for Lakes Region Community Services. Lakes Region Community Developers is the developer of the project.

MarketReach Inc., Nashua, a provider of strategic marketing services for B2B technology companies, has announced that it once again will be serving as a drop-off point for the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program for the 2021 Christmas holiday season. MarketReach is located in the Birch Pond Office Park on Amherst St. in Nashua, right next to Bertucci’s Italian Restaurant. The public is encouraged to drop off new, unwrapped toys between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday–Friday. Toys can also be shipped to: MarketReach, Attn: Eryn Mahoney, 410 Amherst St., Suite 110, Nashua, NH 03063. The toy drive runs until Dec. 10.

Tiffany Tononi has been named as the new executive director of PLAN NH. Most recently, Tononi worked as foundation and grant coordinator for the Otto Schoitz Foundation, which supports the health and well-being of the local community through grantmaking. Before that, she was neighborhood engagement manager for the city of Plano, Texas.

David W. McGrath, shareholder and president of Sheehan Phinney, has been appointed to the board of trustees for the Strawbery Banke Museum.

TRANSPORTATION

Hooksett-based Merchants Fleet, the national fleet management company, has entered into a partnership with EVgo, owner and operator of the country’s largest public fastcharging network for electric vehicles, and the first powered by 100 percent renewable electricity. EVgo will provide infrastructure planning, hardware, software and infrastructure deployment services to Merchants’ clients, giving them the ability to leverage a combination of depot charging solutions, dedicated charging networks and EVgo’s public network, comprising over 800 fast-charging stations and more than 1,200 Level 2 locations.

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