HEALTHCARE
Granite VNA has named Shaunna Mara community health educator for the Greater Capital Region, where she’ll lead community wellness education programs that promote wellness and help residents in the greater Concord area prevent or manage disease. She also works with community members in their homes to reinforce healthy habits and enhance their self-management skills. Prior to this role, Mara had served as a Granite VNA care transition liaison.
Capital Region Health Care recently elected Dr. Peter Noordsij to its board of trustees, joining existing members Sol Asmar, Frank Boucher, Dr. Teri Brehio, William Chapman, James Doremus, Michelline Dufort, Dr. BJ Entwisle, Charles Fanaras, Michael Griffin, Lucy Hodder, Lucy Karl, Linda Lorden, Meg Miller, Manisha Patel, David Ruedig, Robert Segal, Robert Steigmeyer and Jeffrey Towle.
Granite VNA has hired Heather Fritzky as controller, responsible for accounting at the agency and directly overseeing the finance departments at its Concord, Laconia and Wolfeboro offices. Prior to joining Granite VNA, Fritzky spent more than 25 years working for the state of New Hampshire, most recently as assistant director/controller of the NH Retirement System. In addition, Granite VNA has hired Kristin Jordan, a board-certified ambulatory care nurse, as the organization’s new director of hospice.
Elliot Health System has announced the addition of three new providers to its practices: Dr. Oluwatosin Thompson, a boardcertified neurologist, has joined Elliot Neurology Associates; Kathleen Abladian, a licensed physician assistant, has joined Elliot Family Medicine at Bedford; and Elizabeth Zordok, a certified adult gerontology acute care nurse practitioner, has joined Elliot Senior Health Center.
ClearChoiceMD Urgent Care has opened its newest walk-in clinic at 300 Main St., Nashua. It will provide urgent care and occupational health services to Nashua and surrounding communities in affiliation with St. Joseph Hospital.
Cornerstone VNA, Rochester, has added three people to its board of directors: Marilyn Staff, a registered nurse and currently director of care coordination at FedPoint, in Portsmouth; David Richard, sales manager for liquid fuels and equipment as well as head of community outreach for D.F. Richard Energy, Dover; and Laura Davie of the Institute for Health Policy and Practice as well as cofounder and co-director of the Center on Aging and Community Living.
Catholic Medical Center, the state-contracted provider of The Doorway of Greater Manchester, is partnering with Easterseals NH Farnum.
The addition means individuals seeking immediate substance use treatment services for themselves, patients or loved ones can now receive care in Manchester after hours and throughout the weekend. CMC’s Extended Doorway is open at Farnum from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. every day, including holidays.
BUSINESS SERVICES
Bedford-based BANKW Staffing has acquired Springfield, Mass.-based Johnson & Hill Staffing, which will become part of the BANW’s KNF&T Staffing Resources brand. The BANKW brand provides staffing services in the areas of IT, finance, accounting, sales, human resources, legal, administrative, healthcare, higher education and marketing.
LAW
Attorney Jay Buckey has joined the civil litigation practice group of Shaheen & Gordon, working out of the firm’s Concord office. Buckey previously worked as a managing attorney at the New Hampshire Public Defender’s office. The firm also announced that attorney Stephanie Annunziata has been promoted to partner at the firm, and attorney Crystal Maldonado has joined the firm as a partner. Annunziata is based in the firm’s Concord office while Maldonado is based in Manchester.
MANUFACTURING
GEOKON of Lebanon — which produces instrumentation for use in tunnels, dams, mines, piles, bridges, pipelines, landfills, embankments and wind turbines — has completed the acquisition of Swiss Precision Turning in Brattleboro, Vt., a machining company serving the medical, aerospace, optical and geotechnical industries.
CONSUMER SERVICES
StretchLab, a California-based assisted stretching franchise, has opened its first New Hampshire studio at 25 S. River Rd., Bedford. StretchLab Bedford is owned and operated by entrepreneurs Lenore and Jason Vaillancourt.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE
The state’s Sustainable Craft Beverage Program is recognizing Vulgar Brewing Company of Franklin for its environmental and sustainability initiatives. The brewery, which includes a pub, was founded in 2018 with a goal of supporting local producers by purchasing ingredients from local farmers and creating a community gathering place where everyone feels welcome. The program is overseen by the NH Pollution Prevention Program at the NH Department of Environmental Services.
GOVERNMENT
NH Insurance Department staff members have been appointed to various standing committees of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Michelle Heaton, health law and policy legal counsel, has been appointed to the Regulatory Framework Task Force; Christian Citarella, chief property and casualty actuary, will serve on the Casualty Actuarial and Statistical Task Force; Heather Silverstein, general counsel, will be on the Antifraud Task Force; Assistant Commissioner Christie Rice has been appointed to the Producer Licensing Task Force; Douglas Bartlett, director of financial regulation, will serve on the Accounting Practices and Procedures Task Force, Examination Oversight Task Force, and the Reinsurance Task Force. Deputy Commissioner DJ Bettencourt will serve on the NAIC/Consumer Liaison Committee.
NONPROFITS
The NH Charitable Foundation has given Step Up Parents a $55,000 grant via gifts from the New Hampshire Tomorrow Substance Use Disorders Fund. The nonprofit organization will use the funds to build up capacity to support kinship families in 2023. The Foundation also gave a $60,000 grant to Cornerstone VNA, paid in $20,000 installments over a three-year period, to be used for a rehabilitation training platform; specialized training for clinicians; efforts to attract, retain and train skilled staff; and will support underfunded specialty programs.
Peter Sorlien has rejoined the board of directors for NH Lakes, a statewide nonprofit whose mission is to restore and preserve the health of New Hampshire’s lakes. Sorlien was previously a nonprofit executive for art galleries in New York, with experience as a professional art appraiser.
Spaulding Academy & Family Services has named two new directors to its leadership team: Courtney Constant, director of development and community relations, and Nick Silva, director of admissions. Constant was previously director of operations at Lake Life Realty-Compass New England since 2018, and Silva previously held roles with Spaulding since 2014.
Monadnock Peer Support Agency, Keene, has appointed five new directors: Keene Fire Chief Donald Farquhar; Cheshire County Sheriff Eli Rivera; Kevin Tighe, co-director of the Mountain View Retreat; Devan Blake, owner of a Keene marketing firm; and Jennifer Friedman a retired librarian.
Step Up Parents recently was awarded a $10,000 grant by the Kennebunk Savings Bank Foundation to support its expansion into southern Maine. “We’ve seen the tremendous work Step Up Parents has done in New Hampshire and are excited to help them expand into Maine where the need is equally as great,” said Bradford C. Paige, president and CEO of Kennebunk Savings. UScellular has donated 25 wireless hot spots and two years of service to the Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley as part of its After School Access Project, which provides free mobile hot spots and service to nonprofits that support youth after the school day in order to provide safe internet access for homework and education.
The Chase Home in Portsmouth, which provides at-risk youth across the state with prevention, early intervention, residential and community-based services, has received a $5,000 grant from the NH Charitable Foundation’s Richard Spence Lockhart Fund.
Granite VNA is accepting online nominations until March 15 for its 24th annual Kay Sidway Award, given to an individual devoted to the education, nurturing and well-being of families in their communities. To learn more, visit granitevna.org/content/kaysidway-award-nomination. Dismas Home of NH — a state-licensed rehab and transitional living program for previously incarcerated women — has added Kathryn Smith to its staff as a clinician.
Kimball Jenkins in Concord and Queerlective — a Manchester-based group that promotes creative inclusivity for LGBTQ+, BIPOC and other underserved communities — have combined forces with a fiscal sponsorship, allowing Queerlective to grow its programs and provide more support to meet the diverse creative community’s needs through producing large-scale art markets, promoting local artists and curating exhibitions for partner organizations.
United Way of Greater Nashua has again been honored as a recipient of Charity Navigator’s 4-star rating for demonstrating strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency.
Rosemary Hendrickx recently joined the American Heart Association as development director for New Hampshire, where she’ll manage the New Hampshire Heart Ball, New Hampshire Heart Walk and the state’s Go Red for Women initiatives.
Swim With A Mission — a nonprofit that has given close to $10 million since 2017 in support of critical services for veterans — has added Mark J. Aquilino, president and CEO of Outdoor Pride Landscape and Snow Management, to its board of directors. For the second year in a row, Planned Parenthood of Northern New England has been named a 2022 Human Experience Guardian of Excellence Award winner by Press Ganey in recognition of its outstanding performance in patient experience. The award puts PPNNE in the top 5 percent for patient experience out of the more than 41,000 healthcare facilities evaluated.
NH LAKES — a nonprofit whose mission is to restore and preserve the health of the state’s 1,000 lakes and ponds — has been named a 2023 Champion in Action by Citizens and the NH Union Leader. The recognition includes promotional and volunteer support, and a $35,000 unrestricted grant to help the nonprofit raise awareness about the threats our lakes are now facing.
Family Promise of New Hampshire, which provides transitional housing and support services to families experiencing homelessness, has received a $50,000 grant from Bank of America. The grant will be used to help sustain the organization’s programming for residents and for operating expenses.
Meredith Village Savings Bank has purchased $17,500 in tax credits through the Community Development Finance Authority to support the Warner House Association’s Carriage House Project, which is working to construct a replica of the 18th century carriage house in downtown Portsmouth, which was demolished in the 1960s.
Canterbury Shaker Village has received a $109,755 matching grant from the NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program to fund a new roof at its Dwelling House. One of 26 restored original Shaker buildings at the village, a National Historic Landmark, the Dwelling House is a T-shaped structure with 56 rooms that has been expanded numerous times since its construction in 1793.
PUBLIC POLICY
The NH Fiscal Policy Institute, Concord, has added Justin Slattery of Concord, executive director of the Belknap Economic Development Council, to its board of directors.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS UScellular has added 5G service to four cell sites in Cheshire County, including Keene and Marlow. The company said it invested $1.2 million in the enhanced sites. 5G service provides faster data speeds, seamless video chatting and a more responsive mobile experience.
REAL ESTATE
National heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration wholesale distributor Johnstone Supply has leased 875 Holt Ave., a former FairPoint Communications location in Manchester. Chris Healey of The Boulos Company’s Manchester office, Caitlin Burke from its Portsmouth office, Derek Miller of its Portland, Maine, office represented Johnstone.
The Berlin office of Badger Peabody & Smith Realty has added three new agents:
Jennifer Woodward, Pranee Powers and Kate Frisk. Woodward received her sales associate license in December and worked as a student intern at the firm in 2022. Powers has been in real estate for the last three years, and Frisk, who has worked in the customer service industry, has been licensed in real estate for over a year.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Cathleen Sullivan has joined Bar Harbor Wealth Management, a subsidiary of Bar Harbor Bank & Trust, as assistant vice president and associate wealth manager. For the past 10 years, she served as a trust administrator at Nixon Peabody LLP.
NHTrust announced the appointment of Brett Emerick as the firm’s new client services supervisor, working out of the Concord main office.
Charles Mathews has joined NBT Bank as senior institutional wealth management consultant based in Manchester, to assist the Bank’s expansion of its services across New England. He brings more than 30 years to the role, previously serving as wealth management senior vice president at the Bank of New Hampshire.
Bank of New Hampshire recently announced new promotions throughout the organization: Flora Boyce has been promoted to assistant vice president, mortgage loan officer in the Plymouth office; Semi Shin-Kenison was promoted to vice president, assistant controller; Deigh Cormiea is the new assistant vice president, Lincoln banking office manager; and Jessica Beane is the new VP/Gilford Lakeshore banking office manager.
Meredith Village Savings Bank has promoted James “Jim” Carrigan to regional vice president, overseeing the Bank’s Portsmouth, Rochester, Alton, Gilford and Laconia branch offices. MVSB also promoted Jami Bourdeau to branch and business development manager in its Wolfeboro office.
St. Mary’s Bank has announced the promotions of Leo D. Simard, Jr. to senior vice president and chief retail banking officer and Pamela Didio Roy to senior vice president and chief people officer.
Brian Smith has joined Merrimack County Savings Bank as vice president, commercial portfolio loan officer, working out of the bank’s Concord office.
Heather Francoeur has joined Bangor Savings Bank as vice president, branch manager of the office at 170 Baker Street in Manchester. She brings over 30 years of banking experience to the role, most recently as vice president of corporate and municipal services at Northway Bank.
Cheryl Whalen has been promoted to assistant banking office manager at Bank of New Hampshire’s Concord office on Main Street. She first joined the Bank in 2011 as bank services representative.
NHTrust has added Amanda Birt to its Keene office team as a financial associate.
Michael Woodbury of Milford has been promoted to assistant vice president, treasury sales officer at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust.
TECHNOLOGY
Portsmouth-based Senet, a provider of cloud-based software and services platforms internet of things networks, and Telli Health, a provider of medical remote patient monitoring devices, have launched remote patient monitoring powered by LoRaWAN a low-power, wide area networking protocol, that the two companies say will allow healthcare providers to reach more patients in remote and underserved areas, such as indigenous communities.
Minim Inc., the Manchester-based maker of networking products under the Motorola brand, is launching Support+, a premium support subscription that it says offers a greatly enhanced customer support experience. Available to app users in June 2023, Support+ provides users access to 24/7 tech support, priority queueing and call-back requests.
ENERGY
Liberty, in partnership with the other statewide utilities of NHSaves, recently teamed up with Easterseals NH to make major efficiency upgrades at the nonprofit’s Gammon Academy on Zachary Road in Manchester. The improvements made are estimated to save Easterseals 975 MMBtus of natural gas annually.
Palmer Gas & Oil has promoted Ben Kaul to delivery manager, and Jim Martin has joined the firm as sales manager, replacing Leslie Stevens, who has transitioned to the new role of key account manager. In addition, Scott Ireland is the company’s new safety manager and Bill Chisholm has joined the team as supply and pricing manager.
New president named for Automobile Dealers Assoc.
Dan Bennett, a longtime executive of the NH Automobile Dealers Association, has been named its new president, succeeding Pete McNamara, who has retired from the post he held for over 16 years.
Bennett, a certified association executive since 2016, has been NHADA’s vice president of government relations and environmental affairs for 20 years. He currently also serves as vice chair of the Granite State Children’s Alliance.
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