RETAIL
NEMO Equipment, an independent designer of outdoor gear and accessories, has been awarded an international ISPO Award for both its new Tensor Extreme Conditions sleeping pad and its recyclable Resolve technical daypack series (due in spring 2024).
Mystic Market, a metaphysical, arts and healing studio focused on wellness and spiritual growth, opened in November in Milford. The business, founded by Laurie Gouley, offers alternative wellness services and products. Its retail store will feature locally handcrafted items as well as crystals, oracle cards, candles, incense and lotions.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Amber Millikan Joined Bar Harbor Bank & Trust as a branch relationship manager for the bank’s location in Hanover. Millikan, who has 12 years of experience in the banking industry, began her career in banking in 2011 as a teller at TD Bank.
Merrimack County Savings Bank promoted Rachel Perri to regional vice president branch manager. Perri oversees retail banking for The Merrimack’s Central Region locations, which includes Concord and surrounding towns. Perri joined the bank in 2020 as a branch and business development manager at their North State Street branch in Concord.
First Seacoast Bank worked in conjunction with the Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth and the Women’s Business League to sponsor of the CelebrateHER Luncheon that took place Nov. 8 at the Atlantic Grill in Rye. The bank was the presenting sponsor of the Small Business Award.
Bangor Savings Bank’s annual PB&J Drive resulted in over 22,000 peanut butter and jelly jar donations to local food security programs across Maine and New Hampshire. Since the drive tradition began in 2012, the bank has donated over 120,000 jars.
The Annual Mitten Tree Drive is officially underway at Merrimack County Savings Bank. Now through the end of December, all eight Merrimack locations will be collecting cold weather essentials to help keep our community warm during the long winter months. For a complete list of drop off locations and hours of operations, visit themerrimack.com/locations.
Greg Gagne was selected to serve as the 2023-2024 president of MDRT, the leading global association of financial services professionals. Gagne will travel internationally meeting with MDRT members and guiding the direction of the global network of financial advisors. His term began Sept. 1 and will last one year. Gagne is a founding member of Affinity Investment Group LLC in Candia.
Ron MacDonald has joined St. Mary’s Bank as the director of indirect consumer lending, responsible for overseeing the credit union’s indirect auto lending and sports and leisure lending programs. He will also serve as a member of the strategic planning team. Previously, he was general manager at High Street Capital Partners in New York, New York, SVP of indirect lending at Berkshire Bank in Pittsfield, Mass., first vice president of indirect lending at First Niagara Bank in Buffalo, New York, and national sales manager of indirect lending for TD Bank NA in Portland, Maine.
LAW
Nicole J. Herbst joined McLane Middleton as risk and compliance officer/senior trust officer, and Cathleen Sullivan joined as trust officer in the law firm’s trust services department. Herbst’s experience includes 28 years in the trust industry working as a personal and philanthropic trust officer, compliance and fiduciary officer, and financial planner. Sullivan is a trust and estate professional with over 25 years of experience working in the legal and financial industries.
Burns, Bryant, Cox, Rockefeller & Durkin P.A. in Dover has been listed by Best Lawyers in its Best Law Firms tier 1 rankings for 2024 in the area of personal injury law. Christine M. Rockefeller, Matthew B. Cox, John E. Durkin and Sarah E. Lavoie have all been listed in Best Lawyers in the field of personal injury.
The New England Legal Foundation appointed attorney Jim Merrill, managing shareholder of Bernstein Shur’s New Hampshire office, to its New Hampshire Advisory Council. Merrill provides strategic, grassroots, legislative advocacy and media solutions for a wide variety of corporate and nonprofit clients.
INSURANCE
Bailey Lallier recently joined the Concord Group as underwriting director, overseeing personal lines and commercial lines underwriting. Bailey began her career at Auto-Owners Insurance as an associate underwriter, advancing to various roles with increasing responsibility. Additionally, A.M. Best has affirmed the financial strength rating of A+ (superior) and the long-term issuer credit ratings of” “AA-” (superior) of the members of Concord Group Insurance Companies for the fourth consecutive year.
TECHNOLOGY
Mary Thornton joined the Semiconductor Industry Association as vice president of global policy. She will lead Washington, D.C.-based organization’s global policy team and direct the association’s global trade and economic security policy initiatives.
HEALTH CARE
On Sep. 24, 209 walkers laced up their shoes to support the Bridge to Recovery Walk at Concord Hospital – Franklin. Over $42,000 was raised to assist individuals with mental health and substance use disorders. The fundraiser sponsors support critical recovery programs and services available at the hospital’s Franklin and Laconia facilities.
The Orthopaedic Institute at Concord Hospital received the 2023-2024 Star Performer designation from the American Orthopaedic Association’s Own the Bone program, an achievement that honors institutions that perform the highest level of fragility fracture and bone health care for patients. Recognition is based on data from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023.
Wentworth-Douglass Hospital earned an “A” grade for safety by the Leapfrog Group, an independent, national nonprofit watchdog organization. The grades are based on over 30 national performance measures reflecting errors, accidents, injuries, and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm.
Angela Arria joined health care and hospice agency Granite VNA as vice president of home care. In addition to managing the program’s clinical and fiscal operations, Arria, who has more than 20 years of industry experience, will be responsible for ensuring compliance with all local, state and federal laws regarding Medicare, licensure and certification of agency staff, and compliance with home care standards of care.
GOVERNMENT
Michael Padmore joined AARP New Hampshire as associate state director of advocacy and outreach. Padmore most recently worked for the NH Medical Society as director of advocacy where he coordinated New Hampshire’s physician community to advocate on behalf of key health care issues, such as Medicaid Expansion, prescription drug reform, and access to telehealth services.
Cornerstone Government Affairs, a bipartisan government relations, public affairs and consulting firm, expanded its capabilities in the Northeast region of the United States with the opening of a Concord office. The office will initially include Marc Goldberg, former chief of staff for Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), and Mike Vlacich, former senior advisor to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Biden appointee at the U.S. Small Business Administration.
EDUCATION
The University of New Hampshire’s College of Health and Human Services and College of Professional Studies appointed Rhonda Board as the inaugural director of nursing and chief nurse administrator for UNH’s nursing programs. Prior to joining the faculty in 2023, Board served in several senior academic nursing administration roles during her 24 years in the School of Nursing at Northeastern University’s Bouve College of Health Sciences.
NONPROFIT
Leading sustainability initiatives took center stage at the New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility 9th Annual Sustainability Slam on Nov. 2 at LaBelle Winery in Derry. As part of NHBSR’s Just One Thing Campaign, the Sustainability Slam recognizes the efforts of local companies and nonprofits to make a positive difference in their environment, community or workplace.
Anna Boudreau of Dover was selected as the first executive director of Our Place. The nonprofit’s mission is to provide residential options, services and support designed to meet the needs of adults with intellectual developmental disabilities. Boudreau has over two decades of experience in nonprofit management, board development, donor cultivation and fundraising. The winners in the Community category were Stonyfield Organics (large company) and Phin (small company). The winners in the Workplace category were (tie) Hypertherm Associates and Associated Grocers of New England (large company) and Wilkins Lumber Company Inc. (small company.) The winner in the Nonprofit category was NH Healthcare Workers for Climate Action.
Sal DeFranco has joined the board of directors of Swim with a Mission, a New Hampshire-based nonprofit that supports veterans and their families.
DeFranco’s career in SEAL teams includes time as an operator and a SEAL instructor. He was recently inducted into the UMASS Lowell Veterans Hall of Fame.
Very Reverend Jason Jalbert, rector and pastor of Saint Joseph Cathedral, blessed the opening of the new Cathedral Gift Shop, which held its grand opening and ribbon cutting in September. Located in the parish rectory at 145 Lowell St., the gift shop was established in response to the closing of the privately owned Cathedral Church Goods. The shop will operate Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with extended hours on Wednesdays (until 5:30 p.m.) and Saturdays (until 3:30 p.m.).
To learn more, visit stjosephcathedralnh.org/giftshop.
The Boys & Girls Club of Manchester recently promoted several staff members to new roles: Jennie Pappas, director of programs and leadership; Ginny Bouch, elementary director; Mary Kate Russo, director of family and behavioral services; Wendy Allen, program and volunteer specialist; Mina Alicea assistant director of programs and leadership; Rudi Koornneef, director of teen engagement and resources; Madi King, Kids Club program manager; and Heather Harrington, Junior Room program manager.
NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire recently appointed members to its board of directors, each serving a three-year term: Nicholas Villeneuve, director of personal investing of Fidelity Investments and head of Fidelity’s mentor program and Leadership Development Counsel and Awilda Muniz, a health and well-being extension lead teacher for the UNH Cooperative Extension, providing nutrition education programs in Title 1 public schools and healthy living programs for seniors and families.
MarketReach Inc., a provider of creative marketing services for B2B technology companies, is hosting a drop-off location for the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program for the 2023 holiday season. Drop off a new, unwrapped toy at the MarketReach offices at 410 Amherst St., Suite 110, Nashua, in the Birch Pond Office Park. The drive runs through Dec. 13.
CONSTRUCTION
North Branch Construction was honored with the Chairman’s Award at the 2023 ABC NH/VT Excellence in Construction Awards Gala held recently in Manchester for the SIG Experience Center project in Epping. The project also received an Excellence in Construction Award in the Commercial over $10 million category. The two-story, 40,500-square-foot facility includes a 6,000-square-foot retail showroom, indoor shooting ranges, a high-tech interactive museum depicting the history of SIG SAUER, a members-only Club 1751 lounge, a conference and events facility, and corporate office space. North Branch also recently received an Award of Merit for the Summit on Juniper project in Lebanon in the Residential over $1 million category. The project provides graduate student housing for Dartmouth College.
HOSPITALITY
The Brook, a charity casino in Seabrook, has brought back The Big Ride promotion in which one guest will win $50,000 toward a vehicle at any Enxing dealership during a grand prize drawing on New Year’s Day. Through Dec. 23, guests receive one entry into the drawing for every 500 points earned by playing gaming machines or electronic table games using their Gold Club card. The New Year’s Day drawing, which begins at 2 p.m., will also award one second-place prize of $7,500 and one third-place prize of $2,500, while the fourth through 10th place winners will take home $1,000 each. For more information, visit LiveFreeandPlay.com.
REAL ESTATE
Commercial real estate firm Colliers announced the sale of 10 Manor Parkway, Unit B, in Salem, NH. According to the Rockingham County Registry of Deeds, the 8,587-square-foot industrial condominium sold for $1.175 million. Hugo Overdeput, of Colliers’ Manchester office, represented the buyer, Kumar Realty LLC, a general merchandiser wholesaler.
The seller, SBS Real Estate Holdings LLC, was represented by Chris Goodnow, of Goodnow Real Estate.
Joanne Conroy named 2023 CEO influencer
Dartmouth Health CEO and president Joanne M. Conroy was named on Becker’s Hospital Review’s list of 60 health system CEO influencers for 2023. Honorees were identified as health system CEOs who are using their considerable influence to shape the future of health care. An anesthesiologist by training, Conroy has served as CEO and president of Dartmouth Health since 2017. In just six years, Conroy has overseen the addition of a hospital to the health system, bringing the total to six. Other individuals on the list include the CEOs of the Mayo Clinic, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Cleveland Clinic, and Mass General Brigham.
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