AUTOMOTIVE
Merchants Fleet has completed its inaugural “Give With Merchants” program, a corporate philanthropy period over two weeks between Thanksgiving and Giving Tuesday, where the company gifted each of its 700 employees $150 to donate to a charity of their choice. This led to the company donating $100,000 to 64 charities ranging from local organizations to international nonprofits.
HEALTH CARE
Concord Hospital’s Kelly Wiemer, APRN, was named 2023 Nurse Practitioner of the Year by the NH Nurse Practitioner Association in recognition of her contributions to her field. Wiemer joined the Concord Hospital health system in 2006 as a clinical leader and staff nurse in the cardiac/respiratory unit and later assumed the role of ambulatory informatics provider in 2016 at Concord Hospital.
Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire (VNH), a member of Dartmouth Health, recently recognized the achievements of its team members at an Employee Appreciation Day event, including hospice specialist Carole Lechthaler, RN, for her 50 years of service to the organization, along with Heather Grob, RN, hospice after-hours nurse, Carole Lechthaler Award for Exemplary Professional Practice; Jess Cheney, director, Home Health and Hospice, Excellence in Leadership Award; Wendy Taitague, personal care assistant, Paraprofessional of the Year; and Shawna Lynch, long-term care case aid, Administrative Professional of the Year.
Bradley J. Chapman has been selected as the next president of Memorial Hospital in North Conway. He most recently served as a hospital executive in Pennsylvania with additional experience in the industry within New York. Chapman holds a certificate in Healthcare Leadership from Le Moyne College, in Syracuse, N.Y., and he is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
NONPROFITS
The Foundation for New Hampshire Community Colleges recently welcomed Helen Dutton, of Weare, and George Mullin, of Amherst, as the newest members of its board of directors. Dutton has over 35 years of experience in finance and operations, and Mullin has a career in the electronic component industry.
Manchester-based nonprofit Operation Onward awarded veteran Tracy Franklin, FC1 USN Ret., an iBot wheelchair designed to eliminate barriers to quality of life for veterans and physically impaired individuals. The iBot wheelchair, which provides advanced features including stairclimbing capabilities and elevated seating, gives Franklin a renewed sense of freedom and autonomy in his daily life, which reflects the nonprofit’s commitment to breaking down mobility barriers and enhancing the lives of those who have served our country and communities.
Northeast Delta Dental made 10 awards totaling over $1 million to support dental loan repayment in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. In New Hampshire, awards were made to Children’s Dental Care, Harbor Care, Exeter Pediatric Dentistry and Winnisquam Dental.
Home health and hospice agency Granite VNA raised more than $57,000 during its annual Lights, Life and Memories campaign to support hospice services for residents in 82 NH communities. More than 130 area businesses and nearly 500 individuals supported the campaign.
Grassroots relief nonprofit Common Man for Ukraine’s leaders delivered food, generators and holiday gifts as part of their second Christmas Convoy and eighth humanitarian aid trip overall to war-torn Ukraine. They visited 17 orphanages and safe houses across 10 western Ukrainian cities providing more than 760 orphans and internally displaced children with Christmas presents, nutritious food and critical humanitarian supplies.
Merrimack County Savings Bank supported Granite VNA with a $10,000 pledge toward their Community Engagement and Benefit Initiative, which will help extend the nonprofit’s programming into the Lakes Region by renovating their Laconia location.
Cornerstone VNA, nonprofit home health and hospice care organization, recently welcomed Austin Cornish to its board of directors. With experience working in wealth management with Morgan Stanley, Cornish brings vast knowledge to the board’s finance committee.
Seacoast Science Center (SSC) has partnered with KultureCity to receive certification for a more sensory-inclusive visitor experience. The certification process ensures that SSC’s staff and volunteers are trained by medical professionals on how to recognize visitors’ sensory needs and how to handle a sensory overload situation. KultureCity Sensory Bags, equipped with noise-canceling headphones (provided by Puro Sound Labs), fidget tools, verbal cue cards and KCVIP lanyards will be available to SSC guests who may feel overwhelmed during their visit.
The Bangor Savings Bank Foundation provided $195,000 in grants to 22 nonprofit organizations across Maine and New Hampshire, including $5,500 to Harbor Care in Nashua, which helps vulnerable adults, children and families with housing, health care and other services. Other grantees included the Concord Community Music School, $5,500, and Stepping Stones, $7,500.
Millennium Running’s charitable efforts for 2023 exceeded $270,000 and eclipsed the $1.6 million milestone of all-time giving, with 96 organizations receiving a total of $273,599 from the proceeds and fundraising of Millennium’s events in the 2023 calendar year. The Solinsky Center for Cancer Care at The Elliot was named Millennium’s official Charity of the Year in 2023, and will receive $24,920.
BUSINESS SERVICES
The Department of Business and Economic Affairs has hired two business resource specialists: Karen Immel, of Hampton, and Brian Groth, of Nashua. Immel will aid the Seacoast region and Groth will cover the central and southern parts of the state to aid municipalities, economic development organizations and companies in addressing challenges and finding solutions to issues including workforce development, child care, housing and more.
Working Fields, a Vermont-based employment agency, has opened its first New Hampshire Seacoast regional office in Dover to better serve job seekers and employers. In addition, the agency welcomed two new employees: Justin Holsapple, account manager for southern NH and southeastern Vermont, and Kait Miller, strategic communications coordinator at the company’s South Burlington, Vt., location.
REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
As a real estate sales associate for the past five years, Eric Turchon of Badger Peabody & Smith Realty recently received an associate broker license from the New Hampshire Real Estate Commission. Turchon works out of the Holderness office located on Squam Lake at Curry Place, focusing on residential, vacation home and condo sales.
Stebbins Commercial Properties LLC has sold a development site on Indian Rock Road in Windham from 106 Indian Rock Road LLC to Middlesex Glass Company of Tewksbury, Mass. Mike Reed of Stebbins Commercial Properties LLC represented the seller, and The Boulos Company represented the buyer in the transaction. According to the Registry of Deeds, the sale price was $2,150,000.
The former Christmas tree farm at 239 Knox Marsh Road was sold to 239 Knox Marsh Realty, LLC for $1,225,000. The seller, Equine Properties, LLC, acquired the 9.36-acre site in 2020 for a mixed-use housing project with 52 multifamily units, two 13,583-square-foot commercial units, and 12 single-family homes. The transaction was arranged on behalf of the seller by Christian Stallkamp and Katherine Gemmecke of The Boulos Company. Gil Aleixo represented the buyer, a regional developer.
Hampshire Capital, a multifamily investment manager based in New Hampshire, has acquired Villas del Zocalo I, a 206-unit multifamily property built in 1985 in Dallas, Texas. Hampshire Capital plans to rebrand the property to “The Dahlia,” with HC Construction managing the renovations.
Northmarq’s Charles Hubbard represented the seller in the transaction. Northmarq’s Kevin Leamy represented Hampshire Capital in securing financing.
Following its recent acquisition of 100 Domain Drive in Exeter, Torrington Properties has signed Peak Achievement Athletics to a new, long-term lease extension. Peak, the parent company of Bauer Hockey and Cascade and Maverik Lacross, will lease 51,630 square feet of commercial office space for its businesses, and Torrington is making a series of investments into their first-class headquarters.
The Dow Group has welcomed Lobin Frizzell to its team as a real estate agent. Proficient in both residential and commercial transactions, Lobin is a licensed Realtor in Maine, New Hampshire and Florida. Wason Associates Hospitality Real Estate Brokerage Group announced on Dec. 14 the sale of Stonehurst Manor in North Conway to new ownership. The 19th-century hotel offers 16 rooms, plus suites and vacation condos, as well as a library lounge, pool, the Wild Rose restaurant, event space and more.
UTILITIES
Eversource has been recognized as a “5 Year Champion” of Corporate Responsibility by Newsweek, marking its fifth consecutive year on the list as a workplace that’s committed to values surrounding corporate social responsibility, sustainability and corporate citizenship.
EDUCATION
The NH Department of Safety, along with the Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH), the Police Standards and Training Council and Sen. David Watters (D-4), partnered to launch a program dedicated to workforce initiatives for the state’s first response system. The program will support career development, recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers, professional firefighters and emergency medical technicians for courses taken at any of New Hampshire’s community colleges.
The University of New Hampshire’s College of Health and Human Services welcomes Laura Gonnerman, Ph.D., as a professor and chair of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.
She is an internationally recognized scholar in the field of linguistics, with research focusing on the development of word knowledge across the life span.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Franklin Savings Bank promoted Jessica Price to vice president, chief financial officer. Price joined the bank in 2008 as a part-time teller in the Tilton office, later advancing into several leadership positions.
Luis Colon has been promoted to branch and business development manager at Merrimack County Savings Bank. He previously started his career as a bank teller in Puerto Rico before joining The Merrimack as a branch services representative in 2021. Additionally, the bank promoted Brittany Saucier to assistant vice president branch and business development manager at the Concord location.
GOVERNMENT
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced it will open a new regional office in Strafford County, serving innovators in the New England region as a resource center, with an expected operational date soon after December 2025.
LAW
Attorneys Laura B. Dodge and Brian B. Garrett have been elected as directors of McLane Middleton. Dodge is vice chair of the firm’s Real Estate Practice Group, and Garrett is chair of the firm’s Education Law Practice Group.
Attorney Emily Garrett has joined the northern New England law firm Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC. Before coming to DRM, Garrett worked in the real estate investments and transactions group at Ropes & Gray in Boston, where she advised clients on potential liabilities under federal and state environmental, health and safety laws. Attorney Gina Puls joined the firm’s litigation group in Burlington, Vermont, in November after serving as HR and special counsel for the Vermont Office of the Defender General. Downs Rachlin Martin operates offices in New Hampshire and Vermont.
TECHNOLOGY
The NH Department of Corrections (NHDOC) has signed a multiyear agreement to rollout Command Cloud, the world’s first officer experience platform, in a statewide deployment to all NHDOC correctional facilities, correctional officers and civilian employees. Digitizing workflows through Guardian RFID, a public safety technology company, will help strengthen security and vigilance for staff while increasing safety and security for residents.
HOSPITALITY
Another Common Man Roadside Market & Deli has opened in Epsom at the intersection of U.S. Route 4 and NH Route 28. The 4,900-square-foot market features an open kitchen for made-to-order meals, a cafe, New Hampshire-made goods, “grab-n-go” foods, a drive-thru, a coffee bar, a beer cave, seating for dining and an array of convenience store items. Tesla supercharger electric vehicle fueling stations will also be available.
On Dec. 11, the Sheraton Nashua opened its new and reimagined restaurant, Tara House Grill, in the space that formerly housed the Shade Bar and Grill. The effort to redesign the restaurant was led by Nicolas Allen, food and beverage manager at the hotel, and his team, supported by Delaware North, a hospitality and entertainment company that owns and operates gaming and travel destinations, including the nearby Gate City Casino and the Sheraton Nashua.
NH Lakes names new director of programs
NH LAKES has hired Brea Arvidson as director of programs. She is an accomplished aquatic biologist with nearly a decade of experience specializing in water resource monitoring and management in the Northeast.
She is also co-chair of the Communication and Development Committees with the North American Lake Management Society and plant conservation volunteer with Native Plant Trust.
“I’m thrilled to join NH LAKES to protect a place I hold close to my heart,” Brea explained. “Our water resources are worth our time and focus and are integral to our local ecology and economy — and our way of life.”
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