FINANCIAL SERVICES
Bangor Savings Bank has welcomed Matt James as its new vice president, commercial banking senior relationship manager, based out of the bank’s Manchester branch. He serves on the boards of directors for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Derry and Amoskeag Industries.
Merrimack County Savings Bank has promoted Michelle Olivier to regional vice president, overseeing retail operations for the bank’s Western Region locations including Bow, Contoocook and coming soon to Henniker. Olivier joined The Merrimack in 2012 as a customer service representative and most recently served as assistant vice president, branch and business development manager in Bow and Contoocook.
First Seacoast Bank is continuing its commitment to supporting the growth and success of small businesses within the community it serves through its sponsorship of SCORE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing mentorship and education to entrepreneurs. By partnering with SCORE, the bank aims to provide valuable resources and guidance to help local entrepreneurs thrive in today’s competitive business landscape. For a full list of seminars, visit www.score.org/sponsor/first-seacoastbank.
Bank of New Hampshire has committed $100,000 in tax credits to New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority’s Community Economic Development Capacity Building Fund, which has an impact in creating jobs, alleviating poverty and bolstering economic resilience throughout New Hampshire.
NBT Bancorp Inc. announced that Scott A. Kingsley has succeeded John H. Watt, Jr. as NBT’s 15th president and chief executive officer. Kingsley was also elected to NBT’s board of directors. Watt will continue to serve on the Board and has been named vice chairman. In addition, Joseph R. Stagliano has been promoted to president of NBT Bank, N.A., Annette L. Burns to executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Shauna M. Hyle to executive vice president, retail community banking.
New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp (NHMB) welcomed Randy Woods as senior vice president, information technology, responsible for overall IT support and infrastructure for NHMB and its affiliate organizations, NHTrust, Savings Bank of Walpole, Merrimack County Savings Bank and Meredith Village Savings Bank. He has over 30 years of IT and broadcast engineering experience with other financial institutions as well as Fiserv-CBS Division. He is a member of the IT Committee of the NH Bankers Association.
HEALTH CARE
In early May, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital was awarded an “A” grade for safety by the Leapfrog Group, an independent, national nonprofit watchdog organization, based on performance measures and protocols. Androscoggin Valley Hospital (AVH) has been awarded a three-year term of re-accreditation in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the result of a recent review by the American College of Radiology (ACR). The ACR gold seal of accreditation represents the highest level of image quality and patient safety.
It is awarded only to facilities meeting specific requirements based on ACR Practice Parameters and Technical Standards after a peer-review evaluation by board-certified physicians and medical physicists who are experts in the field.
Molly Barufaldi, a medical detox registered nurse in Easterseals’ substance use treatment services program, was the 2024 recipient of The DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses, which recognizes the efforts nurses perform every day. Baufaldi was nominated by 28 of her peers for the award.
Mallory Lord is the new executive director of Benchmark at Rye, a mind and memory care community. She replaces Nick Barash who was promoted to regional director of operations for Benchmark Senior Living.
Lord most recently served as a regional property manager for New York-based Panco Management, where she oversaw fundraising efforts for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital and Cradles to Crayons.
U.S. News & World Report awarded Elliot 1-Day Surgery and The Surgery Center of Greater Nashua as “Best Colonoscopy & Endoscopy” in its rankings of Best Ambulatory Surgery Centers.
Both centers were among only 249 ASCs recognized as “high performing.”
Dr. Benjamin Colby has returned to Concord Hospital Medical Group, and is currently seeing patients at Family Tree Health Care in Hopkinton. Colby is board-certified in family medicine and received his medical degree from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth located in Hanover. In addition, he currently teaches residents at the NH Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency.
MANUFACTURING
Monadnock Paper Mills, Inc., has appointed Chloe Jones as the new director of marketing and communications. Over the course of her career, she has delivered strategic marketing and design solutions to organizations like Neenah Paper, Pfizer, UMass, and nationwide YMCA chapters.
MARKETING
Polaris Direct, a full-service print and direct marketing services company based in Hooksett, has been recertified by the Center for Women & Enterprise Certification Committee as a WBENC Women’s Business Enterprise — its 20th year of being certified. This certification requires that at least 51% of a company is owned, controlled, operated and managed by women. In addition, Polaris Direct was recertified by the U.S. Small Business Administration as a Women-Owned Small Business.
EDUCATION
Colby-Sawyer College announced last month that former academic vice president and dean of faculty Laura A. Sykes has been named interim president for the 2024-25 academic year. Sykes will become the first alumna of the institution to hold this leadership position. Sykes, who retired in 2023 following 30 years at the college, will replace outgoing president Susan D. Stuebner, who accepted the presidency of Marietta College, a private, liberal arts institution in Marietta, Ohio.
The University System of New Hampshire (USNH) board of trustees has named Catherine Provencher as chancellor, effective July 1. She previously served as the vice chancellor of financial affairs and treasurer of USNH for the past 10 years.
REAL ESTATE
Ellen Kremer Christian has joined Badger Peabody & Smith Realty as a real estate agent, working out of the firm’s North Conway office. Her professional designations include ABR (Accredited Buyer Representative); SRES (Seniors Real Estate Representative); Global Luxury Marketing Specialist; and Relocation Specialist.
NONPROFITS
TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, awarded a total of $7 million to 37 non-profits across the bank’s Maine to Florida footprint and in Michigan through the 18th annual Housing for Everyone grant program. Two of those grants were given to NH-based nonprofits: Waypoint in Manchester ($175,000) and Merrimack Valley Assistance Program, Inc., in Manchester ($150,000).
Granite VNA celebrated its 125th anniversary with the annual Passion for Caring fundraising event, which raised more than $68,000 to support the agency’s hospice services across 82 New Hampshire communities. In addition, Granite VNA honored Jennifer Beetle, vice president of Pat rick’s Pub and Eatery in Gilford, with the 2024 Kay Sidway Award for her work in the community, as well as Rep. Ann McLane Kuster with the Granite VNA Legacy Award for her devotion to home care and hospice services in New Hampshire.
Monadnock United Way recently welcomed two new board members: Richard Towne, career and technical education (CTE) director at Cheshire Career Center at Keene High School, and Kristen Noonan, community engagement manager at Savings Bank of Walpole.
Stay Work Play New Hampshire announced the addition of two new members to its board of directors: Aarron R. Dupuis, director of community impact for Campus Compact for New Hampshire, and Elizabeth Mullen, director of business development at Commonwealth Financial Group.
The New Hampshire Public Health Association (NHPHA) board has appointed Tory Jennison, Ph.D., R.N., as their new interim executive director. Her practice areas include population health systems, program design and evaluation; supportive/SUD housing; public health preparedness; emergency management; street medicine; community health assessment and resilience building; and long-term services and supports.
Bill Sherry — who has served as Granite United Way’s (GUW) chief operating officer and public policy lead for almost 10 years — was honored with a President’s Award for a lifetime of community service during the General Federation of Women’s Clubs’ annual Unity Awards Dinner on May 17. He was recognized for his work at GUW, including over seeing the 211 NH call center and initiatives to help address access to critical needs like housing, health care, legal assistance and food insecurity.
HOSPITALITY
Danforth Bay Camping & RV Resort has appointed Amanda Buswell as its new general manager. Buswell’s journey with the Purity Spring Resort family of businesses spans 23 years, advancing from housekeeper to head of housekeeping, reservations clerk, office manager, assistant general manager and finally to general manager. She also provided guest services management for the King Pine Ski Area seasonally for over 20 years.
BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS
Tyler Ray, the founder and director of Granite Backcountry Alliance (GBA), is stepping down after leading the organization since 2016. Moving forward, Ray will concentrate his efforts on further fortifying the outdoor business community in New Hampshire and beyond through his companies, Backyard Concept and Frontyard Law, PLLC, alongside his statewide leadership through the outdoor trade association Granite Outdoor Alliance, of which he is the founder.
RETAIL
A new children’s book and toy store, Wonderland Books & Toys, was opened last month at 245 Maple Street #12 in Manchester. The woman-owned store carries a wide variety of books, toys, games and more for infants through teens, all personally curated for their appeal to children and their parents. The store will also feature an event space for author readings and signings, book clubs, birthday parties, acoustic music performances and other events, including a weekly story time Saturdays at 2 p.m.
GOVERNMENT
Dennehy & Bouley — New Hampshire’s first bi-partisan lobbying, public affairs, and association management firm — has welcomed Jessica Eskeland to their team. She began her career as a committee staff person in the New Hampshire Senate, and later became a journal clerk in the New Hampshire Senate Clerk’s office, served as the public information officer for the Secretary of State during the 100th First in the Nation Primary in 2020, and concluded her work in the State House as the director of public policy for the State Senate Democratic Caucus. For six years, she served as the public policy specialist for the NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, and was most recently the senior public policy manager for the Alzheimer’s Association in New Hampshire.
NEW HAMPSHIRE 200
Editor’s note: NH Business Review is spotlighting selected 2024 New Hampshire 200 honorees from various industries. See the entire list and book at nhbr.com
Sandy Almonte Owner, Don Quijote Restaurant
Education: Hohokus Business School (ABA), Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey
Career history: Sandy has owned Don Quijote Restaurant for 23 years. When she moved to New England her husband at the time wanted to start a restaurant based on seeing developments like Manchester Airport and the civic center (now the SNHU Arena). They saw an opportunity to bring diverse cuisine into Manchester amid that growth. Before then, Sandy was an office manager for CAS Corporation for 9 years in East Rutherford, New Jersey. There, she did a bit of everything customer service, product support and support of sales personnel.
Biggest challenge over the past 5 years: Maintaining good staff. I try to create a sense of family, which helps create stability in their lives and helps with the restaurant’s operation. COVID made this very challenging. Inflation has also made keeping the restaurant affordable for my regulars hard.
Most excited about: I am continuously working to support my community. I’m proud that my voice is recognized and my business is integral to the health of my neighborhood. My investments in the restaurant this area are more about helping people than profits.
What keeps you up at night? Cost of living for my staff. I invest in their housing as a support, which is why having consistency in staff is so important. But they have other challenges such as daycare, impacting the quality of life for the children of my team.
Hobbies/passions: My passion is in supporting my community, through the boards and committees I serve on as well as my work helping families and kids feel a sense of pride and belonging and finding their voice. I remember the struggles I had when my family immigrated, and I want to help people going through that.
Industry advice: Know your customers, be consistent with your business, and get involved in the community. For example, we changed recipes to be inclusive of the cultures in the neighborhood, but we also strive for consistent quality. This supports the community which supports the business.
Please send items for possible publication in The Latest to EDITOR@NHBR.COM Include a color photo if available.
