1. Rochester officials and business leaders welcomed the launch of Lilac Club Casino on March 10 with a ribbon-cutting, ahead of the casino’s grand opening on March 14. The 32,000-square-foot facility features over 200 gaming machines, table games and a 12-table poker room, as well as an in-house bar and grill offering New Hampshire beers on tap.
2. AmeriCorps members celebrated AmeriCorps Week 2025 with their “Day of Service” at the New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton on March 12. Members played games with facility residents, gifted them arts and crafts and worked on sanded flag boxes to be given to families. Thirty-three members of four New Hampshire volunteer service organizations collectively donated 99 hours of volunteer time.
3. Franklin Savings Bank announced on March 20 that it is sponsoring NH JumpStart Coalition’s “I Can Save” program, which encourages second-graders around the state to begin financial savings habits. Volunteers for the coalition teach kids the difference between “needs” and “wants,” have them discuss helping others and how to put aside money for a rainy day fund. Pictured are Bank CEO Brian Bozak and Coalition President Dan Hebert.
4. Apprentices Dan Wilson and Jon Farr, of Nashua mechanical and piping contractor DECCO, received silver medals in pipefitting and TIG welding at the Associated Builders and Contractors National Craft Championships in Las Vegas in February. Additionally, DECCO’s Owen Kepple competed in the stick pipe welding category but did not place. Shown are Kepple, Farr and Wilson, left to right, at the championships.
5. This year marks the 10th anniversary of Great Bay Community College introducing its medical assistant workforce program in 2015, the first such program at a New Hampshire community college. The 12-week, 480-hour MA program teaches students medical knowledge and for entry-level health care positions and includes externships at local medical offices, one example shown. Today, this certificate program is available at other community colleges around the state to address workforce shortages within health care facilities.
6. Buyers and sellers of New Hampshire properties working with Littleton real estate agency Badger Peabody & Smith have agreed to place their escrow funds in an interest-bearing account. The full 100% of the interest will continue to go to local organization AHEAD (Affordable Housing Education and Development). AHEAD manages housing projects in Grafton and Coos counties, and BPS provided it with $6,692.54 last year. Harrison Kanzler of AHEAD is pictured accepting a donation from Andy Smith of BPS.
7. Meredith Village Savings Bank (MVSB) recently purchased $10,000 in tax credits through the Community Development Finance Authority to support the Youth Success Project. YSP is a NH-based, youth-led organization that raises awareness of people under age 25 who have experienced unaccompanied homelessness, meaning without a parent or guardian. The credits will fund the organization’s director of sustainability position.
