Beno Lamontagne, Mr. North Country

Each day, we profile one member of our 2012 Influencer Index.

If you need to get something done in the North Country, call Beno. That's the consensus of the leaders who nominated Beno Lamontagne, North Country regional resource specialist for the NH Division of Economic Development. Beno has incredible name recognition in the top three counties and in the rest of the state.  He maintains close relationships with our North Country businesses, and works tirelessly to facilitate solutions for any problems, says one leader who nominated this North Country native. Oftentimes wearing the hat of recruiter,' Beno is either attracting new businesses, or is finding ways to help current businesses expand.

An entrepreneur who previously owned two Radio Shack stores in Colebrook and Littleton, Lamontagne has a history of championing North Country economic development efforts. He served as president of the North Country Chamber of Commerce when Bose Stereo Company, then a major employer in Colebrook, left, a loss Lamontagne and other community leaders countered by forming an economic development committee. With the state's help, they successfully recruited a Canadian window manufacturer (and 150 jobs) to the industrial park. He later played a role in recruiting D&E Screw Machine to Colebrook.

When the president of Colebrook Development Corp. died, community leaders encouraged Lamontagne to step in, and he served as president for a decade. As he is fluent in French, Lamontagne is often called when recruiting firms from Montreal and Quebec.

Lamontagne is proud of being part of major North Country initiatives, including the annual Coos County Symposium, which brings together North Country leaders to work on common issues, and as part of a group that helped officially establish the Great North Woods as NH's seventh tourism region. The thing that keeps me up at night is knowing I have neighbors, fellow residents in the neighboring counties, who don't have a job. The North Country is a place that has been devastated by the economy over the last decade and has had a real tough time bouncing back, Lamontagne says.