L to R: Randy Eifert, chair of Belknap EDC; Jeanie Forrester, chair of NH GOP; Andrew Hosmer, former NH State Senator; and Chris Kelly, director of Belknap EDC's board. Photo: Belknap EDC
This Week’s Spotlight: Jeanie Forrester, chair of the NH Republican Party and former NH state senator, received the Norman Marsh Leadership Award from Belknap Economic Development Council in Laconia at its annual meeting. Belknap EDC also presented two other awards at the meeting—the Gaudet family of AutoServ in Tilton received the Corporate Soul Award, while Scott Crowder of the New England Pond Hockey Classic in Meredith received the Community Impact Award. Additionally, Belknap EDC’s board of directors elected Gracie Cilley, VP, commercial loan officer at Meredith Village Savings Bank, as chair and Ron Magoon, president and CEO of Franklin Savings Bank, as vice-chair.
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This year marks the 30th anniversary for Bedford Design Consultants in Manchester, a local civil engineering firm specializing in site design and planning. The firm provides services to private developers, land owners, municipalities, institutions and businesses throughout NH and Massachusetts.
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Construction was completed for the Bedford Veterinary Medical Center on Route 101, which includes a 30,000-sq.-ft. main floor, a basement area with support space and a fenced recreation area adjacent to the building. Dennis Mires, The Architects in Manchester and Langley Construction in Goffstown oversaw design and construction of the project.
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Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Verani Realty in Londonderry hired Deb Sutton to its management team. Sutton, who has worked in real estate since 1998, was previously co-owner and managing broker for At Home Realty in Massachusetts and managing broker for Brin Realty Group’s Nashua office.
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The Business and Industry Association in Concord, NH’s statewide chamber of commerce, hired Sara Colson as its new director of workforce development and Amanda Savage as workforce assistant. In this new position, Colson will oversee Workforce Accelerator 2025, an effort to ensure that 65 percent of Granite State adults have a post-secondary degree or a highly-valued credential needed to support the state’s workforce needs and economy by 2025.
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Great Bay Community College (GBCC) in Portsmouth will offer an automotive technology certificate program beginning fall 2017. GBCC officials say the program responds to an immediate need in the Seacoast for certified auto mechanics, as the NH Department of Labor projects there will be more than 1,200 openings for automotive technicians in the Seacoast area through 2022. The college is working with the NH Auto Dealers Association in Bow to design the curriculum.
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Construction was completed for the new, 6,000-sq.-ft. Steve Mazur Wellness Area at the Greater Nashua Family YMCA. Development and construction were overseen by Harvey Construction in Bedford and Dennis Mires, The Architects in Manchester.
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Ronald D. Ciotti, a partner and attorney at Hinckley Allen in Concord and Boston, was appointed to two three-year terms for the Associated General Contractors of America (AGC) Contract Documents Forum, serving one term as vice-chair and another as chair. Ciotti is also serving as 2017 president for the AGC of New Hampshire in Bow.
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Stephanie Andruss, AVP, branch and business development manager for Merrimack County Savings Bank, will lead the bank’s expansion efforts in Hooksett, overseeing its new office on 230 Londonderry Turnpike, due to open this spring. Andruss will continue to oversee the Merrimack’s other Hooksett office at the Welcome Center on interstate 93N.
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The New Hampshire Innovation Research Center in Durham is seeking grant applications from NH companies interested in conducting research with NH-based colleges and universities, including the University of New Hampshire in Durham and Dartmouth College in Hanover. A signed, nonbinding letter of intent on company letterhead is due by May 4; more submission information is available here.
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Northway Bank donated $5,000 to NeighborWorks Southern NH in Manchester to help fund its efforts with HOMEteam, a collaboration between NeighborWorks, CATCH Neighborhood Housing in Concord and Laconia Area Community Land Trust to provide homeownership and financial literacy educational and counseling services throughout Southern and Central NH.
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People’s United Bank’s Community Foundation donated $7,500 to The Granite YMCA to support the organization’s START program, an after-school initiative for at-risk students in grades K-5. The grant brings the total amount donated by People’s United to The Granite YMCA since 2010 to $39,500.
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