The Buzz Online

In the Spotlight: Manchester Water Works and the Society for the Protection of NH Forests worked together to permanently conserve 1,942 acres surrounding Tower Hill Pond in Candia and Hooksett. Through multiple grants and private donors, the Forest Society acquired a conservation easement. The nearly 2,000 acres becomes part of 8,000 acres that the Manchester Water Works owns and manages to protect drinking water for the City of Manchester and surrounding towns.

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Alene Candles in Milford donated $10,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of Souhegan Valley. The funds will be used to bolster the organization’s science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics program, including purchasing new equipment and providing unique, hands-on experiences for program participants.

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Benchmark (www.benchmarkseniorliving.com), a provider of senior living services in the Northeast, named Francine Gagne, LICSW, director of resident and family services for The Arbors of Bedford memory care community in Bedford. Gagne has 20 years of experience as a social worker and mental health professional working for Elliot Hospital’s Geriatric Psychiatric Unit and the Greater Nashua Mental Health Center.

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NHSaves has earned the 2019 ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Sustained Excellence Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy for its Energy Star Homes New Construction program.

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The Capital Region Food Program distributed non-perishable food to 16 social services agencies, food pantries, and churches in the greater Concord including items such as canned fruit and vegetables, peanut butter, breakfast cereal, pasta, and soups. The food is distributed 11 times each year to over 30 local agencies at no cost. Every dollar donated to the organization is used for the purchasing of food.

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SNHU Arena in Manchester has chosen Consolidated Communications as its telecom and broadband service provider. The three-year partnership will provide the 11,770-seat downtown entertainment venue.

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The Monadnock Food Co-op in Walpole named three grant recipients for the 2019 Monadnock Food Co-op Farm Fund: Sun Moon Farm of Rindge, Archway Farm of Keene, and Bascom Farm of Charlestown. Since starting in 2017, the Farm Fund has awarded over $32,000 in grants to nine local farms.

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The NH Food Bank, a program of Catholic Charities NH, recently received a $75,000 Healthy Food Fund Grant from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation aimed at increasing access to fresh, nutritious food to those in need in NH. The funding will be disbursed over three years and allow the Food Bank to host weekly, seasonal, fresh food pantries and increase distribution of locally grown, fresh produce to those in need.

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St. Mary’s Bank in Manchester recently received a Silver Community Heroes Award from American Business Media for its 110th Anniversary Volunteer Challenge, which supports local nonprofits. As part of the volunteer initiative, St. Mary’s Bank employees were challenged to complete 110 volunteer hours in the community over a two-month period.

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Fulcrum Associates in Amherst completed renovations to the building now occupied by the Merrimack Country Probate Court in Concord. The building was converted from the administrative office of the Courts. Fulcrum was selected for the project by the NH Department of Administrative Services in late 2017, and court resumed session in its new location earlier this year.