The Buzz Online

In the Spotlight: Outdoor Pride Landscape & Snow Management was recognized by Forbes as one of the top small companies in America. The Manchester-based business was named a “Forbes Small Giant,” one of only 25 companies nationwide to earn the distinction.

Husband and wife Michael and Dale Aquilino launched the landscape firm, Outdoor Pride, in 1988 from their garage with a truck and a single landscape trailer, minimal equipment, one tractor and one employee.

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Mainstay Technologies in Manchester granted $4,400 to Waypoint to study how much it costs for NH grandparents to adopt their grandchildren.

According Waypoint President Borja Alvarez de Toledo, more children need homes because of the opioid crisis, and more grandparents are stepping in to care for their grandchildren.  

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Herbie Bartlett with Coldwell Banker LinWood Real Estate in Franconia was awarded the National Association of REALTORS Green Designation, the only green real estate professional designation recognized by NAR. Bartlett was trained in understanding what makes a property green, helping clients evaluate the cost/benefits of resource-efficient features and practices, industry ratings, and financial grants and incentives available to homeowner.

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Bar Harbor Bank & Trust promoted Alison DiPaola to VP, human resources business partner. She joined the bank in 2013 as employee services specialist, working with payroll and benefits. Shelley Griswold was promoted to assistant vice president, branch relationship manager II and area staff coordinator at the Hillsborough branch. She joined the bank in 2006 as a teller.

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The NH Liquor Commission honored national brands, local wineries and distilleries at its annual Wine, Spirit & Employee Awards ceremony recently. Among those recognized were the Business Partner of the Year: Christine Pederson of Easterseals NH; NH Distillery of the Year: Smoky Quartz Distillery in Seabrook; and NH Winery of the Year: Poverty Lane Orchards & Farnum Hill Ciders in Lebanon.

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Rebecca Lacasse, APRN, has joined Mid-State Health Center in Bristol and is now accepting patients seeking primary health care services, a primary care provider, and/or a clinician who specializes in meeting the needs of older adults. 

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To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Telephone and Data Systems, with an office in Farmington, has launched the 50 for 50 Golden Year of Giving initiative. In conjunction with its subsidiaries—TDS Telecom, OneNeck IT Solutions, Suttle-Straus and U.S. Cellular—the company will give $50,000 to charities across the country in 2019, based solely on employee recommendations and votes. The first recipient is the Make-A-Wish Foundation NH chapter.

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Four schools in the greater Lakes Region were named recipients of a TangerKIDS Grant. In keeping with Tanger Outlets’ mission of being a good corporation citizen, the grants provide funding for schools located near Tanger’s centers. Bridgewater-Hebron Village School was awarded $1,224; Newfound Memorial Middle School in Bristol was awarded $800; Gilford Elementary School was awarded $1,504; and Boscawen Elementary School was awarded $491.29 for the 2019-2020 school year.

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As Monadnock Paper Mills celebrates its 200th anniversary making a range of specialty papers, the company has hired Julie Brannen as business development and sales manager who has more than 15 years of experience working in the paper and printing industry. 

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Newburyport Bank donated $100,000 to Exeter Hospital for the benefit of their Center for Cancer Care, which provides comprehensive, inpatient and outpatient oncology services in partnership with the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. The bank also donated $500 to the Seacoast Family Promise in Exeter, a nonprofit dedicated to helping families experiencing homelessness.

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The NH Community Development Finance Authority awarded nearly $1 million in grant funds to support five organizations in delivering recovery friendly workplace programming. Greater Seacoast Community Health/SOS Recovery Community Organization Somersworth; Headrest in Lebanon; Makin' It Happen Coalition for Resilient Youth, Greater Manchester; Reality Check in Jaffrey; and Navigating Recovery of the Lakes Region in Laconia.