Company News: June 2016
The Eastman Community Association has been named one of two winners of the MetLife Foundation/Generations United Best Intergenerational Community Award for 2016. The award, given since 2010, has recognized 18 “innovative communities across America that are leading the way by incorporating inter-generational solutions that engage the wisdom and vitality of all generations,” according to a news release from the MetLife Foundation, the charitable arm of the global insurance company, and Generations United, the Washington-based nonprofit that advocates for intergenerational collaboration. The Eastman Community Association, the nonprofit corporation that governs the 3,600-acre community in Grantham, Enfield and Springfield, N.H., is the first community association to receive the award, a release from the association said. The association cited its strategic plan and its effort to involve children, youth and families in the planning process, along with its daily activities, as examples of the importance the community places on being intergenerational.
Lumber Barn, an independent home improvement center with locations in Bradford and Goshen, N.H., recently completed a total interior and exterior remodeling project at its Bradford location. The project included a new store layout, new lighting, new shelving and better product selection, the company said in a news release. Lumber Barn, established in 1973, offers products and services for do-it-yourself homeowners and building professionals. A Stihl and Husqvarna dealer, it also offers services such as small-engine repair, power-tool repair, glass cutting and computerized paint matching.
The owners of the 92-acre Twin State Sand and Gravel parcel off Route 12A in West Lebanon slated for mixed-use development are hoping to sell the site for $15 million, according to the real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield. Known as Iron Horse Park, the proposed project is zoned for construction of a combined 660,000 square feet of retail, office and industrial space. But millions of dollars of infrastructure improvements are needed before building can begin. Bud Ames, co-owner of Twin State Sand and Gravel Co. and Blaktop Inc., said he’s been trying to market and sell the land since the project gained Planning Board approval in 2012. The site is still used for industrial purposes, but no longer is a gravel source.
Locally produced food, including smoked cheeses and meats from Plainfield, maple syrup from Claremont, honey from Springfield, Vt., and ice cream from Walpole, N.H., are now available in one location with the opening of 100 Mile Market at 35 Pleasant St. in Claremont. Proprietor April Woodman, who recently left her job with SAU 6 after 13 years to pursue her new business, said she will be selling only food locally grown and produced within a 100-mile radius of Claremont. The region includes most of New Hampshire and Vermont as well as parts of eastern New York, northwestern Massachusetts and southern Maine.
Nouveaute Boutique, a storefront consignment shop that sold “pre-loved designer clothing” for 16 years in Lebanon, has closed. Brenda Doolan, the store’s owner, said she did not want to undergo “another disruption in business” like the one she faced nine years ago when the renovation of the Commerce Building on the mall in downtown Lebanon, where Nouveaute was previously located, led her to relocate the store to the Hirsch building on Hanover Street. The Hirsch family put the building, which has six apartment units on the second floor, on the market earlier this year for estate planning purposes.
Randolph-based corporate furniture manufacturer WallGoldfinger recently was presented with a Vermont Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence. The award honors the company’s wood products waste diversion program, which in 2014 and 2015 diverted more than 23,000 pounds of plywood, medium density fiberboard and veneer scrap from the waste stream to partners around the state, including ReSource, Green Mountain Drums, the Vermont Woodworking School and Atlantic Plywood. These organizations and companies in many instances upcycle the materials into student and trainee work, saving these companies or students money and in some instances earning money for the organizations from product sales. WallGoldfinger previously won the award for pollution prevention for the low emission spray guns used in its finish department.
One of the biggest tenants at the Dartmouth Regional Technology Center at Centerra Resource Park has left the building. GlycoFi, the biotech startup founded by a two Dartmouth College engineering professors that was sold to pharma giant Merck for $400 million in cash in 2006, has moved out of its offices and laboratory at the DRTC. A “select number” of GlycoFi employees have transferred to other Merck research labs in Boston; Kenilworth, N.J.; and West Point, Pa. At one time, GlycoFi employed about 45 people at its Lebanon facility. The company occupied more than 20,000 square feet in the 61,000-square-foot DRTC building.
Newport-based Sugar River Bank recently elected corporators and board members and announced several employee promotions. Retired dentist Richard Holmes was named the new chairman of the board. He was elected to the board of corporators in 1982 and then to the board of directors in 1985. He has served as the past president of the Newport Rotary Club, was a member of the Grafton-Sullivan Dental Society, served on the board for the Newport Chamber of Commerce and is active with the South Congregational Church in Newport. John H. Bates Jr., manager of 603 Technology Services LLC; Susan B. Dunton, president of New Hampshire Technical Institute’s Concord Community College; and Newton H. Kershaw III, CEO of Elm Grove Companies; joined the bank’s board of corporators. Rob Daley, president of IBS, joined the board of trustees. The following employee promotions were also announced: Stephen G. Smith was promoted to vice president of information technology, Christine Heath was promoted to mortgage origination officer, Michelle Duford was promoted to loan servicing officer, Dori Petrin was promoted to deposit operations officer and Leighann King was promoted to branch manager of the Newport office. Two retiring board members were honored: Brackett Scheffy and Lynn Perkins.
