Chamber Seeks Citizen of the Year Nominees

The Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce is accepting nominations from the public for its annual Citizen of the Year Award, to be given out in mid-November.

The three criteria for potential nominees are that the individual must live, work, and volunteer in the greater Concord or Merrimack County area; that the nominee has shown leadership and performance in several areas of community service during a number of years; and the person should have contributed to the general benefit of the community as a whole.

Potential nominees are due by Friday, Sept. 30.

Tim Sink, the president of the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, said the character and criteria for the Citizen of the Year can range from high profile people such as Tom Raffio, the CEO of Northeast Delta Dental, to small business own Jane Berwick, who has worked on many capital campaigns and volunteer opportunities.

“It’s quite a variety of folks,” he said.

Sink said nominees don’t have to be members of the Chamber. It’s more about trying to find people who have given to the community in a variety of different ways during an extended period of time, he said. Sink said there are many people in Concord who contribute to the community and are recognized for one project or event, but that’s not usually enough. It needs to be a variety of things, he said.

Sink said the former Mayor Bill Veroneau was awarded one year not only because he contributed a lot as mayor but because he made numerous contributions to the community.

“He didn’t bring deep pockets to the community,” he said. “He brought his intellectual capital and his time and his passion for the community.”

Sink said while the award is "citizen of the year," it’s usually awarded to someone who has made contributions during a number of years and has reached their peak or just beyond the peak of their careers, where they have had the greatest impact. Although, he noted, in the past, some younger folks have also been recognized.

Maria Manus Painchaud was nominated one year not only for her role in building up a food basket program in the capitol region but also volunteering on many other initiatives, he said.

Sink said a committee reviews the entries and sometimes, if a person isn’t selected for one year, they’ll be considered for a future year.

For more information about the Citizen of the Year Award or to download an application, visit concordnhchamber.com, email info@concordnhchamber.com, or call 603-224-2508.

Moving to Smile

Sink also mentioned that the Chamber is moving into the Smile Building on South Main Street very soon.

After the building was started, owner Steve Duprey, who also owns the Grappone Conference Center where the Chamber now resides, began discussions with Sink about the current space. The two of them got to chatting about how to better use of the entrance of the conference center as well as the new building.

Sink said it was an easy decision to jump at the chance to be in the new building and be on Main Street.