Local artist Dr. Marc Bard hosted the “Paintings for a Purpose” art show opening reception June 29 at the MVSB Main Office in Meredith. Members of the community were invited to view and purchase beautiful watercolor paintings and prints featuring local Lakes Region scenes with proceeds from the sale of the art benefitting the Meredith Food Pantry. The event featured food generously contributed by Moulton Farm and live music by Kirk Meloney and fellow local musicians.

“We had a strong show of support from local community members, who came together to bond over art and support a great local nonprofit,” said Marc. “We have already raised $9,380 from the sale of the art – which is incredible.”

Bard’s artwork will be on display at MVSB’s Main Office through August 1, and all are invited to stop in to view or make purchases during business hours at 24 NH Route 25 in Meredith. MVSB has committed to a $5,000 contribution in support for the show and the Meredith Food Pantry.

“We still have pieces available for purchase and I am currently accepting commissioned pieces by request,” said Marc. “I would like to offer a special thank you to MVSB, Moulton Farm, Meredith Frame Shop and other community partners for all their support of this year’s event.”

“Marc is a wonderful artist and has such passion for showcasing this beautiful region we call home,” said Marcus Weeks, MVSB President. “We jumped at the chance to help host this unique event that will also give back to those in need. The opening night reception was a success and we couldn’t be more grateful for this wonderful community we call home.”

For those wishing to offer additional support to the Meredith Food Pantry, they are currently accepting donations of fresh fruit, vegetables, toothpaste, toilet paper, conditioner, laundry soap and additional basic household items at 147 Main Street in Meredith. They are open from 9 am-1 pm Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Go to benjylevine07.wixsite.com/paintingforapurpose to view samples of Marc’s paintings and to read more about Marc. Go to www.mvsb.com/2023/06/01/paintings-for-a-purpose to read more about the “Paintings for a Purpose” art show.

Local artist Dr. Marc Bard (center) discusses his artwork with opening night attendees at the MVSB Main Office in Meredith. Bard’s artwork will be on display at MVSB through August 1, and all are invited to stop in to view or make purchases during business hours. Courtesy Photo

Local artist Dr. Marc Bard’s watercolor painting “Squam Sunset” sits on an easel during the “Paintings for a Purpose” art show June 29 at the MVSB Main Office in Meredith. Courtesy Photo

Dr. Marc Bard earned his medical school tuition illustrating medical books and journal articles. During his residency he participated in a novel program sponsored by the Harvard teaching hospitals, in which he actively participated in its design. After residency Dr. Bard served as the first director of ambulatory services at Mount Auburn Hospital and in 1980 he was recruited to be Chief of Internal Medicine at Harvard Community Health Plan where he built a spectacular department of clinicians. As a result of the innovative programs designed for the department, he was invited to consult to Kaiser Permanente, thereby launching an over forty-year healthcare consulting career. By 1997 his practice expanded into a consulting firm where he served as Founder and CEO for the next 12 years until it was acquired by Navigant Consulting. He served as Chief Innovation Officer for Navigant, taking a brief sabbatical to write one of the first published books on the Affordable Care Act. He was recruited by the Bloomberg administration in New York to be the initial CEO of the 2400-strong physician practice serving the New York public hospital system. Today, Dr. Bard divides his time between a limited consulting practice, painting, exercise, volunteer work, and active participation in the lives of his wonderful grandchildren.

Meredith Food Pantry is located at 147 Main Street in Meredith, NH and serves the communities of Meredith, New Hampton and Center Harbor. For more information, all 603-279-1115.

MVSB has been serving the essential banking needs of people, businesses, nonprofits and municipalities for over 150 years. As a mutual savings bank, MVSB has no stock-holders but rather operates for the benefit of its customers, employees and community. Since our founding, one thing has always remained true: caring is at the heart of everything we do. By building and nurturing relationships, we believe that we can cultivate a community where we all thrive. It all starts with caring about our customers and neighbors. To learn more, visit any of the local branch offices located in New Hampshire in Alton, Ashland, Center Harbor, Gilford, Laconia, Melvin Village, Meredith, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Rochester or Wolfeboro, call 800.922.6872 or visit mvsb.com.

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Somersworth, NH- The Falls Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the appointment of Jacob Erricolo as a new member of its Board of Directors. Jacob brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the position, having established himself as a prominent commercial lender in the region while working for Bangor Savings Bank.

As a member of the Board of Directors at the Falls Chamber of Commerce, Jacob Erricolo will leverage his extensive knowledge and professional network to support the chamber's mission of promoting economic vitality and advocating for the local business community. With his keen insight into the financial sector and his commitment to fostering collaborative partnerships, Jacob will contribute significantly to the chamber's strategic initiatives and help drive sustainable economic development in the Falls Region. 

"We are thrilled to welcome Jacob Erricolo to the Board of Directors," said Emerson Doiron, Executive Director of the Falls Chamber of Commerce. "His expertise as a commercial lender, coupled with his passion for supporting local businesses, will undoubtedly strengthen our efforts to create a thriving business environment in our community. Jacob's valuable insights and dedication to economic development align with our goals, and we look forward to working together to achieve continued success."

Jacob Erricolo, the newly appointed member of the Falls Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, shared his perspective on the importance of taking proactive steps towards positive change. He emphasized, "Positive actions that are paused will bring tentative results. To make a real impact, it is essential to force yourself to engage in change that benefits all with certainty." Jacob's forward-thinking mindset and dedication to transformative change will undoubtedly contribute to the continued success of the Falls Chamber of Commerce and its mission to promote economic vitality in the region.

Jacob Erricolo

About the Falls Chamber of Commerce

The Falls Chamber of Commerce strives to be an active partner in improving the economic health, business environment, and vitality of the Falls Region encompassing Somersworth, Rollinsford, Berwick, North Berwick, and South Berwick. We strive to promote business through membership services, education programs, cooperative partnerships, and legislative advocacy that balances prosperity with the quality of life.

The City of Somersworth is developing a new Housing Plan as part of developing a new Master Plan. To jumpstart their efforts the City created a survey and want to hear from you! Your responses will give the City much needed input on the needs of our existing housing stock and how to create the appropriate size, type and location for new housing to meet current and future demands. What kind of housing do we need? What are the opportunities and challenges facing housing in our City? The survey ends on July 28th, so we appreciate any outreach before that date. Please visit this website to take the survey: ww.surveymonkey.com/r/67PTG9L

For more information on the City’s Housing Master Plan efforts, please visit: www.somersworthnh.gov/planning-office/pages/master-plan-update

Dover, NH - First Seacoast Bank (FSB) gets set to call in the summer season with an array of sponsorships to support its communities. Serving as one of the Seacoast’s few remaining locally headquartered financial institutions, FSB is proud to serve the community during business hours and beyond. A quick list of organizations that FSB has supported includes:

●      Oyster River Womenade

●      Portsmouth Pride Parade

●      Dover Chamber of Commerce Cochecho Arts Festival

●      The Chamber Collaborative of Greater Annual street.life!

●      Prescott Park Arts Festival

●      Durham Great Bay Rotary Summerfest

●      Big Brothers Big Sisters of NH

●      SENH Habitat for Humanity

●      Barrington Public Library Summer Reading Program

●      And more!

First Seacoast Bank is also a proud sponsor of both Dover and Portsmouth’s 400-Year Celebrations that carry on throughout 2023. Along with the aforementioned monetary sponsorships, FSB has a number of employees who happily volunteer and serve as board members in several of these organizations.

"Serving the community is at the forefront of everything we do here at First Seacoast Bank," said James R. Brannen, President and CEO. "We take great pride in being able to do our part to ensure the Seacoast remains a great place to live, work, and explore. There are a lot of fantastic organizations within our community, and we’re honored to be involved."

First Seacoast Bank has long been committed to positively impacting the communities they serve through both reinvestment and charitable giving. For more information regarding FSB’s mission to help the Seacoast area thrive, visit: www.firstseacoastbank.com/charitable-giving.

About First Seacoast Bank

First Seacoast Bank (FSB) is one of the oldest community banks in the region, serving individuals, businesses, and non-profit customers with a range of deposit, investment, and loan products and services. Founded in 1890, FSB has headquarters in Dover, New Hampshire, with additional branch locations and ATMs in Durham, Barrington, Rochester, and Portsmouth. First Seacoast Bank is online at www.firstseacoastbank.com.

MVSB (Meredith Village Savings Bank) is proud to announce that Christina “Tina” Simpson has been promoted to Assistant Vice President, Commercial Loan Officer. In this role, she will originate a full range of commercial loans (including Small Business Administration loans), manage the bank’s Business Express digital lending platform and engage in a variety of business development activities.

“Tina is a rising star at MVSB and we are proud to support the continued growth in her banking career,” said John Swedberg, Senior Vice President & Commercial Loan Officer. “She has always been committed to providing high quality service and solutions to our business clients and the caring approach that Tina brings to her job every single day exemplifies what I believe community banking is all about.”

“Being a part of the team at MVSB has been an amazing experience and I am excited to come to work every day to support our local business community,” said Tina. “We’ve dedicated a great deal of time and effort to implementing digital initiatives for our customers and I look forward to exploring new opportunities to marry innovative technologies and local service to assist our clients.”

In 2014, Tina joined New Hampshire Mutual Bancorp, the shared services organization that supports MVSB, as Quality Control Analyst. She was quickly promoted to Credit Analyst and then Senior Credit Analyst for MVSB and later to Assistant Vice President, Commercial Digital Small Business Lending & Credit Analyst.

Tina earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and her Master of Business Administration degree from Southern New Hampshire University. She is a graduate of the Northern New England School of Banking and currently studying at the New England Center for Financial Studies at Babson College.

Tina has served as a volunteer softball coach in her community for more than 10 years. She also serves on the board of New Beginnings – Without Violence and Abuse and as a volunteer with Hands Across the Table and the Greater Lakes Region Children’s Auction. Each week, Tina also serves as a school banking volunteer at Inter-Lakes Elementary School. She resides in Meredith with her husband and their two daughters.

Caption: Tina Simpson, MVSB Assistant Vice President, Commercial Loan Officer

MVSB has been serving the essential banking needs of people, businesses, nonprofits and municipalities for over 150 years. As a mutual savings bank, MVSB has no stock-holders but rather operates for the benefit of its customers, employees and community. Since our founding, one thing has always remained true: caring is at the heart of everything we do. By building and nurturing relationships, we believe that we can cultivate a community where we all thrive. It all starts with caring about our customers and neighbors. To learn more, visit any of the local branch offices located in New Hampshire in Alton, Ashland, Center Harbor, Gilford, Laconia, Melvin Village, Meredith, Moultonborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Rochester or Wolfeboro, call 800.922.6872 or visit mvsb.com.

 Dover, NH (June 21, 2023) - The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire (CMNH) is excited to share that they have been awarded $175,000 in Tax Credits from the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority (CDFA). CDFA awarded eleven nonprofits a total of $1.4 million in tax credit resources to advance their missions and implement community economic development initiatives. These tax credits have been granted to the Museum to help fund an expansion of the second floor. This expansion will add two new exhibit spaces, allowing CMNH to better serve children, families, and the community.  The Museum will launch this project in 2024, with the goal of opening the additional 1,000 square feet of engaging activities in 2025.

“Organizations awarded Tax Credit resources have demonstrated a strong commitment to their communities,” states  Katy Easterly Martey, Executive Director, CDFA. “These community builders are driving positive, long-lasting change in New Hampshire.”

“We’re thrilled to have this funding from CDFA to kick start our second floor facility expansion” states Museum President Jane Bard. “The two new exhibits we have in the works include one dedicated to our youngest visitors, ages 0-5, similar to our popular Primary Place, and another designed to be a creative open space for changing exhibits.” 

The Museum has felt the pressure to adjust and grow to adapt to community needs. Current lack of childcare and preschool openings are bringing to light a demand for socialization and learning opportunities for children ages 0-5, as well as for their caregivers. As the Museum’s visitor numbers increase and community needs change, the new flexible space will allow CMNH to be responsive, not just through changing exhibits that can be catered to different age groups and interests, but also as a space to use for play groups, meetings, and school field trips. 

Recent statewide data and feedback from Museum visitors also indicates an urgent need for resources to support child and family emotional wellbeing. Educational pieces related to social/emotional learning will be integrated into these new exhibits. CMNH is also in talks with local experts in the mental health field to evaluate existing exhibits in the Museum to discuss what kinds of changes could be made to support children and family emotional health in an approachable and age-appropriate way. 

If you are a business that pays NH taxes and are interested in purchasing tax credits from the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire to support this exciting facility expansion, or have questions or would like to connect, please contact Monique Deforge, Director of Development, monique@childrens-museum.org, (603) 742-2002. More information about the tax credit program can be found on the CDFA website: www.nhcdfa.org.

About the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire

The 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Children’s Museum of New Hampshire is located at 6 Washington Street in Dover and offers two levels of hands-on, interactive exhibits for children from newborn to middle school. Children can explore a wide range of subjects, from dinosaurs, music and aeronautics to world cultures, art, natural history, and S.T.E.A.M.. Open year-round, the Silver LEED-certified museum specializes in creating memorable family learning experiences and works closely with schools, social service agencies, and educators. A central part of the museum’s mission is ensuring accessibility, and the “Reach All Initiative” works towards this goal by welcoming over 28% of yearly visitors for free or reduced admission. The museum also hosts a variety of live performances, workshops, classes and special events for families. For more information, please call the museum at (603) 742-2002 or visit www.childrens-museum.org 

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Children’s Museum of New Hampshire

Contact: Neva Cole, Communications Director

6 Washington Street

Dover, NH 03820

(603) 742-2002

neva@childrens-museum.org

www.childrens-museum.org

Two $1 Days at the Children’s Museum of NH This July

Dover, NH – (Wednesday, June 28, 2023) When the Children’s Museum of NH opened to the public 40 years ago, admission was only $1 per person! To help celebrate their 40th anniversary year, CMNH has scheduled two special $1 Admission Days this July, one specific for Dover residents, and the other open to everyone. The museum’s 40th Anniversary Year and $1 Days are exclusively sponsored by Kennebunk Savings:

Dover Resident’s $1 Day

Saturday, July 1, 9am-Noon or 1-4pm

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire is offering $1/person admission (which is what the museum charged when it first opened in 1983) for all Dover residents on this special Saturday, which coincides with Dover’s Downtown Block Party. Everyone is welcome to visit the museum on this Saturday, but only Dover residents can enjoy the special $1/person admission! Online reservations are still required for this special Dover Resident’s Day. For Dover residents wishing to take advantage of the $1/person deal, please reserve spots using the “Adult w/discount: will pay at door” price type, and then when you arrive at the museum, you will be asked to show proof of your Dover residency, and pay admission then. Learn more online at www.childrens-museum.org 

$1 Family Fun Day at CMNH

Saturday, July 22, 9am-Noon or 1-4pm

The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire will offer $1/person admission to all its visitors on this special Saturday! $1 admission is what CMNH charged when it first opened its doors 40 years ago in 1983. This special Family Fun Day is one of many ways the museum is celebrating its 40th Anniversary Year in 2023! Online reservations are still required, and the museum does have a capacity limit. Tickets are on a first come, first served basis. CMNH Members will still get in for free on this day, as usual. Learn more and reserve online at https://childrens-museum.org/things-to-do/40th-anniversary-in-2023. 

About the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire 

The 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Children’s Museum of New Hampshire is located at 6 Washington Street in Dover and offers two levels of hands-on, interactive exhibits for children from newborn to middle school. Children can explore a wide range of subjects, from dinosaurs, music and aeronautics to world cultures, art, natural history, and S.T.E.A.M.. Open year-round, the Silver LEED-certified museum specializes in creating memorable family learning experiences and works closely with schools, social service agencies, and educators. A central part of the museum’s mission is ensuring accessibility, and the “Reach All Initiative” works towards this goal by welcoming over 28% of yearly visitors for free or reduced admission. The museum also hosts a variety of live performances, workshops, classes and special events for families. For more information, please call the museum at (603) 742-2002 or visit www.childrens-museum.org 

Children’s Museum of New Hampshire

Contact: Neva Cole, Communications Director

6 Washington Street

Dover, NH 03820

(603) 742-2002

neva@childrens-museum.org

www.childrens-museum.org

Video available here >>

Digging into Discovery!

Learning Garden at Children’s Museum of NH 

Dover, NH – (Wednesday, June 28, 2023) The Children’s Museum of New Hampshire in Dover grows a Learning Garden every summer, and then offers a host of summer and fall activities centered around the little ecosystem the garden creates. Every Thursday, visitors can drop in to a guided activity that is included with museum admission to learn about things like pollinators, planting seeds, making pots, seed balls or flower art, garden harvesting and more. Museum staff will open the garden, which is located inside the Dover Adventure Public Playground in Henry Law Park, and offer kids a chance to explore the garden, water the plants, identify bugs, snack on a vegetable, and more. 

This summer the museum has planted a “three sisters” garden bed that includes bean, corn, and squash. A “three sisters” garden includes three main crops of various Indigenous peoples of North America: squash, maize, and climbing beans. When planted together, the “three sisters” work together to help one another thrive and survive.

The Learning Garden and related activities are sponsored by Whole Foods. Garden activities are included with museum admission, and as always, free for Members. Learn more at www.childrens-museum.org.

About the Children’s Museum of New Hampshire

The 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Children’s Museum of New Hampshire, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2023, is located at 6 Washington Street in Dover and offers two levels of hands-on, interactive exhibits for children from newborn to middle school. Children can explore a wide range of subjects, from dinosaurs, music and aeronautics to world cultures, art, natural history, and S.T.E.A.M.. Open year-round, the Silver LEED-certified museum specializes in creating memorable family learning experiences and works closely with schools, social service agencies, and educators. A central part of the museum’s mission is ensuring accessibility, and the “Reach All Initiative” works towards this goal by welcoming over 28% of yearly visitors for free or reduced admission. The museum also hosts a variety of live performances, workshops, classes and special events for families. For more information, please call the museum at (603) 742-2002 or visit www.childrens-museum.org