Hometown Heroes 2020

HOMETOWN HEROES 2020

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MASK

Today, we tell you about some of the many who have stepped up in our hardest year

A YEAR IN PHOTOS

REGINA

MEGAN GOODWIN, Page

ANN LANNEY,

SUGAR RIVER ANIMAL HOSPITAL,

JOE AND TONI HALLA,

SUZANNE DEMERS,

AMBER FERREIRA,

Last April, a note came across my desk from a reader who wanted to discuss their com munity project. This was a fairly typical request, and we’re gener ally happy to help people and or ganizations get the word out about worthwhile causes.

Except, when I called Candace Abood, I found that she wasn’t looking for a story, an ad or a mention in the paper. She just wanted to use our parking lot.

Candace was new to Concord, but like so many others, she wanted to help in any way she could. So, she started organizing birthday parades for those forced to “celebrate” in the most uncele brated of times. That meant fire trucks, the National Guard, big personalized signs and lots and lots of cars. With an operation this big, she needed a large parking lot to line up all the vehicles and the Monitor happened to be near a home on her list.

For us, that was an easy yes. But we also knew it was a story worth telling. So, Monitor colum nist Ray Duckler gave her a call and told our readers about Can dace, her desire to help and, of course, about the many days she had brightened. And photo editor Geoff Forester went out to docu ment one of these events. (You can see a photo on Page 22.)

We’ve been able to tell this story of community spirit, and many, many others, over the past nine months. But we also know that we’ve barely scratched the surface. So many people are help ing in so many ways.

This year will be remembered for many things namely those loved ones we’ve lost along the way. It’s also been a year of in tense debate over issues of race and politics. Those discussions have never been more important. But as journalists, our job is to ac curately reflect the world around us, and we see a lot of good every day, too.

With that in mind, we launched

our 2020 Hometown Heroes spe cial publication. In the following pages, you’ll read about just some of the people who have dedicated themselves to lifting up the world around them in ways big and small.

When we set out to tell their stories, we knew this needed to be a reader-driven effort. So, we turned it over to you to nominate those you felt were deserving of special recognition. We also knew their recognition shouldn’t end on these pages. To do that, we cre ated an advertising program that allows the recipients to pay it for ward. That means each person or group recognized in this section can designate a nonprofit agency of their choosing to receive a $500 credit with the Monitor. Through out 2021, we’ll work with those nonprofits to help them get the word out through print, digital and email so they can reach new supporters and volunteers. Like all of us, they’ll have lots to ac complish in the coming year.

Among the recipients for Moni tor advertising services are Friends of Forgotten Children, Best Buddies, the SPCA, NAMI NH and plenty of others.

We’d also like to thank the busi nesses that are supporting us in recognizing our Hometown Heroes.

Our local economy has taken quite a hit since March, and if there’s ever a time to think, act, read and buy locally, it’s now.

And finally, this whole project is really one big giant “Thank You” to the community, from health care workers, first responders and teachers to the many essen tial workers who have reshaped their lives to make ours a little more comfortable.

We won’t be sad to see 2020 go, but we’ll be sure to remember all those who’ve contributed in our most challenging time.

Steve Leone Publisher

In a time of need, they delivered

were rushing home to pack for a hospital stay and a baby that would be induced as soon as possible.

“It was a total surprise and a day of just total emotional craziness,” Annie said.

rest of their stay that they nominated the entire staff of the nursery to be Hometown Heroes.

By TIM O’SULLIVAN Monitor staff

When Annie and Andrew Mattarazzo went to the doctor on Sept. 28, they thought they were going for a normal checkup and 36-week ultrasound for a baby who wasn’t due until Oct. 23. When they left, they

At the end of that day, the Mattarazzos had a new family member Antonio. Not only was he born 3.5 weeks early, he was also born under weight at 3 pounds, 14 ounces, so he had to spend 10 days in the Special Care Nursery that is part of Concord Hospital’s Family Place. The Mattarazzos received such incredible care dur ing their day of “emotional craziness” and the

“We couldn’t have family with us because of COVID, and this was just thrown at us unex pectedly, so our heads were spinning, but they made us feel so comfortable,” Annie said. “Their bedside manner was amazing and they were just so special. They kind of taught us how to be parents. Our own parents couldn’t be there to teach us how to change diapers or swaddle him the right way, so the nurses were there teaching us. I mean, I cried when we left the hospital because for 10 days that was our

“Their bedside manner was amazing and they were just so special. They kind of taught us how to be parents. Our own parents couldn’t be there to teach us how to change diapers or swaddle him the right way, so the nurses were there teaching us. I mean, I cried when we left the hospital.”

ANNIE MATTARAZZO, new mother

Little Antonio arrived early amid the pandemic, so the staff became family for 10 days

Courtesy

Nurses (fromleft) KathyGullage, JaniceChase, LindsayHogan andLaura Mooreare partof theSpecial CareNursery teamat ConcordHospital’s Family Place. Annie and Andrew Mattarazzo received such great care and support after having their baby early, they nominated everyone who works at the nursery to beHometown Heroes.In additionto Hogan,Gullage, Chaseand Moore,the staffincludes RNsCourtney Jarvis,Kathy Messer,April Antogoni,Ashley Reade, Sianna Sullivan, Annie Roy and Shannon Chism, nutritionist Nicole Martin, and the two providers, Matthew Piccone, DO and Sarah Radwan, MD.

family.”

The Mattarazzos had the most in teractions and connections with nurses Lindsay Hogan, Courtney Jarvis, Kathy Messer, Kathy Gullage, April Antogoni, Janice Chase and An nie Roy, and nutritionist Nicole Mar tin, but they wanted to make sure the entire staff was nominated, which in cludes more RN’s Ashley Reade, Sianna Sullivan, Laura Moore and Shannon Chism and the two providers Matthew Piccone, DO, and Sarah Radwan, MD.

“Providing emotional support is al ready a huge part of what we do at the Family Place,” said Hogan, who has worked in the nursery for eight years. “Now, because of all the restrictions with COVID guidelines, we do really make sure to do what we can to ease the stress that our patients feel from that. We encourage them to connect with family and friends any way they can, FaceTime or a phone call, but we also make sure to just take that time to really sit down and get to know them.”

The Mattarazzos have been part of the local sports scene in Concord for

years. Annie, whose maiden name is Alosa, was the athletic director at Bishop Brady from 2017-20 and the girls’ basketball coach from 2016-2020. Andrew was the Brady girls’ soccer coach from 2016-19 before taking over the Goffstown girls’ soccer program this year. Their love of sports was clear to Hogan, who also saw that love being showered on Antonio.

“I remember walking into the nurs ery and seeing Andrew watching his team’s soccer game, and you could just really tell that both of them also loved the kids they have on their teams,” Hogan said. “And they made such a great team together and you could see their sole focus was on An tonio and, I know it’s corny to say, but they were just the biggest cheerlead ers for their son.”

That cheering and the special care from the nursery staff helped Antonio thrive during his 10 days in the hospi tal. He had no setbacks after his birth and is now gaining weight at home.

“He’s doing great,” Annie said, “and he couldn’t have done it without all those amazing people in the nurs ery.”

Are you wondering what’s next?

Market volatility has become a fact of life What does this mean for your investments? Are you prepared for the increased risk volatility may have on your portfolio? Should you make changes and adjust your plan?

Working with a Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor can help you navigate through these volatiletimes by helping you review your plan, making adjustments and keeping you informed along the way.

Contactme to seehowI canhelp you or provideasecondopinion.

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ManagingDirector WealthManagement

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OneHarbour Place Suite125 Portsmouth,NH03801 603-422-8901 john.f.habig@morganstanley.com advisor.morganstanley.com/ john.f.habig

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MorganStanley recommendsthatinvestorsindependentlyevaluateparticular investmentsandstrategies,andencouragesinvestorstoseektheadviceof a FinancialAdvisor.Theappropriatenessofaparticularinvestmentorstrategywill dependonaninvestor’s individualcircumstancesandobjectives.

Source:Barron’s “Top1,200FinancialAdvisors,” March16,2020,asidentified by Barron’smagazine,usingquantitativeandqualitativecriteriaandselectedfrom apoolof over4,000nominations.Advisorsinthe Top1,200FinancialAdvisors listhave aminimumofseven yearsof financialservices experience.Qualitative factorsinclude,butarenotlimitedto,compliance recordandphilanthropicwork Investmentperformanceisnotacriterion.The ratingmaynotbe representative ofanyoneclient’s experienceandisnotindicativeofthe financialadvisor’s futureperformance. Neither MorganStanley SmithBarneyLLCnoritsFinancial Advisorsor Private WealthAdvisorspaida feetoBarron’sin exchange forthe rating.Barron’sisa registeredtrademarkofDow Jones&Company, L.P. Allrights reserved.

Source: Forbes.com (January,2020). ForbesBest-in-State WealthAdvisors rankingwasdeveloped by SHOOK Researchandisbasedonin-personand telephoneduediligencemeetingstoevaluateeachadvisorqualitatively, a majorcomponentofa rankingalgorithmthatincludes:client retention,industry experience, reviewofcompliance records, firmnominations;andquantitative criteria,including:assetsundermanagementand revenuegenerated fortheir firms.Investmentperformanceisnotacriterionbecauseclientobjectivesand risktolerances vary,andadvisors rarelyhave auditedperformance reports. RankingsarebasedontheopinionsofSHOOK Research,LLCandnotindicative offutureperformanceor representativeofanyoneclient’s experience. Neither MorganStanley SmithBarneyLLCnoritsFinancialAdvisorsor Private Wealth Advisorspaya feeto ForbesorSHOOK Researchin exchange forthe ranking. For moreinformation:www.SHOOKresearch.com.

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ALLIE ST PETER/ Monitor Staff

Andrew and Annie Mattarazzo with Antonio outside their Concord home.

Stitching together a neighborhood

By TIM O’SULLIVAN Monitor staff

She made masks for bigbearded men, flower girls in weddings and anyone else in Concord who might need one. And Regina Hawley did it all for free.

“She really is an angel for her selfless gifts to so many,” said Deb Isme, one of the people who nomi nated Hawley to be recognized as a Hometown Hero.

Hawley, 58, grew up the youngest in a family of eight in Ludlow, Mass. When she was 10, her oldest sister, Mary, taught her to sew. Regina was hooked and started taking sewing lessons at the local Boys’

and Girls’ Club. She started selling her fabric creations about 15 years ago, became a juried member of the League of New Hampshire Crafts men in 2013 and even opened her own store in Contoocook, Salt & Spool, which closed in Sept. 2019.

When the pandemic hit in March, Hawley lost her creative spark, but her Allison St. house was still full of fabric, and her family needed masks. She ended up mak ing more than she needed, so she put them in bags, tacked them to a corkboard and left them outside for anyone who needed one. Which, at the time, was just about everyone.

“Her husband (Kerry) would help her make them and twice a week they’d set a board of free masks out and notify the neighbors through social media. The lines on Allison St. were always full of grate ful South Enders,” said Jemi Brous

sard, who also nominated Hawley.

Hawley used a mask design that was approved by the Center for Dis ease Control and only made small adjustments over time to ensure she was sticking to the guidelines. She said it takes her about seven minutes to make a mask, and that Kerry is a huge help when it comes to cutting the fabric and elastics. His full-time job is designing mi crochips as a layout engineer, so you can bet his cuts were precise.

“He does not waste any fabric when he cuts,” Regina said.

The Hawleys moved to Concord five years ago from Hopkinton, and Regina, a self-described introvert, said this mask experience has helped her meet her neighbors. She refused to take any money for the masks, so people started leaving gifts - homemade cookies and jams, flowers, honey, gift cards and things

like toilet paper and hand sanitizer when those were hard-to-find items.

“I would wake up some morn ings and there would be a message on the sidewalk in front of my house from a little kid,” Hawley said. “Just so many great people, and some of them still come by, I don’t know who all of them are, but they know this is the house where they got their mask. It’s really, really wonderful.”

She’s not exactly sure how many she made, but it was close to 5,000, and the Women’s Club of Concord gave her some extra masks to add to her board when the need was greatest. Hawley recently had some surgery, and most people have plenty of masks now, so she has stopped making them. But if anyone does still need a well-crafted face covering, Hawley said she would be happy to arrange something.

ALLIE ST PETER/ Monitor Staff

When masks were seemingly impossible to find, Regina Hawley of Concord solved a problem for her community.

Regina Hawley figures she gave away about 5,000 masks at the most critical time

Emotional support more vital than ever

It’s never been busier, but visiting nurse still takes the time to listen

By TEDDY ROSENBLUTH Monitor staff

Melissa Reep was never partic ularly set on becoming a nurse.

While most of her high school friends in Concord were getting ready to enter the job market straight out of school, Reep’s mother made her stay home and write college essays. Her guidance counselor told her to put down nursing on her application.

“There’s a shortage and they’re taking everybody,” the guidance coun selor said.

But when Reep entered her first anatomy and physiology class at the University of New Hampshire, the profession seemed to fit her perfectly. She watched in awe as her professor drew intricate illustrations of the heart complete with valves and arter ies without even glancing at her notes. She ran to class early just to get a front-row seat.

After 18 years working with the Concord Regional Visiting Nurses As sociation, better known as the VNA, Reep feels she’s found her place.

“Nursing was not on my radar,” she said. “It was just the right place at the right time and the right set of circumstances. It certainly feels abso

lutely right to me now.”

During the pandemic, she has been busier than ever. She said while many have been hesitant about going to the doctor’s office, they still need some body to care for them, which, she thinks, has driven up the call volume.

Reep drives around Bow checking in on a variety of patients with diverse ages and needs. One might be in their mid-50s who just needs help changing his bandages. Another could be a 70year-old woman living alone who needs reminders to take her medica tion.

To those who nominated Reep, she has gone beyond what is required of her job by offering much needed emo tional support during this tumultuous time. Reep said much of her job these days is dedicated to helping families navigate the complicated medical sys tem. She takes the time to sit down with families and listen to their ques tions without phones ringing or nu merous patients demanding her at tention. Making what feels like a sim ple call to Reep can save the family hours of angst and confusion.

Reep said she has invested more time in her patients during the pan demic simply because the needs are greater.

“The pandemic doesn’t really care that somebody still has cancer and needs to get their cancer treat ments,” she said. “Things for our pa tients have gotten more hectic and busier.”

HOMETOWN HEROES: MELISSA REEP, CRVNA

GEOFF FORESTER/ Monitor staff

Melissa Reep of the ConcordRegional Visiting Nurse Association helps families navigate the complex medical system.

This pilot always on a mission

By TIM O’SULLIVAN Monitor staff

Growing up in Andover, Mass., Iain Hamilton dreamed of flying. That’s what happens when you hear tales about the wonders of avia tion from a grandfather who flew Cor sairs for the U.S. Navy in World War II, an uncle who flew Huey helicopters in the Vietnam War and a father and an other uncle who have their civilian pi lot licenses.

“They liked to talk about how much fun their careers were and my grand father liked to say all the time that if you find a job you love, you’ll never work in a day in your life,” said Hamil ton, who now lives in Bow with his wife, Darcy, and two their two young daughters, Raegan and Caleigh.

Hamilton followed in all those flying family footsteps and now has a job he loves piloting helicopters for the New Hampshire National Guard as a Chief Warrant Officer 3 for Charlie Com pany, 3rd Battalion, 238th Aviation Regiment. Hamilton has done four tours in the Middle East and just re turned from his most recent trip to Iraq in October. When he’s not over seas, Hamilton is on call as part of the National Guard’s aviation rescue team, which is often called into the White Mountains to save injured or lost hikers. Add it all up, and you get someone who is certainly worthy of be ing called a Hometown Hero, espe cially in the era of COVID, where the National Guard has stepped up in of ten unexpected ways.

“He is constantly putting others first to ensure their safety,” Darcy Hamilton said of her husband.

Iain’s first rescue experiences also came in New Hampshire when he was working on the ski patrol at Gunstock Mountain in Gilford. The Hamiltons live in Massachusetts, but they had a cottage in Gilmanton and would spend every summer and every non-summer weekend in the Granite State. Like he later did with flying, Iain followed his father, Douglas Hamilton, onto the Gunstock ski patrol Douglas did it for 43 years and Iain for 18 years. Now, when Iain has an injured person in the back of his helicopter, “I feel like I have a little more understanding of what’s going on back there because I was an EMT for a while and I can just appreciate that golden hour a little bit more since I’ve had patients under my direct care for a time.”

One of the most dangerous rescue missions Hamilton has flown for the

National Guard was featured on the television show North Woods Law (season 15, episode 3) on Animal Planet. Hamilton had to keep his heli copter steady next to a Cannon Moun tain cliff face as the team’s medic, Joel Coehlo, was lowered down to the in jured hiker by cable.

“That pick on Cannon was probably one of the more technical rescues I’ve had to do just because you’re right there at the cliff and there’s a real small area that we had to lower our be hemoth of a medic down on to,” Hamilton said, getting in a good-natured dig at his buddy Coehlo before singing his praises. “But we actually lucked out that day because our medic has a real background in mountain rescues any way, so when he went down there it re ally helped us because he was very fa miliar locking in with what the moun tain guys had already set up.”

When he’s not in the air, Hamilton runs the life support program for the N.H. Guard, which means he takes care of all the helmets, vests, first-aid kits, etc. for the aircrafts. He’s also a tactical operations officer, so he makes sure all of the hardware and software on the helicopters are up to date and running smoothly. And when all that is done, Hamilton might play a tune or two on his fiddle. Like flying, Scottish music and dancing is a Hamilton fam ily tradition.

“My grandparents always say how happy it makes them to have a family that plays music,” Iain said. “We haven’t gotten together for a while, so we’re due for a family gathering with some music.”

Guardsman from Bow often makes rescues in the Whites

Courtesy

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Iain Hamilton iswelcomed home on Oct. 24 by his wife Darcy and their daughters Raeganand Caleigh after returning from a military tour in Iraq. When he’s not overseas, Hamilton is often flying rescue missions into the White Mountains with the National Guard.

Courtesy

Chief Warrant Officer 3 Iain Hamilton comes from a family history of service.

HOMETOWN

Forging

Whether it’s as a volunteer or on a board, Pam Wicks gives her time and her skills

By EILEEN O’GRADY Monitor staff

From fundraising to education, sports or theater, Pam Wicks has done it all as a volunteer in the Concord community.

Although she may be best known for her former role on the Concord School Board, this year Wicks is ef fecting change as a volunteer with the nonprofit organization Hearts for Kindness, which is working to provide financial assistance to Concord resi dents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wicks joined Hearts for Kindness three years ago as secretary of the board, and has been taking on more responsibilities at the nonprofit since then. Since COVID-19 started, one of their main focuses has been on rais ing money to help families pay rent and buy groceries, especially those who are unemployed due to COVID19.

“She has been dedicated to the community and school system,” said Brenda Perkins, the founder of Hearts for Kindness, who nominated Wicks to be recognized as a Home town Hero. “Her commitment to vol unteering and helping our community is tireless. I admire her and I am blessed by her dedication to my non profit.”

Wicks moved to Concord in June 2011 with her husband and three sons. It wasn’t long before Wicks, who is a stay-at-home parent, began taking on volunteer roles in the community. She is currently on the board of the Con cord Trust for the Enhancement of Public Education, a nonprofit that helps fund education projects at pub lic schools. She’s the secretary for Concord Northeast youth baseball and softball league, and a member of the PTA at Broken Ground School. She’s also volunteered for RB Produc tions Theater Company, and served a three-year term on the Concord School Board from January 2017 to December 2019.

“There’s nothing more rewarding than being involved in your commu nity,” Wicks said. “You see so many people doing great work, and it makes you really proud to be a part of the community that you live in.”

Although many of her board meet ings now take place via Zoom, Wicks’s dedication to volunteer work hasn’t wavered.

So far this year at Hearts for Kind ness, Wicks and the other volunteers

Since

HEROES: PAM WICKS, COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER

have raised funds to buy a service dog for a boy in the community. They also purchased some gas cards for a woman who needed to drive her granddaughter to get medical treat ment in Salem. They purchased craft store gift cards for a family that needed supplies for remote learning. They also buy grocery cards for fami lies and provide financial assistance for rent and utility bills.

Wicks says the goal of the organi zation is to fill in the gaps by helping people with things that may not be covered by social services.

“We’re sort of that last resort,” Wicks said. “You just need that extra money to finish that car repair. They come to us and we can help.”

Soon, Wicks will be organizing holi day shopping for local kids, providing gifts and wrapping supplies to fami lies who need it. Last year, Wicks says Hearts for Kindness shopped for 17 families. This year, with the pandemic impacting so many people’s liveli hoods, she is anticipating they will be shopping for many more.

“I love this community, and so be ing able to do all these things for our community makes me really happy,” Wicks said. “Especially during this crazy, crazy year, I feel still connected to a community when we are in a situ ation where we can’t be connected in person.”

ALLIE ST PETER/ Monitor staff

arriving in Concord in 2011, Pam Wicks has taken on many roles.

Market provides unity, comfort

he could start a business in the state where he was the boss, not the employee.

By TEDDY ROSENBLUTH Monitor staff

Karma Gonpo moved to New Hampshire for the promise of opportunity.

As a recent immigrant to the United States from Nepal, he had been working at gas stations and restaurants to make ends meet. Some of his friends who already lived in New Hampshire told him

Gonpo launched his business as a small gas station snack shop in 2010. Just four years later, the de mand for his products outgrew the small building and he opened a full-fledged market called the Kat mandu Baazar, in the heart of Con cord Heights.

The isles are filled with colorful tins and boxes from across the globe. He buys imported products from New York City, and every Thursday, he wakes up in the mid dle of the night to go to Boston,

where he chooses fresh fruit and vegetables sourced from Asia and Africa to bring back to his store.

He said before his store opened, you used to have to drive to Boston to get Nepalese food. Now, the small but growing Asian and African population in New Hamp shire is centered at Gonpo’s store. The food brings them together, he said.

After seeing Gonpo’s success in Concord, two other Nepalese mar kets have opened in the state.

Like most local businesses, the pandemic has been hard on

Gonpo’s business he recently had to lay off two employees. He and his other employees have worked extra hours to compen sate.

It is especially difficult to keep his restaurant, which is situated in the market, running while COVID restrictions are in place. Gonpo said he is just grateful his cus tomers are loyal to the store.

In return, Gonpo does his best to provide any food they request of him.

“They bring the name and label and I’ll go and find it for them,” he said.

Monitor file

In this photo taken before the pandemic, Karma Gonpo, owner of Katmandu Bazaar on Concord Heights, restocks the produce section of his market. Each Thursday, Gonpo travels to Boston to pick up imported fruits and vegetables.

Karma Gonpo is working hard to serve small but growing Asian and African population

It has been especially difficult to keep his restaurant running during the pandemic, but owner Karma Gonpo says he is grateful for his customers’ loyalty to the store.

By RAY DUCKLER Monitor staff

The emotions are still raw in the aftermath of a tragedy that took the life of Jake Deware, the 20-year-old Belmont man who died in a dirt-bike accident in November. But the impact of Jake’s life is clear to all who knew him.

Deware died at the scene, an open, hilly area of Canterbury, after colliding with his 21-year-old cousin during a dirt biking accident at a family gathering.

Once news of the tragedy spread, nominations for our initial Hometown Hero were emailed to the Monitor, illustrating that Deware was a clear choice because of everything he had done for so many others during his short life.

In the aftermath, despite unimag inable pain, Deware’s mother, Jenn Deware, spoke about the loss of her son while fighting to keep her emo tions in check.

“He was an unbelievably good soul,” Jenn said. “I want people to know he had a huge heart.”

Stories from others, focused on Jake Deware’s unselfishness and kindness, spilled out after his death. Like the time he pulled aside a quiet middle school teammate playing on the varsity level at Belmont High School, making sure he knew he was part of the team and showing him around the school.

And rushing home and returning with a jack to change a stranger’s tire. Even the simple things were part of Jake’s life. Like running across the field after a high school soccer game to shake hands with the opposing goalie.

Jake also worked with kids who felt they were on the outside, looking in. Kids who were timid. Kids who needed a friend.

Jaxson Embree, now 13, bonded with Jake over their shared love for dirt bike riding.

“It was so great to have him in my life,” Jaxson said. “My parents and brother didn’t know anything about dirt bikes, but if I needed anything fixed, he was always there. We would

always

mountain bike and dirt bike, and we’d go frog hunting.”

Jake started his own lawn care business as a kid and kept it going. He also worked for Penco Plumbing and Heating. He was taking night

courses for his certification.

“He was flourishing,” Jenn De ware said.

Jake leaves many family, friends and even strangers who were pro foundly touched by his giving spirit.

“It was so great to have him in my life. My parents and brother didn’t know anything about dirt bikes, but if I needed anything fixed, he was always there. We would mountain bike and dirt bike, and we’d go frog hunting.”

JAXSON EMBREE, now 13, who bonded with Jake over dirt bikes Courtesy Jake Dewarewas alwaysthere forfamily and friends to lend a hand.

Staying fit

By TIM O’SULLIVAN Monitor staff

When the pandemic shut down most businesses in the state this spring, Mea gan Sbat didn’t wait around hoping things would change. The owner of Get Fit NH fit ness center, “sprang into action setting up online workouts, staying in touch with their clients via email and messages to ensure that we were well, not just physically, but mentally, too,” according to Evelyn Gaynor, a client at Get Fit NH and one of 25 people who nominated

physically and mentally

Sbat as a Hometown Hero.

Not only did Sbat create the safest environment possible for her clients, she also wrote letters to, made videos for and visited with Gov. Chris Sununu’s task force to help develop safety guidelines for gyms in New Hampshire to reopen.

“It’s more important than ever for people to take care of their bod ies so they can fight things like this virus,” Sbat said. “And I said this at the beginning of the pandemic and I’ll say it again, the mental health pandemic that’s coming after this pandemic scares me, so that’s what really pushed me to do something and to do it smart, because people need this outlet, they need this happy place.”

Lots of people made that very clear when they nominated Sbat.

“As a cancer survivor and trans plant recipient, I have had to stay home alone in my house. Alone be cause my husband died. Having daily training and outside contact

has kept me healthy, both physically and mentally,” Carol Hawkins said. “Meagan has done this for many people besides me. She is very de serving due to her dedication to her many clients!”

“Meagan Sbat never missed a beat in providing her clients the op portunity to complete successful coached workouts in various online formats so all her clients could con tinue their goals,” Ingrid Marsh said. “She even provided a nutri tional challenge for those of us work ing too close to our refrigerators.”

“She made so many changes to ensure that we were all safe and could continue to exercise, having contingency upon contingency in place,” Samantha Ivanov said. “Vir tual training, live Zoom workouts, virtual check-ins, outdoor training and finally an indoor training plan that allows us to stay distanced but still get a workout.”

“Many of us who train at Get Fit NH get much more out of it than fit

ness. There is an atmosphere of ac ceptance, positive regard, encour agement and support which sus tains us and brings us happiness,” Jane Cogswell said. “Never has this been more true than during the pan demic.”

Before the COVID-19 crisis, Sbat was working with 277 clients. She lost about 40 of those after the shut down, but with her tireless innova tions and energy she’s built that client list back up to 252. Plus, she just moved into a new facility at 41 Terrill Park Dr. in Concord so she can continue to offer safe classes throughout the cold weather months.

“It’s 10,000 square feet, it has overhead doors on both sides so there’s airflow, it’s got exhaust fans, it has plenty of space for social dis tancing, it has all the things that make people feel comfortable,” Sbat said. “People need a safe place to train and I just want to help give it to them.”

Trainer Meagan Sbat keeps finding new ways to motivate and engage her clients

–

ALLIE ST PETER / Monitor staff

Meagan Sbat, owner of Get Fit NH, coaches an evening workout class at her gym. Sbat understands the toll the pandemic has taken on her clients.

Sbat

She’s cooking up positivity

By KATHERINE LESSARD Monitor staff

Throughout the added pressure of serving frontline workers and watching colleagues be furloughed, Megan Goodwin has al ways kept a positive attitude.

Goodwin, a staff member at the Concord Hospital Cafe, was nomi nated for the Hometown Hero award this year for her role in handling pandemic difficul ties with a smile and bringing joy to medical staff in her building.

The COVID-19 pandemic over the past year has affected everyone, but it’s been particularly challeng ing inside hospitals and for those who work in the food services indus try. Goodwin has seen the effects of the pandemic from both perspec tives.

Many employees who worked in the same building as Goodwin were sent to work from home, and with fewer people buying food from the cafe, some cafe workers were fur loughed. Goodwin was transferred to different locations several times.

“A lot of people got furloughed during that time and I was very grateful that when they closed my location they kept me,” Goodwin said.

Despite changes, Goodwin was able to persevere through the hard times with a positive spirit. Good win’s niece, Azaylia Clifton, remem bered a time where she and her family went to visit the cafe during the pandemic.

“One of the hospital staff comes in and says hi to her, and it’s this awesome interaction. I just thought that was really cool because you couldn’t really get that in a really big cafe with multiple workers. And she’s always really friendly,” Clifton said.

This friendliness and kindness goes a long way to bringing positive spirits, especially during such a harsh time. But even during prepandemic times, Goodwin had al ways made an effort to stay positive

and welcoming at her job, Clifton ex plains.

“She always takes the time to get to know her coworkers and the peo ple who come down to her cafe and the office building. She decorates with her own money, and I always thought that was pretty cool. She has her own decorations for Christ mas, Thanksgiving. And overall she’s just a really nice person to be around, and have food made for you, and I think she really cares about the people in her building,” Clifton said.

Goodwin has brought in motiva tional quotes to decorate the cafe, a little added touch to bring a bright ness to her coworkers’ days.

“She definitely knows everyone in the building,” Clifton said.

Like many people, her life was di rectly impacted by the pandemic. One of the toughest things, Goodwin explained, was adjusting to wearing masks.

“It was very difficult during the summertime, especially over the grill. You know, it was a big change to have that heat held against your face all day long. And I get that, you know, we need them, but that was a huge transition to adjusting to wear

ing those while we were working,” Goodwin said.

Early in the pandemic, she worked in an area that put her in closer contact with COVID-19.

“Every day she’d come home and she’d immediately throw her laun dry in the wash, whatever clothes she was wearing, to make sure she got no one infected,” Clifton said.

It was hard to adjust to work with COVID-19 restrictions. With limited staff, and fewer visitors, it was a completely different atmosphere to work in. Not only that, but with wor ries of the pandemic and more work to do with fewer staff members, working was much more tiring than it had been.

“The constant worry or you know, concern in the back of your mind, it wears you down after a while,” Goodwin said.

Despite all of this, Goodwin was able to get through it with a positive attitude, helping to bring a smile to the face of anyone who she served.

You have to “Roll with the punches, it’s just been, you know, take it as it comes, and do your best with it. We’ve all been through many changes this year, and we have to take it as they come,” Goodwin said.

HOMETOWN HEROES: MEGAN GOODWIN, CONCORD HOSPITAL CAFE

Megan Goodwin is always appreciated for her warmth, motivation and high energy

ALLIE ST PETER/ Monitor Staff

Megan Goodwin, like most food service workers, says it was an adjustment working through the day with a mask on.

Goodwin

Her role is to educate on safety

By EILEEN O’GRADY Monitor staff

Whether remote or hybrid, Ann Lanney is working to keep Concord students healthy this year, amid many new challenges.

Lanney is a school nurse at Rundlett Middle School, where she has worked since 2002. Before becom ing a school nurse, she worked in ma ternity and neo-natal intensive care in Boston and Manchester.

This year, Lanney is at the center of COVID-19 prevention at Concord’s middle school. The fall semester brought with it many new responsibili ties for school nurses, including coor dinating COVID-19 screenings, as sessing students with virus symptoms, keeping track of quarantines and con tact tracing after positive cases.

“I think being a school nurse has al ways been being a public health nurse to a greater or lesser extent. This year, it’s to a greater extent,” Lanney said. “Our role is to educate people, to set protocols in place, in order to keep people as safe as possible under the circumstances.”

In addition to her full-time school nurse job, Lanney stepped into a new role in June as school nurse coordina tor for the district. She communicates regularly with the district’s other nurses and district administrators to make sure everything is running smoothly with COVID-19 protocol.

“Ann is a true Jill-of-all-trades, helping students who visit her for a myriad of reasons,” wrote Rundlett school counselors Kate Weeks, Lori Trefethen and Lindsey Herbert, who nominated Lanney to be recognized as a Hometown Hero. “She is a smart, calm, consistent figure that staff and students seek out for health support.

Since March, Ann has taken on a great responsibility with sharing informa tion and working with students, staff, and families, to keep us all as safe as possible during these uncharted times.”

As new information about COVID19 emerged throughout the spring and summer, Lanney learned everything she could about the virus from webi

nars, health alert networks and pam phlets from DHHS. Over the summer, she was on the school reopening com mittee, helping the district and Rundlett administrators to come up with protocols. She made sure her building got cleaning supplies and PPE like face masks and shields. She also taught educational assistants how to properly use PPE.

When the school is in a hybrid model, Lanney is responsible for over seeing health screenings, assessing students and sending them home when they have symptoms of COVID19. She said sending students home is difficult because it is counterintuitive

to her usual goal, which is to get them feeling better and learning again.

“It’s hard on the nurses, because our usual role is to try to get children back to the classroom to access their education,” Lanney said. “Everyone thinks we’re there for emergencies, we’re there to put band-aids on, but our actual role is to get kids to access their education.”

Since New Hampshire’s influx of cases in November, Lanney has also taken on contact tracing at Rundlett. She said one of her biggest challenges this year has been COVID-19 trans mission occurring outside the district, through extracurricular activities or

social interactions that impact her stu dents.

Despite the additional efforts this year, Lanney stressed the fact that she does not see herself as a hero, just a hard-working member of a team of school nurses using the best available science to reduce spread and keep people safe.

“It’s been hard work and I’ve been doing it alongside all the nurses in our district,” Lanney said. “We support each other, we all have different strengths and I think we have been able to be successful and survive this experience with the support of one an other.”

LANNEY, Rundlett Middle School nurse

As a school nurse, Ann Lanney is on the frontlines of educators’ battle with the pandemic

ALLIE ST PETER/ Monitor staff

Ann Lanney, shown outside of Rundlett Middle School, coordinates nursing initiatives across the school district.

“It’s hard on the nurses, because our usual role is to try to get children back to the classroom to access their education. Everyone thinks we’re there for emergencies, we’re there to put band-aids on, but our actual role is to get kids to access their education.”

ANN

An advocate for careers in care

Lynda Goldthwaite is working and volunteering to build the next generation of nurses

By TEDDY ROSENBLUTH Monitor staff

Lynda Goldthwaite’s introduction to the field of nursing started at birth.

For as long as she could remember, she lived with her grandparents. She grew up in a three tenement house in Massachusetts, where she and her family occupied the second floor, her grandparents lived on the first floor and her great-grandmother lived on the third floor.

When her family moved to New Hampshire in Goldthwaite’s preteens, her grandparents moved to the house’s in-law suite. When her grand mother got sick, Goldthwaite remem bers visiting her grandmother in the hospital.

“We made sure she still got those things in her life that were super im portant,” she said. “If she didn’t have a hot cup of coffee every morning, she wouldn’t have a good day.”

Goldthwaite said she thinks that experience is partly responsible for her career path. Sometimes when she’s caring for residents, she calls on memories from those days in the hos pital.

“That’s really where all this pas sion comes from,” she said. “Those re lationships are crucial.”

Forty years into her career as a li censed nursing assistant, Goldthwaite has worked in nearly every facet of the industry from hospitals to small family practices to care facilities. Now, she serves as the administrator of Pleasant View Center in Concord.

One of her favorite roles is as an advocate for caregivers. Since she joined the workforce, she said she’s seen the staffing shortage steadily widened there just aren’t as many people going to school for nursing, she

said.

By volunteering with the New Hampshire Health Care Association, the Long Term Care Foundation, and the Sector Partnership for Health care, she dedicated herself to correct ing this trend. She advocates for train ing programs at local community col leges, online courses to certify care givers, and funding to help nursing as sistants pursue more education.

How does she balance this with her full-time job? When you feel as pas sionately as Goldthwaite feels about nursing, you just care all the time, she said.

“I’ve had a very long and very sat isfying career,” she said. “I see the po tential for so many people to have the type of career that I’ve had.”

“I’ve had a very long and very satisfying career. I see the potential for so many people to have the type of career that I’ve had.”

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from COVID-19.

LYNDA GOLDTHWAITE, administrator at Pleasant View Center in Concord. She also volunteers with the New Hampshire Health Care Association, the Long Term Care Foundation and the Sector Partnership for Healthcare.

GEOFF FORESTER/ Monitor staff Hometown Hero Lynda Goldthwaite serves as the administrator of Pleasant View Center in Concord.

The Country Store connection

nately,” Halla said. “The pandemic ini tially helped, but then everybody grew more complacent. So, it hasn’t been terrible, but business isn’t what it was back in March, April and May.”

one who can’t get out to shop at the store? Let them know that we can de liver. Ask us about it.”

By TIM O’SULLIVAN Monitor staff

Anyone who has worked at a store with the public through the pandemic deserves some recognition for their efforts. That’s es pecially true when it’s the only spot in town, like the Canterbury Country Store, run by Joe and Toni Halla.

“They are an integral part of the Canterbury community, running the store, serving as the unofficial com munity communication center, and al ways willing to provision their store with any requested product. They are true Hometown Heroes,” Sarah and Harry Kinter wrote in their nomina tion email for the Hallas.

The store saw extra customers, and communication, when the pan demic first hit. People were trying to avoid big stores and the crowds that go with them, so they stayed closer to

home and shopped in small, familiar places. That reversed a business trend Halla, and other small store owners, have been watching with con cern.

“Business hasn’t been great for a number of years. Small stores are go ing to be a thing of the past, unfortu

The Canterbury Country Store may avoid the kind of unfortunate extinc tion Halla was talking about, at least if the townspeople have anything to say about it. When the previous owner was selling the store, there was some concern that no one would buy it, so a group of residents formed an LLC, sold shares and purchased the build ing and the property, and eventually, the Hallas bought the business.

That kind of community involve ment, and the communication the Kin ters were talking about, is evident be fore you even walk through the front door of the store, which sits in Canter bury’s idyllic town center. There are two bulletin boards loaded with busi ness cards (horse trainers, carpen ters, artists, electricians, builders, ex cavators, florists and more), notices from the town office, a hand-drawn flyer offering pet and plant care, and a sign that reads, “Do you know some

Once inside the store, the lines of communication spread around the world through the post office located there, but that’s not the “center” the Kinters were writing about when they nominated the Hallas. It’s the word-ofmouth news that travels through the shopkeepers and helps keep the resi dents of small towns connected.

“I think that’s part of what the store is about,” said Joe, who is from Chicago but moved to Canterbury in 1976 with Toni, who is originally from New York. “I’m chairman of the zon ing board in Canterbury so I know a lot of what’s going on as far as the planning board, zoning board, select men, etc., etc., And then people that you’ve known for a period of time, or people you’ve gotten to know, tend to come in and say, ‘What do you think about Christmas trees for $50,’ or, ‘What do you think about what’s in the newsletter?’ or what about this or that, that’s fairly typical. And it’s fun. Well, 90 percent of the time it’s fun.”

HOMETOWN HEROES: TONI AND JOE HALLA, CANTERBURY COUNTRY STORE

Joe and Toni Hallasay business was brisk at the start of the pandemic but hassloweddown aspeoplebecome more complacent.

ALLIE ST PETERphotos / Monitor staff

Toni Halla serves customer Jack Krasnecki at the counter of the Canterbury Country Store.

This year, it’s all paws on deck

By TIM O’SULLIVAN Monitor staff

Jan Resit isn’t sure how many times she had to bring her dog, Annie, to the Sugar River Animal Hospital in Grantham this year.

“I know it was a lot,” Reist said. “She had a messed up stomach and had to have her gall bladder out and all kinds of stuff.”

It was a long year for Annie, a 12year-old rescue, like 2020 was for so many. But she’s healthy and doing well now, “all because of Sugar River and how wonderful they are,” Reist said. That’s why Reist nominated the whole staff to be Hometown Heroes veterinarians Dr. Catherine MacLean (who is also the owner), Dr. Kate Con nor and Dr. Andrea Brown; certified vet technicians Sara Dily, Kate Del Grosso, Jennie Morey, Samantha Griswold, Lexie Keane, Melissa Han non and Kelsy Jenkins; office man ager Paula Paula Gallien and client service representative Sherri Champ ney.

Like other clinics, Sugar River has been especially busy this year as peo ple are spending more time with their pets, and adding more pets to their family, during the pandemic.

“We’re much busier now than we were before, and I hear that from other vet clinics, we’re not the only one,” said MacLean, who opened Sugar River in 2013. “At first I thought it was the stimulus money, but that’s long dried up. I think a lot of it is peo ple are sitting home with their pets now and so things that didn’t notice or used to ignore are more in their face.”

When the COVID-19 crisis took hold in New Hampshire, Sugar River went to curbside care. Animals were allowed inside the building, but the owners had to stay in the car and the veterinarians, technicians and sup port staff would talk with them over the phone before and after the visit to gather information, answer questions and make recommendations. But that level of service wasn’t feeling quite good enough to MacLean and her staff.

“A lot of us thrive on the interaction with the clients, so we decided to do more,” MacLean said. “We’re still curbside, but the technicians go out and do the history at the car, then they’ll bring the pet in and I exam it, and then I actually go out and talk to them, wearing a mask and staying six

feet apart and all that good stuff.”

She expects that kind of service to continue through the winter, which is why she just bought her staff winter jackets with the Sugar River logo as Christmas presents. For pets that have needed extra care, like Annie, MacLean and her staff have been will ing to go the extra mile.

“After Annie had her gall bladder out at (a veterinary hospital in Portsmouth) she came home with like three pages worth of oral medication that was just too much for any owner, so Jan brought her in every day and we did all her medication for her,” MacLean said. “But we try to do stuff like that whether it’s COVID or not, we always strive to give that personal ized care.”

Those efforts have certainly been appreciated.

“They would come out to the curb side in the pouring rain with their um brella and answer all of your ques tions for as long as you want,” Reist said.

“And everybody I know that goes there has nothing but great praise for them. They all agree with me and think that Sugar River is just wonder ful because they do have such a per sonal relationship with the owners and the animals.”

Sugar River Animal Hospital among veterinarians that have seen an influx since March

Courtesy

A staff photo of all the heroes at Sugar River Animal Hospital.

Courtesy

Dr.Kate Connorandveterinary technicianSaraDiley workona patientat Sugar River Animal Hospital.

Fostering teamwork in a crisis

By TIM O’SULLIVAN Monitor staff

When the pandemic struck, Suzanne Demers went into emergency mode.

“Having worked at the Red Cross, I have disaster under my belt,” said Demers, who is now the Director of Elder Services at Community Action Program Belknap-Merrimack Coun ties, Inc. “And my operations manager has a military background, so she and I get ground zero, and when all of this started we hunkered down and went into that mode.”

The rest of her staff noticed, in cluding Jennifer Ho-Sue, a manager at CAP, who nominated Demers to be a Hometown Hero for her continued support of the elderly, and her sup port of the CAP staff, during the pan demic.

“Suzanne led us to new heights. She allowed us to think outside the box and really come up with some new ideas. It’s, ‘What do we need to do today to get the help out today,’” Ho-Sue said. “She’s one of those su pervisors you see every single day, and if you don’t see her, you hear from her. And she listens to your ideas. Sometimes she’ll take them and sometimes she’ll nix them, but she will take the time to listen.”

Demers oversees multiple pro grams at the CAP, including Meals on Wheels, Service Link (provides longterm health services), Senior Com panion Program and the eight senior centers in Belknap and Merrimack counties. She began integrating the programs by fostering communication and teamwork between them before the pandemic, and that collaboration has proved helpful during the COVID19 crisis.

“She didn’t merge us, but we went from waving at each other in the hall way to really knowing each other by name and now we can say, you know, ‘I can’t bring this food box out today, is there anyone else in the agency who is going that way and can they bring it?’ She put that kind of stuff in place,” Ho-Sue said.

Michael Tabory, Director of CAP Belknap-Merrimack, has also seen Demers’ integration efforts work at a higher level.

“That’s part of the ‘no wrong door’ approach we’ve been trying to roll out over the last several years,” Tabory said. “Suzanne really implemented

that within her programming to make sure all of her programs have enough information to make an informed re ferral when they are working with a client, and she’s also been reaching out to the other programs to try to do the same.”

During the pandemic, Demers has found other creative ways to keep supporting the elder community and keep her staff safe. For example, the Meals on Wheel drivers deliver frozen meals to limit exposure, but they also call the clients to make sure they get the social interaction that’s such an important part of that program.

“Suzanne has come up with very unique approaches to how do we meet the needs of the elder population dur ing these difficult times,” Tabory said. “She is very dedicated to those senior clients. It’s not just a job for her, it’sa passion.”

Demers has recently been paying special attention to the dozens of grandchildren being raised by their low-income grandparents in the two counties. She raised nearly $8,000 in donations this fall to help with backto-school items. Currently, she’s try ing to help these grandparents with holiday gifts, but the extra demands of the pandemic have slowed that drive. If anyone would like to donate gift cards, they can mail them or drop them off at CAP Belknap-Merrimack at 2 Industrial Park Dr. in Concord.

Suzanne Demers, the Director of Elder Services at Community Action Program

BelknapMerrimack counties, oversees multiple programs, including Meals on Wheels, Service Link, Senior Companion Program and the eight senior centers in Belknap and Merrimack counties

Suzanne Demers brought a heightened sense of order and efficiency when it mattered most

Geoff Forester

HOMETOWN HEROES: AMBER FERREIRA, GRANITE STATE ENDURANCE PROJECT

2020: The year of endurance

Amber Ferreira has taken a tough situation for her and others, and she’s run with it

By TIM O’SULLIVAN Monitor staff

In October 2019, Amber Ferreira took a leave of absence from her job at Concord Hospital as a physical therapist. She went to Col orado to train as an endurance ath lete, which is just one of her other gigs.

The 38-year-old had just finished a 27-mile “swimrun” event (a Swedish sport involving a friend, a tether and, you guessed it, swim ming and running) and was charg ing toward another six months of training in the Rocky Mountains when the pandemic hit. So, Fer reira decided to end her training early and head back to New Hamp shire. On the drive home, she wor ried that her third job, coaching en durance athletes of all levels, was also going to shut down.

“Races were just falling off the calendar, and who’s going to need a coach if there are no races,” Fer reira said. “But what was interest ing was just how much people needed community during this time, and maybe even wanted to be held a little more accountable now that there were no races on the schedule. So, we just made up fun challenges for the athletes to do this year, and I actually gained ath letes.”

Helping build and inspire a com munity through fitness is why Fer reira was nominated to be a Home town Hero. She made up three swim/bike/run courses, emailed her athletes the course coordinates (she personally coaches 30 people and her team, Granite State En durance Project, has about 150 members), gave them a week to finish it, had T-shirts made for par ticipants and then showed up on the course to cheer them on.

She was working with a cyclist, Sarah Reardon, who wanted to bike the length of New Hampshire

after all of her races were can celed. So Ferreira set up a course that started at the Canadian bor der and ended in Pelham on the Massachusetts border and then rode the 222 miles with Reardon in 11 hours. That was so much fun, Ferreira created a running relay event along the same course.

“It’s a New Hampshire-based team, so why not just bike the state and run the state,” Ferreira said.

She also organized an event on Mt. Kearsarge so her athletes could “Everest”– climb the height of Mt. Everest (29,029 feet) by go ing up the same incline over and over again in one day. Ferreira didn’t make up this diabolical event, but she did use it to raise $5,000 for a good cause, the NAACP.

Ferreira may have made an ex tra effort to create community dur ing the pandemic, but she has al ways been about inclusion. It’s the reason her team has the name it does.

“It’s called the Granite State

Endurance Project because I think that’s all-encompassing. It’s not ‘racing team’ or something like that,” Ferreira said. “I like the word ‘Endurance’ because it pretty much includes everyone.”

Ferreira coaches everyone, but she is an elite athlete. She’s had top-five overall finishes at major Ironman events and has competed at the international level for the U.S. National Snowshoe team. She’s not sure when she’ll make it to the next big event, but for now she’s competing in local races and bringing her infectious enthusiasm with her, like wearing elf tights while running in the Arthritis Foundation Jingle Bell 5k Run ear lier this month.

“I love big races and racing at a big scene, but I also love the local, community races, like the 5k in elf tights,” Ferreira laughed. “If we have to do that for a little more, that’s okay. I mean, it’s been a bummer of a year, but it’s also been a unique year and pretty cool in a lot of ways.”

What was interesting was just how much people needed community during this time, and maybe even wanted to be held a little more accountable now that there were no races on the schedule. So, we just made up fun challenges for the athletes to do this year, and I actually gained athletes.”

Courtesy

Hometown Hero Amber Ferreira has spent the year doing different events, like running the Jingle Bell 5K, swimming laps and biking up Mt. Kearsarge.

She learned to sew, went to work

my family and to my close friends, and then my mom kept posting about it on Facebook and more peo ple kept asking,” she said.

By KATHERINE LESSARD Monitor staff

With no sewing experience but plenty of time on her hands, Courtney Renaud set out to make homemade masks as a gift to her grandparents. Soon, though, her newly discovered maskmaking skills would extend well be yond her circle of family and friends to the people and places that needed them most.

This spring, Renaud, a 14-yearold student at Concord High, do nated nearly 800 masks across her community, including a local longterm care facility as well as local families and others in need.

“It kind of expanded. It went to

The more the word got out, the more families in need of masks could be helped.

“There have been some families that the parents have had to go to work and the students have had to do school, and we’ve made extra masks for them, and they’ve been very thankful. So it’s been really nice to know that I helped certain families that really needed the masks,” she said.

As well as families, Renaud was commissioned to make close to 40 masks for Havenwood Heritage Heights in Concord.

“Doing the work for the nursing home was really nice because I knew that I was helping a larger group of especially elderly people who need it more,” she said. “It was

really nice to know that I was help ing them.”

In order to learn how to make masks, Renaud researched safety requirements on the CDC website, and her dad taught her how to sew. They then borrowed a machine from a family friend, and the whole family began working on the project. Her mom helped cut pieces and her dad helped with the sewing.

Remote classes gave her a bit more time during the day, which she’d often dedicate the making masks. After school, she and her mom delivered the masks around town.

“We would put them all in bags, and then we would put tags on each of them, knowing what went where. Then we drove around to mail boxes,” she said.

If the order was farther away, they would mail it instead.

For supplies, she received dona

tions of fabric, thread, and money in order to sustain her operation.

“Most of (the money) I donated, and it’s just so everyone can be safe and it’s not like a business. I’m not taking money for it or anything,” she explained.

Any money Renaud had left over was donated to her school’s food drive.

Although she hasn’t been receiv ing as many orders lately, Renaud says she’s still willing to make masks for anyone else who might need them. She’d like to thank her mom and dad for helping her com plete the project, as it wouldn’t have been possible without them, she said.

“I think it’s been really nice to know that I’ve been helping people, especially so many people, since I’ve made so many. It’s been really nice that I can just help out people in any way during the pandemic,” she said.

Concord teen turned gift for her grandparents into a full-scale mask-making operation

GEOFF FORESTER/ Monitor staff

Courtney Renaud set out to make homemade masks as a gift to her grandparents. Above, she wears one of her masks as she prepares for her ballet class at the Kimball-Jenkins carriage house in early December.

There’ve been so many

Concord Hospitalpatient LauraRebolledo readsa card thatRev.Kate Morsedeliveredtoherat thefacility.The cardswere partof acoordinatedand anonymouseffort meant to brighten the day for patients. The cards, for the most part, had no return address. They were mailed to no onein particular,with thewordsabove thehospital addressbeginningthesame way: “To any Concord Hospital patient.”

The National Guard has stepped in to help with food distribution and testing. Here, Staff Sgt. Walter Ramos fields calls for unemployment benefits at a makeshift call center on April 7. Ramos, originally from Puerto Rico, handled all applicants in need of a Spanish speaker.

Jody Case, director of critical care services at Concord Hospital, stands outside the emergency room in April. She talked to the Monitor about the role of health care workers. “These are brave people going in and out of these rooms for patients,” she said.

Candace Abood of Concord decorated her car with personalized signs and balloons for a drive-by birthday celebration. In the spring as the pandemic set in, Abood helped stage several parade-style events to help lift spirits.

Students from Mrs. Frost’s first grade class at Abbot-Downing wave at a passing Concord police car in a parade for veterans.

Staff Sgt. Charles Johnston

A look back at some people and some of the moments that lifted us in 2020

Thisyearhascertainlybeentough onteachersandparents.Butlet’s not forget the challenge faced by our students, who have stepped up and moved ahead. Here, Concord High School graduate Hamza Abdulrahman waves to a teacher ashe linesup forthe 2020graduation forthe CommonsB at Memorial Field in June.

Samuel Alicea of Boscawen was among the young organizers of this pastJune’s Black Lives Matter marchfrom MemorialFieldtothe StateHouse lawn. Aliceacame to prominence locallywhen he tooka kneeas afootballplayer forMerrimack ValleyHighin2016.Four yearslater,hegavea speech about justice and equality.

Traci and David Sullivan (left) wade in the Winnipesaukee River behind their Tilton home with family friends Kyle Hennessy and Teya Bradbury in July. Our area beaches and rivers were more crowded than ever this summer as people spent the hottest months close to home. That also meant a high number of tragedies. On one day, though, tragedy was averted when the four pictured above were rafting along the Merrimack River near Pebble Beach in Canterbury. That’s when they came upon three people, including twokids,whowerestrugglinginthewater. Hennessypulledthemoutofthewater, the Sullivans performed life-saving measures and Bradbury called 911.

From local restaurants and grocery stores to mom and pop shops, those who workin retailand foodservice havebeen amongthe quietheroes of2020. Here, CommonMan employees stand atthe front entrance ofthe Concord restaurant in October after it closed to indoor dining for a few days following a positive test. They were there to bring out takeout orders.

CelebratingOurHometownHeroes

ROTARYCLUB OFCONCORD

KATHIHUTCHINSON

RotaryClubofConcord forthemanyservice opportunitieswehave beeninvolvedwithin 2020!

RNEMS andEmergency Preparedness CoordinatorLRGH

AbigshoutouttoJohn foralltheworkhehas doneduringthis pandemicon reporting,acquiring PPEforthehealthsystem, communicationandso manyotherthingsthat hehasdoneforour healthsystemandour community.

“Throughrain,snow, sleet,coldandheat” .... andthisyear,througha ragingpandemic, IsaluteKathiHutchinson forhersteadfastdelivery ofmyConcordMonitor. Every.single.day. BeforeI’veevenopened myeyes,thepaper isthereattheendofmy drivewaydespitedark& anxioustimes. Wrapped forbadweather,banded neatly,alwaysdry. Myhatisofftoyou,Kathi. You’remymorninghero.

DebbyDearborn

JENNIFERAND ROSIESPEIDEL

Thesemaskmakers workedtirelesslyto createmasksthat broughtjoytomany. Theyoutfittedthe CHSCLASSOF2020

THEENTIRE PERSONNELOF THEPITTSFIELD POSTOFFICE

whoexemplifythe bestspiritofthe U.S.PostalService. Theydeservethanks& kudosfortheir cheerfulhelpfulness atalltimes.

PRAISE.RECOGNITION.ACKNOWLEDGEMENT.

Yourhardworkand dedicationtothe Belmontcommunity isgreatlyappreciated.

I’dliketonominate AmyHein asourhometownhero. AmyHeinistheDirector ofJohnH.WhitakerPlace (seniorlivingcenter) andshehasdonea fabulousjobof goingaboveand beyondtokeepher facilitycovid-free, whilestillensuringthat Residentsareableto (safely)visitwiththeir families.She’salsobeen extremelycreativein findingwaystoentertain theResidentsandmake suchadifficultsituation thatmuchmore bearable.Shetrulycares forherResidentsand Staff,andhasspent countlesshoursensuring nobodyisoverlooked andeverybodyfeels safe,comfortable, andcaredfor.

Therearemanyterms todescribeourstaffat ForestviewManor; Heroes,Winners, Warriors,Champions, Saints. To ustheyencompass allthosethings.They aregood,kind, generousand caringpeople. Today andeveryday,weat ForestviewManor celebrateour employees,whoareon thefrontlines. Thankyou isnotenough,whenit comestohowhardthey workandhow manychallengesthey face.Theyweartheir masks,theysocial distance,theydealwith stressandanxietyand theystill SHOWUPFOR OURRESIDENTS!

AsBonJovi’ssongsays: “Whenyoucan’tdo whatyoudo...youdo whatyoucan” andour extraordinarystaffdoes iteveryday!

We saluteyou,wesing yourpraisesandweare hereforyou!!!

To the Woman’sClubofConcord’sMasker-Aiders theMaskMakersofConcordforyourgenerous humanitarianismfromspringtosummertofallto winterinmakingover15,000masks.

Youareatalentedandartisticgroupofseamstresses whomet requestscomingfromsocialservice& governmentagencies,localbusinesses,schools, communityhomes,hospitals,churches,nonprofits andevenindividualsneedingamask.Someof youindividuallymadehundreds,andacoupleofyou thousands,ofmasksonyourhomesewingmachines, othersorganizedanddeliveredthem.

Foryourkindness,youdeserve:

THANKS.BLESSINGS.GRATEFULNESS.

AppreciationsponsoredbyRuedigRealty

CynthiaDeRoy, TownClerk/ TaxCollector

JohnPrickett