Lakes Region Chamber Announces Annual Award Winners

Presenting Sponsor, Laconia Savings Bank and The Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce would like to thank everyone that attended the Chambers 91^st Annual Luncheon Meeting and Awards Ceremony at Church Landing at the Inn’s & Spa at Mill Falls. It was a great success with every seat in the house taken.

Chamber presented Golden Trowel awards for renovations and Golden Hammer awards for new construction. The Golden Trowel awards went to Eased Edges, The Naswa Resort, The Wolfeboro Inn, Robbie Mills Field and Lakes Region Community College. Golden Hammer recipients were CVS Pharmacy in Franklin, TownePlace Suites by Marriott, Laconia Middle School, YDC Precision Machine and the Gilford Community Church.

The Chamber handed out a new award this year called the Community Vision Award which went to The Laconia Area Community Land Trust for demonstrating community involvement for the betterment of its residents. Gunstock Mountain Resort received the Chamber’s Environmental Award for upgrades to its snowmaking equipment, which is five times more efficient than what it replaced while using less energy.

The J. Bart Conners Award for service to the Chamber was presented to John Malm, who is Vice President of Relationship Banking at Meredith Village Savings Bank, while Darcy Peary of LRGHealthcare was named the Chamber’s Ambassador of the Year Award.

The Chamber would also like to take a minute to thank all of their sponsors who included Franklin Savings Bank, Meredith Village Savings Bank, PSNH, LRGHealthcare, Gunstock Mountain Resort, Pike Industries, Belknap Landscape, Inn’s & Spa at Mill Falls, Nassau Broadcasting, ProForma Piper Printing, Lakes Region Floral Studio and Coldwell Banker Team Advantage.

Sportsmen’s Show 2010

The Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce is proud to present the 13th Annual Sportsmen’s Show on Saturday, March 6th 9am-5pm and Sunday, March 7th 9am-3pm.  The show will be held at the Franklin Middle School 200 Sanborn St. Franklin, NH.  Admission price is $8 per person (children under 12 are free with a paying adult).  Over 40 vendors, raffle prizes, seminars and much more!  Vendor space is available.  Call Kathy at 603-934-6909 or email kpevine@laconia-weirs.org for more information.  You don’t want to miss this great show!  Reserve your spot today!

See the latest on hunting, fishing, trapping, water sports and other outdoor activities and seminars.

Keeping Lines of Communication Open

Keeping Lines of Communication Open

LRGHealthcare Ensures Uninterrupted Connectivity

 LACONIA and FRANKLIN, NH – We’ve all heard about the benefits of common platforms and digital imaging and archiving systems in medicine—accurate, secure patient health information and medical imaging records that can be shared among all of the doctors and professionals caring for you on a moment’s notice, even if they—or you—are in a different location. Easily shared data has increased exponentially the benefits our community enjoys from the collaboration between LRGH, FRH, and our affiliated practices. No matter what practice or facility you are at, your doctors can access the vital information they need to care for you. And that’s especially important in emergency situations.

 But, have you ever thought about what happens if the network goes down? Just like your phone lines at home, a downed power line—a single point of failure—could cut off contact between our hospitals and practices.

 Today, LRGHealthcare is pleased to announce that is no longer true. Thanks to a collaborative project with MetroCast, LRGHealthcare now has in place a fully redundant fiber optic route between our facilities, removing the risk of losing connectivity due to a single point of failure in the original route.

 According to LRGHealthcare Chief Information Officer Red Hutchinson, this project is an important quality and patient safety measure. “When you think of quality and customer service in healthcare, you may not think of these behind-the-scenes elements much,” says Hutchinson. “But the truth is, technological infrastructure and protecting connectivity between our facilities is vital. By having these connections, the resources of the entire organization and even beyond are immediately available to treat each and every patient who comes through our doors. And this new fiber optic route not only protects the connectivity we already have; it also adds the bandwidth we will need to support the connectivity of future technology.”

 Hutchinson said that MetroCast was a key partner in this endeavor. “We worked with MetroCast to develop and implement this strategy,” says Hutchinson. “We applaud them for their ability to complete a project of this scale, and appreciate their partnership. They have always been supportive of LRGHealthcare, and they showed their support once again through their financial support of this project. MetroCast helped make this project affordable for our community healthcare system.”

 “MetroCast was thrilled with the opportunity to engineer and implement a project of such significance for LRGHealthcare,” says Josh Barstow, Vice President of Advanced Services for MetroCast.  “The state-of-the-art private network is an example of the innovative technology that MetroCast has the ability to deliver, and moves forward LRGHealthcare’s efforts to invest in the critical components of their systems. MetroCast is proud to partner with LRGHealthcare to ultimately provide a better, safer, and more secure service to their patients, and our community, for many years to come.”

 LRGHealthcare is a not-for-profit healthcare charitable trust representing Lakes Region General Hospital, Franklin Regional Hospital, Affiliated Medical Providers, HealthLink, Community Wellness Centers, the Dental Resource Center, the Holistic Health Center, and other community-based services. LRGHealthcare is committed to making health care available, accessible, and affordable to you.

 MetroCast is a leading provider of Digital Television, High Speed Internet, Digital Phone and Business Services to various communities in the states of New Hampshire, Maine, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Mississippi, Alabama and South Carolina. MetroCast’s focus in providing superior customer service and technical support along with state-of-the-art technologies and advanced service offerings has driven customer loyalty in all regions. MetroCast is also a primary supporter to numerous local charitable organizations, events and community projects donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to better the lives, economies and communities in which its employees work, live and provide service.

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Happy Holidays

Wishing you health and happiness this Holiday Season and prosperity in the New Year. We look forward to continuing our partnership in the coming year.

All the best to you, your family and your organization.

 
Doug, Joyce, Aimee, Kathy and Cherri

T-Bones & Cactus Jack’s Host Chamber Ambassador Luncheon

The Lakes Region Chamber of  Commerce would like to extend a warm thank you to Jay Bolduc and the entire staff at  T-Bones & Cactus Jack’s who sponsored our  annual Ambassadors Luncheon and made it a great success.  We could not have done it without their kind support. Our Ambassadors help new Chamber members participate in the various programs offered and assist those who attend Chamber events to gain the maximum benefit of networking with others in the business community. They are an exceptional group of individuals who volunteer their time to help out the business community. Again, our thanks go out to them. A special thank you also goes to Debbie Bolduc from Franklin Savings Bank who worked with T-Bones & Cactus Jack’son planning our luncheon; we could not have done it without their help. For more information on The Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce Ambassador Program please contact the Chamber at 603-524-5531.

T-Bones & Cactus Jack’s is an independently owned restaurant group located throughout NH, offering exceptionally fresh food, homemade daily. With more than 100 menu options at each concept you are sure to find a meal that suits your tastes well. You can visit T-Bones in Salem, Hudson, Bedford, Derry and you can visit Cactus Jack’s in Manchester or, you can visit both at their dual concept location in here in Laconia.

My first year in the Lakes Region of NH

Well it has been officially one year since I have been in the Lakes Region of NH as Executive Director of the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce.  I’ve met some great people and have seen many businesses and events over this past year.

In November of last year I experienced the Santa Fund Train and the Laconia Holiday parade.  The Santa Fund Train is a great community event where people drop off toys or clothing for families in need.  Another similar event I attended was in December which was the WLNH Children’s Auction where money is raised to help families in the communities of the Lakes Region.  In January, I attended the Annual Meeting which was held at the Margate Resort.  In February I was able to meet with Ski Writers at Gunstock who are interested in our area.  March was our very successful Sportsmen show in Franklin that is held over a two-day period and I was added as an incorporator at the BCEDC Annual Meeting.  In May I went on the Shakedown Cruise aboard the Mount Washington which had many individuals and dignitaries on it  including the Governor and most of the Executive Council and May is also the month for our great Chamber Social event, the Mix & Mingle held at Meadowbrook.  June was very busy as Laconia Motorcycle Week was once again upon us plus we had our Golf Tournament at the Laconia Country Club (which I got to play for my very first time).  August was a fun month as I went flying on a Training Flight with the NH Air National Guard, courtesy of Jim Goss from the NHESGR and we had our first and very successful event, Cool Bikes & Hot Wings at Laconia Harley-Davidson and in October we held our annual Business Showcase at the Conference Center at Lake Opechee Inn & Spa.

In addition to all the above, I was able to attend many Ribbon Cuttings for the Entrepeneurs in our area who believe in themselves and brought business to our region.  Also, each month I attended our Business Before and After Hours at our member locations and the Chamber hosted many Brown Bag Lunches which are great informational seminars that are free to our membership.

I look forward to the coming year and all the new people and businesses I will meet and the events I will attend.

Thanks for a great first year Lakes Region of NH!

Laconia Bike Works Business Before Hours

Just got back from a Business Before Hours at Laconia Bike Works in Gilford.  Great concept there, they design their own line of scooters and are developing a line of motorcycles, plus they are rider friendly and have a cafe where you can go with your bike and have food and coffee.

Their scooters start at $899 for a 50cc and run up to about $2600 for a 250cc.  Each one is very stylish and have standard features that you would normally find on scooters twice the price.

In addition to food and scooters, they also have a shop where you can have your motorcycle inspected or repaired.  They also have connections for aftermarket parts for your motorcycles and scooters.

You should definitely take a trip and check them out.

Premier Listings in the Chamber Informational Brochure

It’s that time again, time to think about marketing your business and getting the word out about you.

The Chamber offers a very cost effective way of doing that with our informational brochure.  Our brochure was distributed as follows for 2009:  30,000 units in the Boston Market at the Copley Place Mall and the North Shore Mall, 10,000 units in the 17 NH rest Areas and 10,000 units in our offices, information booth, mail and trade shows.

To be part of this, review these two links:

Brochure Details

Brochure Application

Model A’s come to the Lakes Region of NH

Beginning September 24th approximately 225 Model A’s will come to the Lakes Region for a gathering and road trip.  On Saturday the 26th they will tour around Lake Winnipesaukee.  Many of these cars and their owners are staying in local lodging properties like the Margate and the Landmark Inn.

Here is a preview of the event as some of the cars have begun arriving in the Lakes Region earlier this week.

Franklin, NH