-
Ian Quinn is the Upper Valley Aquatic Center’s new head swim coach. (Courtesy photograph) -
White River Junction resident Vreni Gust has been promoted to vice president, chief marketing officer at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. (Courtesy Bar Harbor Bank & Trust) -
Carine Abbott, of Claremont, has been hired as the branch relationship manager at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust’s Lebanon locations on Hanover Street and Heater Road. (Courtesy Bar Harbor Bank & Trust) -
Dr. Eric J. Epstein has been hired as the ambulatory medical director, vice chair of clinical operations at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. (Courtesy photo) -
New London Hospital will host its its 99th annual Hospital Days fundraiser — which includes a parade, community forum, vendor fair and jewelry box sale — from Thursday, July 31 to Saturday, Aug., 2, in New London. Proceeds will benefit the hospital’s Patient and Family Community Care Initiatives, which provide nutritious food, personal care items and emergency assistance to patients and families in communities served by New London Hospital and Newport Health Center. (Courtesy Dartmouth Health) -
West Central Behavioral Health awarded AJ Horvath, center, its 2025 Lilla McLane-Bradley Award. Dr. Will Torrey, left, West Central’s Board chair, and Lori Shibinette, president & CEO of West Central, presented Horvath with the award “for his outstanding commitment to mental health access and advocacy.” (Courtesy West Central Behavioral Health) -
Ronnie Taylor, owner of Connecticut Valley Trucking in Orford, earned the Northeastern Loggers’ Association 2024 Outstanding Forest Products Trucking Operator Award. (Courtesy Northeastern Loggers’ Association)
Hanover-based Ledyard Bank has hired Jo-Ann Church as its senior vice president and chief credit officer. Church was previously employed as senior vice president and senior credit officer at Northway Bank.
Paul Kowalski, of Plymouth, Vt., has been promoted to branch relationship manager at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust’s Woodstock branch. Kowalski joined Bar Harbor as a personal banker in 2024 and was previously employed as a senior project Manager at the Springfield Regional Development Corp.
White River Junction resident Vreni Gust has been promoted to vice president, chief marketing officer at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust. She was previously vice president, product & segment marketing manager and joined the company in 2016 when it was still known as Lake Sunapee Bank.
Carine Abbott, of Claremont, has been hired as the branch relationship manager at Bar Harbor Bank & Trust’s Lebanon locations on Hanover Street and Heater Road. Abbott was previously employed as a district manager for Rent-A-Center.
Shawn Nichols is the new president of Sunapee Shade and Blind in New London. He was previously chief executive officer and president of Bull Moose, the Portland, Maine-based entertainment company.
Scott Horne has been hired as vice president, commercial lender at Claremont Savings Bank.
The Upper Valley Aquatic Center has hired Ian Quinn as its new head swim coach. Quinn comes to the White River Junction-based nonprofit organization after serving as associate head swim coach at the University of North Carolina Asheville. Coaches Patrick Foley, Signe Linville and Patrick Henry previously filled head coaching duties while the Upper Valley Aquatic Center conducted a nationwide search, according to a news release.
Kevin Paquet is the new executive director of SAPA TV, a public access TV station that serves Springfield, Vt., Weathersfield, Chester and Reading, Vt. Paquet was previously the station’s programming coordinator. Videographer Alex Moreau has been promoted to meeting manager. Amethyst Bonneau was hired as the station’s communications and marketing manager and Brite Cheney is the new technology coordinator.
Health Care and Rehabilitation Services, a Springfield, Vt.-based mental health agency that serves Windsor and Windham county residents, hired the following employees in April and May in Hartford: Erin Angley-Cohen, school-based clinician II; Holly Patterson, direct support professional community; Hank Stommel, behavioral interventionist; Natalie Strout, community outreach specialist; Laura DeCapua, intern; Bobbijo Rousse, respite provider.
Dr. John T. Mullen has been hired as chair of the department of surgery at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. Mullen, who currently serves as vice chair of faculty affairs in the department of surgery and the John Homans professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, will begin his role at Dartmouth on Aug. 1.
Dr. Eric J. Epstein has been hired as the ambulatory medical director, vice chair of clinical operations at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. He was previously a professor of medicine (endocrinology), vice chair for clinical affairs and interim chair of the department of medicine at Montefiore Medical Center and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y.
Cell biologist and professor Jamie Moseley has been named the chair of Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine’s Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology. He succeeds Charles Barlowe, who led the department for 17 years.
Dartmouth Health hired the following providers in April, May and June:
Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital: Emily L. Vallari, emergency medicine; and Alexandra D. Tomasek, hospital medicine.
Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center: Elizabeth C. Blain, hospital medicine.
Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Mt. Ascutney Hospital and Health Center, and New London Hospital: Dr. Mark W. Johnson, diagnostic radiology.
Dartmouth Cancer Center: Ethan J. Cady, hematology/oncology.
Dartmouth Cancer Center Lebanon: Jenna M. Ashby, hematology/oncology; Dr. Michael L. Pearl, gynecologic oncology; and Dr. James B. Yu, radiation oncology.
Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinics Heater Road: Joshua D. Cyphers, family medicine; Christopher J. Vodila, sleep medicine; and Johanna C. McKenna, family medicine.
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center: Lucila M. Fields, endocrinology — diabetes and metabolism; Sara L. Baker, psychiatry; Andrea C. Biamonte, cardiology; Sara E. Brinnel, podiatry; Julia A. Camuso, psychiatry; Jennifer M. Chambers, crisis and emergency services; Dr. James K. Clark, diagnostic radiology; Anne M. Hutchinson, general surgery; Dr. Benjamin W. Kelemen, cardiology; Sara B. Noble, general surgery; Morgen E. Smith, plastic surgery; Dr. Dennis Toy, diagnostic radiology; Dr. Matthew L. Vestal, neurosurgery; Lisa D. Jobin, adult outpatient and specialty psychiatry; Christina M. Minasian Hunt, psychiatry; Dr. Joseph K. Potthast, neuroradiology; Lisa D. Tallman, cardiovascular medicine; Dr. Valerie J. Valant, obstetrics and gynecology; and Julianna Ward, psychiatry.
Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and New London Hospital: Dr. Michelle A. Bejarano, cardiology.
New London Hospital: Christopher L. Toves, anesthesia.
Renovations began at the Claremont Hannaford’s, located at 220 Washington St., in March and are expected to be finished sometime this fall, according to a news release from the Scarborough, Maine-based grocery store chain. The store will remain open during the renovations.
Fidium Fiber Internet has expanded to Newport. Fidium, which is part of Consolidated Communications, is working on expanding to Croydon and Grantham.
Health Care and Rehabilitation Services, a Springfield, Vt.-based mental health agency that serves Windsor and Windham county residents, has started a new intensive outpatient program for people with substance use disorders. Participants must be able to travel to Springfield, Vt., to participate in the program, according to a news release from the nonprofit organization. The program, which people can enroll in for a minimum of 10 weeks, includes group sessions, one-on-one support and “a focus on wellness skills, mindfulness, coping strategies, relapse prevention, and navigating relationships during or after substance use.” Visit hcrs.org/contact to get in touch with providers for more information.
The following Upper Valley residents have joined the Upper Valley Business Alliance’s board of directors: Jeff Acker, founder of HP Roofing and president of Resoreze, a remediation company based in Hartland; Kerry Artman, executive director of the Carter Community Building Association and Witherall Recreation Center in Lebanon; Emmanuel Ajavon, associate director of business leadership programs at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College; Brian Moses, general manager of the wholesale division for Britton Lumber, a wholesale building materials distributor in Fairlee; and Samantha Davidson Green, executive director of Junction Arts and Media, a media arts and cable access television station in White River Junction.
Norwich residents and Dartmouth Health providers Dr. Erin Salcone, director of pediatric ophthalmology and director of medical student education for ophthalmology, and Dr. Kyle James, an emergency medicine physician, have joined the Upper Valley Trails Alliance’s board of directors.
The Woodstock Area Chamber of Commerce has appointed the following business leaders to its board of directors: Loren Fisher, Focus — A Vermont Gallery, president; Bruce Grosbety, Woodstock Inn and Resort, vice president; Tambrey Vutech, Keller Williams Realty, secretary; and Alison Gaffney, Mascoma Bank, treasurer.
Lebanon City Clerk/Tax Collector Jaseya Ewing has earned a Certified Municipal Clerk designation from the International Institute of Municipal Clerks. The designation is awarded to municipal clerks who “complete demanding education requirements; and have a record of significant contributions to their local government, community and state,” according to a news release from the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., based organization.
Catherine Reed, of Hanover, was named May’s Granite Stater of the Month by Sen. Maggie Hassan. Reed, a social worker at Dartmouth Cancer Center, started a food pantry at the medical center so that those receiving cancer treatment and their families have access to nutritious food.
Julius Turner, co-founder of the Upper Valley BIPOC Network, received the Upper Valley Community Award during Dartmouth College’s Social Justice Awards ceremony in May.
Ronnie Taylor, owner of Connecticut Valley Trucking in Orford, earned the Northeastern Loggers’ Association 2024 Outstanding Forest Products Trucking Operator Award.
West Central Behavioral Health, which has locations in Claremont, Lebnaon and Newport, has been certified as a New Hampshire State Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic. The new designation means the nonprofit organization will have access to more funding, according to a news release. This will allow West Central to treat more patients, including those who are uninsured or underinsured. “Being recognized as a CCBHC allows us to build on our existing services and reach even more people with the care they deserve, when and where they need it most,” West Central CEO Lori Shibinette said in the release.
The following nurses who work at Dartmouth Health locations in the Upper Valley earned New Hampshire Excellence in Nursing Awards in May: Justin B. Montgomery, interim vice president of nursing and a general internal medicine nurse practitioner at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Academic Nurse Educator-Researcher award; Christine C. Gooley, infectious disease and international health nurse practitioner at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Advanced Practice Nursing award; Tracy A. Galvin, chief nursing officer at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Large Hospital Senior Nurse Leader award; Catherine M. Amarante, geriatric nurse and honoring care decisions specialist at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Gerontology Nursing award; and Nicole S. Wakeman, inpatient services nurse manager at New London Hospital, Small Hospital Frontline Leader award.
Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital’s nurse residency program has been named a Practice Transition Accreditation Program by the American Nurses Credentialing Center.
AJ Horvath, senior director of psychiatry administration at Dartmouth Health, received West Central Behavioral Health’s 2025 Lilla McLane-Bradley Award “for his outstanding commitment to mental health access and advocacy,” according to a news release from the nonprofit organization that has locations in Claremont, Lebanon and Newport. Horvath previously served as interim CEO of West Central Behavioral Health.
Dr. Joanne M. Conroy, CEO and president of Dartmouth Health, and Dr. Lauren G. Wirth, CEO of New London Hospital, have been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 2025 “Women hospital and health system presidents and CEOs to know” list.
Dr. Susan E. Mooney, CEO and president of Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital, was recognized on Becker’s Hospital Review’s annual ranking of rural hospital and health system presidents and CEOs to know.
Cottage Hospital President and CEO Holly McCormack, has earned the American Hospital Association’s Grassroots Champion Award “for her exceptional leadership in generating grassroots and community activity in support of her hospital’s mission,” according to a news release from the New Hampshire Hospital Association.
The following Upper Valley residents have been selected as part of the Leadership New Hampshire (LNH) Class of 2026: Kerry Artman, Lebanon, executive director, Community Building Organization; Jessica Leandri, Norwich, director, Professional Relations at Northeast Delta Dental; and Melina Hill Walker, Hanover, program director at Endowment for Health.
The Upper Valley Aquatic Center earned a $25,000 grant from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation National Paralysis Resource Center. The money will be used to install automatic controls on doors to make the facility more accessible to people with disabiliites, according to a news release from the White River Junction-based nonprofit organization.
Norman Williams Public Library has earned a $14,125 Sustainable & Resilient New England Libraries grant to put toward making its front entrance more accessible, according to a news release from the Woodstock library. While the entrance is wide enough for wheelchair users to go through, the doors must be manually opened. The grant, awarded by the Association for Rural & Small Libraries and the Manton Foundation, will cover around half of the project cost to replaced the current doors with sliding glass doors that patrons can remotely activate.
Vermont’s Working Lands Enterprise Board has awarded the following Upper Valley farms money to invest in their businesses: Free Verse Farm, Chelsea, $13,909; and Sunrise Organic Farm, White River Junction, $13,158.
The following Upper Valley businessowners earned grants of up to $5,000 from The New Hampshire Community Loan Fund: Alexa Santti, Grantham, Closet Treasures LLC; Hanover: Gissoneida De Jesus, Hanover, Fluffy Love Grooming Salon LLC; and Conicia Jackson, Lyme, 3 Generations Wealth Group.
Blake Memorial Library in East Corinth earned a $2,500 Rural Library Grant that will provide children’s books and programs from the Children’s Literacy Foundation.
The Connecticut River Conservancy and the Ottauquechee Natural Resources Conservation District installed more than 4,000 native shrubs and trees on the banks of the Ottauquechee River in Woodstock to create a riparian buffer which “is intended to enhance the area’s capacity to mitigate flood waters by giving the river room to spread out, slow down, and soak in,” according to a May news release from the conservation district. “The foliage of the growing vegetation will help intercept rainfall, and the roots will work to keep soil in the ground and out of the river, protecting water quality as well as slowing the flow of floodwaters.”
The Lyme Inn has been named the Best Country Inn as part of Yankee Magazine’s 2025 Best Places to Visit in New Hampshire in its May/June 2025 edition.
New London Hospital will host its its 99th annual Hospital Days fundraiser — which includes a parade, community forum, vendor fair and jewelry box sale — from July 31 to Aug. 2 in New London. Proceeds from this year’s fundraiser will benefit its Patient and Family Community Care Initiatives. Visit newlondonhospital.org/hospitaldays for more information.
Information for this column was compiled using news releases emailed to Valley News staff. To have business or nonprofit organization news included in the Valley News, email biznotes@vnews.com.