​Summer Music Associates 
Presents Pianist, William Ögmundson, in a FREE CONCERT
 
Summer Music Associates wishes to thank the people of the Lake Sunapee Region for their support and loyalty during these difficult times by offering a free concert at the First Baptist Church in New London on Thursday, September 2, 2021 at 7 PM.  
 
William Ögmundson will present an uplifting and entertaining piano concert for all ages.  William is an award-winning and EMMY-nominated composer, lyricist, and classically trained solo pianist.

NHTI, Boys & Girls Clubs
Address Community Needs Together
The Mary Stuart Gile Early Learning Center and laboratory school, formerly known as the Child and Family Development Center (CFDC), on the campus of NHTI – Concord’s Community College is an inspiring model of successful community collaboration. The center, now managed by the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central NH, serves the community’s childcare needs as well as NHTI’s students’ requirements of observing and practicing as part of the Child and Family Studies and Nursing programs.
“One year ago, NHTI’s CFDC - our early childhood studies laboratory school - was in an incredibly challenging place financially,” said Diana Menard, NHTI’s department chair and professor in Child and Family Studies. “We were fortunate to have several organizations in our community recognize the added value that the center and laboratory school provide to our early childhood education students, the greater Concord community, and the early childhood field in general.”
“Being able to continue to provide our students with a strong lab experience and the community with a space for superb childcare was an important goal for NHTI; having the BGCCNH step in to serve both these needs became an exceptional partnership for which I am incredibly grateful,” shared Dr. Mullin-Sawicki, President of NHTI.
This collaboration addresses the workforce needs for childcare and early childhood educators, and relieves NHTI of a serious financial burden. Chris Emond, executive director of the BGCCNH, recognizes the high quality that NHTI brings to the early childhood education field. He is committed to ensuring that the philosophy and teaching practices remain in place. Additionally, both NHTI and the Boys & Girls Clubs are committed to keeping the academic affiliation agreement with the Child and Family Studies programs in place. This philosophical and programmatic alignment, in addition to their shared missions to serve the community, make the partnership a win-win for the greater Concord community.
“We are proud to work with NHTI,” said Emond. “The goal of taking this on was to continue the fine tradition of excellence that NHTI’s Child and Family Development Center had built during its first 20 years in existence. The preservation of the lab school was also a high priority.”
Both NHTI and the BGCCNH view this collaboration as a model for what community is all about - resource sharing – and are delighted to be working together in this capacity. The center is fully enrolled with a burgeoning waitlist; this highlights the ongoing critical need for quality childcare. Community members, students, and families can trust that all best practices in early childhood education, care, and development continue to serve the greater Concord community with high-quality childcare in a lab school befitting the legacy of Mary Stuart Gile on the campus of NHTI.
“As a former staff member of the CFDC, I feel [the BGCCNH] really stood up to meet this challenge of maintaining the CFDC’s mission and vision,” said Ewing. “I think what helped encourage previous staff members to come back was Chris’s commitment to keeping the program’s philosophy and mission in place. To take on a new program in the middle of a pandemic was an immense proposition, but [the BGCCNH] really met the moment and have provided an immense amount of support and resources that will see our staff and the families we serve through this pandemic and beyond. I am excited about what the future holds for this partnership.”
The center has retained one veteran teaching staff member in each of its classrooms, and approximately 85% of the staff are NHTI alumni. Ross Ewing, himself an NHTI alum, continues to be the center’s director and works with a lead mentor teacher in the administration of the center as well as sharing in teaching responsibilities within the classrooms. Ewing also follows accreditation standards of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). After one full year of operation under the umbrella of the Boys & Girls Clubs, the center is already preparing for submission to NAEYC for full accreditation.
“The staff at the former CFDC is what set the school apart from others in the area,” said Sara Ziegra, parent of child who attends the center. “Sending our son back to the school on the NHTI campus was contingent upon teachers returning. The Boys & Girls Clubs realized how special these educators are and brought back many familiar faces. We are so happy knowing our son gets to play, learn, and grow under the care of these exceptional educators.”
 
Another parent, Megan Kilar, seconded that sentiment. “We received the highest quality of care from the former CFDC. The Boys & Girls Club stepped in during a difficult time and allowed the center to continue with its high standard of care for children. My son returned to the center as a pre-K student and my daughter is currently in the toddler room. I have been incredibly pleased with the staff that was rehired and the new staff that have come in. We appreciate the staff, who are all hardworking and truly care about our children.”
The late Mary Stuart Gile, the founding mother of the Early Childhood program at NHTI and the CFDC, championed student learning by practice in a laboratory school where they could be observed and mentored in tandem with the theory and best practices learned through their academic studies. To honor her memory, her contributions to and vision for early childhood education, the center has been renamed the Mary Stuart Gile Early Learning Center. On October 15, 2021, the one-year anniversary of her passing, the BGCCNH plan to make the naming official with the unveiling of a new sign at a public ceremony on the NHTI campus with Gile’s family in attendance.
To learn more about the Early Childhood Education program, additional programs within the Child and Family Studies department, or the academic affiliation of the laboratory school, contact Diana Menard at dmenard@ccsnh.edu. For information about the Mary Stuart Gile Early Learning Center and to inquire about enrollment, contact Ross Ewing at rewing@centralclubsnh.org or 603-410-5184.
 
NHTI – Concord’s Community College
NHTI is a dynamic public institution of higher learning that provides accessible, rigorous education for students, businesses, and the community. We create pathways for lifelong learning, career advancement, and civic engagement, offering 80+ academic programs to 4,600+ students annually. NHTI is a member of the Community College System of New Hampshire and since 1969 has been accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, a nongovernmental, nationally recognized accrediting agency. Press Contact   Amy Proctor | 603-230-4001 | aproctor@ccs.edu

​Annual Loon Census to be Held on July 17th
 
MOULTONBORUGH, New Hampshire—The Loon Preservation Committee (LPC) will conduct its annual loon census on July 17th from 8:00–9:00 AM. The Loon Census began in 1983 as a way for LPC to bolster its season-long efforts to monitor the presence, abundance, and breeding success of loons by engaging members of the public in its work. During that hour, LPC staff and hundreds of volunteers throughout the state will take to the lakes to count loons. 
 
“The Loon Census is a valuable part of our annual data collection,” said LPC biologist, Caroline Hughes. “It helps us to get a good count of the number of paired, as well as unpaired, adult loons and loon chicks that are present in our state.”  Unpaired adult loons are those that do not develop a bond with a mate and defend a territory in a given year. Because they are not tied to a particular lake, they may spend time on many lakes, making it more difficult for biologists to get an accurate count during their surveys. “During the census, we have hundreds of volunteers surveying hundreds of water bodies at the exact same time, which helps us to get a snapshot in time of our loon population and nail down exactly how many of those unpaired adults we have in the state,” Hughes said. The Loon Census also helps LPC to monitor the progress of known loon nests, discover previously unknown nests, check on the survival of chicks that have hatched in the previous weeks, and detect new loon chicks that may have hatched since biologists last surveyed a given water body. Census results are incorporated into LPC’s summer-long monitoring, the results of which will be given in an end-of-season presentation livestreamed on the organization’s YouTube channel on August 26th. 
 
New Hampshire’s Loon Census is part of a much larger regional effort—at the same time that biologists and volunteers are setting out on New Hampshire lakes, counterparts in Maine, Vermont, and New York will be out doing the same. Those who would like to take part in the New Hampshire segment of this region-wide effort to count loons should contact the Loon Preservation Committee at (603)476-5666 for more information.

CONCORD, NH — The Capital Region Food Program (CRFP) distributed two tons of nonperishable food items to 13 area social service agencies, food pantries and churches as part of the program’s Year-Round Distribution Project (YRDP) on Tuesday, July 13th.
 
CRFP partner agencies receiving food as part of the distribution included.:  Boscawen Congregational Church Food Pantry, Boys & Girls Club of Central NH, CenterPoint Food Pantry, Christ the King Food Pantry, Epsom Food Pantry, Friends of Forgotten Children, Gospel Light Church of God Food Pantry, Loudon Food Pantry, Merrimack Valley Day Care, Open Door Community Kitchen, Salvation Army, St. Paul’s Church Food Pantry and Suncook/Allenstown Community Action Program (CAP).
 
As part of the Year-Round Distribution Project, non-perishable items such as canned fruit and vegetables, peanut butter, breakfast cereal, pasta, and soups are distributed at no cost to participating partner agencies. For a complete listing of partner agencies supported by the CRFP’s Year-Round Distribution Project efforts, visit capitalregionfoodprogram.org.
 
The Capital Region Food Program purchases and distributes food in Concord and 17 surrounding communities. This is accomplished by securing monetary donations, soliciting in-kind services from local businesses and the general public, and collaborating with other community distribution and service agencies.  
 
To learn more about the CRFP, visit capitalregionfoodprogram.org.
 
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The Capital Region Food Program (CRFP) is a private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to help reduce hunger in the Greater Concord area through year-round distribution of food to individuals and families.  Since 1974 this has been accomplished by securing financial donations and in-kind services and by coordination, collaboration, and cooperation with other community distribution and service agencies.
The CRFP distributes over 110 tons of food annually through two initiatives.  Forty (40) tons of food is distributed through the Year-Round Distribution Project which is distributed eleven times each year to over thirty local agencies. Seventy (70) tons of food is distributed through the program’s Holiday Food Basket Project, held in partnership with the New Hampshire National Guard each December.