GORHAM – It has been quite a year for Top Furniture, which has been named the 2013 New Hampshire Retailer of the Year by the Retail Merchants Association of N.H.
The statewide award comes on the heels of the long-time company being honored with the Androscoggin Valley Chamber of Commerce's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.
The Retail Merchants Association award is presented to a New Hampshire retailer who has achieved significant success and growth in his or her business and provides excellent customer service. They support retailing locally and at a state level, and their business makes significant contributions to their local community.
"This is a real New Hampshire, family based business, started by the current owner's grandfather. It's in their heart and blood and they believe in teaching the next generation and supporting the community. They are a shining star in the North Country," said Nancy Kyle, president/CEO of RMANH.
The award was presented at RMANH's 47th annual member and legislative reception Wednesday night at the Holiday Inn in Concord. In attendance were Gov. Maggie Hassan and N.H. Attorney General Michael Delaney. Kyle congratulated owners Kurt Tourangeau and Donna Goodrich.
Top Furniture was founded in 1950 on Main Street in Berlin. Starting with the pledge of offering affordable home furnishings with weekly payments, they built their business one customer at a time. Their motto has always been that service is your most important product.
In 2006 Top Furniture built a new 42,000 square foot store and nine level warehouse in Gorham. They are able to display more product, deliver more quickly and efficiently with the same tremendous service of their loyal staff.

CONCORD – The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation intorduced its inaugural class of the Community Practitioners Network (CPN). CPN is a two-year leadership program offered at no charge to participants designed to build and strengthen leadership skills among community and economic development professionals from Coos County and surrounding communities in the U.S. and Canada.
Participants will engage in a mix of face-to-face and virtual meetings with the first year devoted to building participants’ leadership skills and capacity and the second year to strengthening social, professional and community networks across the region and implementation of participant-led community project(s).
Participants were selected through a competitive application process.
The Neil and Louise Tillotson Fund was established in 2006 at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to serve as a catalyst for the region to move toward sustainable community and economic development in Coos County and surrounding communities.
Participants of the 2013/2014 Community Practitioners Network include:
Phoebe Backler - Community Outreach Field Coordinator, Northern Forest Canoe Trail Milan
Heather Bouchey - Director, Leahy Center for Rural Students, Lyndon State College, Lyndonville, Vt.
Jim Cochran - Director, Enriched Learning Center, Berlin.
Justin Eldred - Executive Director, North Country Chamber of Commerce, Colebrook.
April Hyde - Chief Operator of Water, Sewer and Landfill, Town of Colebrook, Colebrook.
Pam LaFlamme - City Planner, City of Berlin, Berlin.
Lori Langlois - Associate Executive Director, North Country Education Services, Gorham.
Sally Manikian - Backcountry Resource Conservation Manager, Appalachian Mountain Club, Gorham.
David Monty - Executive Director, Entrepreneurship Center, Bishop’s University, Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Brendan Prusik  - Community Forester, UNH Cooperative Extension, Coos County, Lancaster.
Morgan Wade - Legal Content Analyst, LexisNexis, Canaan, Vt.
Allie White - Information Systems Manager, Indian Stream Health Center, Colebrook.

 
NORTH COUNTRY -- U.S. Representative Annie Kuser (D) has tapped former Groveton mill worker Brian Bresnahan to be  her North Country Constituent Service Representative.
 “As a lifelong resident of the North Country and a third-generation paper maker, Brian shares my deep commitment to expanding economic opportunity in the North Country and ensuring that constituents in the region have a strong voice in Congress,” Kuster said. “I’m grateful for his willingness to serve the people of New Hampshire’s North Country in this new role.”
Bresnahan will be responsible for serving constituents and conducting outreach throughout Coös and Northern Grafton Counties.
“It’s an honor to have this chance to serve Congresswoman Kuster and the people of the North Country,” Bresnahan said. “I’m humbled by the opportunity to work with Congresswoman Kuster to address the needs, concerns, and ideas of the North Country and its residents.”
Bresnahan is a lifelong North Country resident and third generation dislocated paper maker. After his plant closed in 2007, Bresnahan became a WIA Employment Councilor helping dislocated workers facing lifestyle changes seek employment and career training. Since retiring in 2011, Bresnahan continues to work with various North Country organizations focused on economic development and job creation in the North Country. He lives in Groveton with his wife, Karie.