All sorts of good, interesting and useful news is crossing our desk this week, so without further adieu:

Hats off to the Hannah Grimes Center over in Keene, which received the first Champion in Action award of 2013, presented by Citizens Bank and WMUR-TV, in the category of strengthening communities. The prize includes a $35,000 grant.

Hannah Grimes Center: Champion in Action

Hannah Grimes, for which the center is named, was born in 1776 in Keene and lived on a farm in neighboring Roxbury. What she and her family could not produce on their land, they bought and bartered for from friends, keeping the 18th century economy moving and growing.

With her life as inspiration, the organization bearing her name began in 1997 as a retail marketplace for local products. More than 15 years later, it includes a business incubator providing office space for new and emerging businesses to start, grow, thrive and move out on their own.

Hannah Grimes’ Entrepreneurship Program is a six-month intensive program focusing on raising current businesses to the next level of operation. Graduates of the program report an average sales increase of 68 percent in one year.

The original Hannah Grimes Marketplace continues to grow and now supports more than 270 local artisans, cooks and farmers. The center recently established a partnership to strengthen and support the area’s growing regional food system, which will help improve farm income, create jobs in the food production industry, and stimulate economic productivity and food self-sufficiency in the region.

The Champions in Action program was launched in 2002 by Citizens Bank and WMUR to support nonprofit organizations in their efforts in local communities.

Congratulations to everyone at Hannah Grimes.

We’ve been talking trade a lot here at the Division of Economic Development because there is so much interest in the opportunities the world over has for New Hampshire companies.

For companies that have made the leap overseas, the International Trade Resource Center has a terrific seminar coming up on Feb. 13, International Marketing: Putting Your Best Face Forward. It’s a full day of tips including how to increase website traffic and using social media in other parts of the world.

Speakers include Nancy Clark, president of Glen Group in North Conway; Allen Voivod of Epiphanies Inc., in Gilford, and Wendy Pease of Rapport International in Sudbury, Mass.

Cost is $95 and includes breakfast and lunch. Go ahead and click over to register here.

(We’ll wait for you to come back.)

It’s lights, camera, action next week for an Amherst company, which will be featured on the popular television series, World’s Greatest, which is produced by How2Media.

Vibrac is a small manufacturer marking its 53rd year and it makes the world’s most sensitive torque measurement instruments, used in aerospace, military, defense, medical, bearing and the automotive industry.

We are especially pleased with this recognition, as our folks at the New Hampshire Procurement Technical Assistance program has worked with Vibrac. The piece is set to air Feb. 4 and 11.

“Very importantly, they are not resting on their longevity,” said GordonFreeman, executive producer of the show. “They continue to launch new product lines of precision measurement instruments to help multiple industries. That makes them a company we like to feature on World’s Greatest. We think their story will be meaningful to our viewers.”

We think so, too. Click on the media link above to see where it will air near you.

We’re heading over to the 8th annual Small Business Day next Friday, Feb. 8. Brought to you by the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire, the half-day event will take a look at federal health care reform, financing strategies for your small business, the new LLC act and an update on policy issues from legislators.
Gov. Maggie Hassan will also attend.
Cost is $15 and you need to register. Call 224-5388×116 or click here.

Lorna Colquhoun

Communications Director

NH Division of Economic Development