IMPACT: Regional Issues Series

Description

The economic climate of New Hampshire and our Souhegan Valley region is changing and creating challenges to continued growth. A number of factors are impacting these changes, such as demographics, our business climate and the rural/suburban nature of area and state. In this series, we will examine five of the factors affecting or prohibiting the potential economic development of the Souhegan Valley and New Hampshire as a whole. 

From September to January, the Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce and Nashua Regional Planning Commission will host a speakers series, bringing a panel together to discuss these factors. Our purpose is to educate, spark discussion and broaden understanding of the issues to our citizens.

Series Topics:

• Infrastructure - November 10 at Pine Hill Waldorf School, Wilton. How does the physical (roads,bridges, water and sewer) affect our communities' potential for growth? What about the digital (broadband and cell phone coverage)? Maintaining infrastructure is one of the topmost challenges and expense facing our towns.

        Special Guest Speakers:
Karen Pollard, Director of Economic Development for the City of Rochester NH. Pollard was integral in the development of the Granite State Business Park which attracted the recruitment of Albany International, an aerospace company, and a satellite campus of great Bay Community College. 

Carol Miller is the Director of Broadband Technology at State of New Hampshire. Prior to joining the NH Economic Development Division staff, she was co-owner and founder of NCIA, an internet service business in the underserved North Country deploying changing technologies from dial-up, dsl, and wireless high speed service across the northern 3 counties. Carol managed the internet business, and established and grew a retail network and computer center

• Energy - December 8, Hollis Social Library, Hollis. New Hampshire is one of the most expensive states for energy for bother residential, commercial and industrial. The high cost of energy directly affects our manufacturing sector, the number one provider of jobs in our state. We will look at how energy costs impact our potential for growth.
• Tourism, Arts & Culture - January 12 (snow date Jan. 19), Brookline Town Hall. The Creative Economy, attracting visitors, the NonProfit world and more.

All workshops are free and open to the public.