Scott Merrill

Members of a NH delegation touring Empresa Brasileira de Armazenamento (EBA), a large warehousing and logistics operation outside of São Paulo. ( Courtesy of Firebrand International)

Standing, from left: Tim Steele, CEO, Microspec Corp; Dominic Perkins, senior vice president of retail administration, Savings Bank of Walpole; Sara Belletete, vice president of branch development, Belletetes. Seated, from left: Julianna Dodson, deputy executive director and radically rural director, Hannah Grimes Center; Melinda Treadwell, president, Keene State College; Luca Paris, CEO, Greater Monadnock Collaborative; Adam Hamilton, co-founder, Shires Naturals (Photos by Christine Carignan)

A ccessing mental healthcare services in the Granite State can be a significant hurdle for individuals and families who need it.

When Adam Hamilton co-founded Nuttin Ordinary, now Shires Naturals, in 2013, neither he nor his partner Joshua Velasquez knew the ins-and-outs of attracting investors or building networks of advisors. But Hamilton learned quickly that if the company was going to grow, it needed help.

Patrick Cassier, 82, is a veteran of both the U.S. Army and the leather industry who turned his hobby into a leather goods business— Deerfield Leathers —in 1998. Today the company sells its belts, wallets, slippers, motorcycle apparel, gloves and other products around the country.

Easy Aquariums in Portsmouth is not your average pet store. What makes the company unique is a passion for all things aquatic and a science-based approach to everything they sell. The company offers a range of products and services, from freshwater and saltwater fish and corals to reptiles and amphibians.

Cydney Shapleigh, who has two decades of executive-level experience and three decades in NH’s banking industry, became president of NHTrust in October after serving as the company’s senior vice president since January.

Kathleen Reardon talking with an attendee at the Leadership Summit in September ( Courtesy of NH Center for Nonprofits)

The average cost of a workers’ compensation premium in NH has declined by 66% since 2012, dropping the Granite State from having the 9th highest premium in the nation to ranking 32nd today. One reason for the decline, according to industry analysts and insurance regulators, is improved overall safety in workplaces.

G etting injured on the job is not as common as it used to be, but when it does happen, employers foot the bill for medical care and employees get partial pay while they are out of work. Sometimes, however, employees are not truthful about their injuries and are caught defrauding their employers.