American Red Cross announces new board members and Reed receives Certificate of Merit

Pictured from left to right: Certificate of Merit Award recipient - John Reed; American Red Cross CEO – Maria Devlin; American Red Cross Board Chair – Roxanne Benzel of BAE Systems.

The American Red Cross announced the election of new members to its New Hampshire / Vermont Board of Directors at its Centennial Celebration Annual Meeting on June 22nd in White River Junction, Vermont. Current and outgoing board members were in attendance as well as the recipient of the American Red Cross Certificate of Merit – the highest lifesaving award given by the Red Cross to people who’ve used CPR to save the life of another.

New Board Directors beginning a 3-year term are:

Emile Anderson of Nashua, NH - NHTI Concord Community College: Emile is a Professor of Math/Science at NHTI Community College. He is a retired Sr. Manager Systems Engineer from Raytheon IDS as well as a retired veteran of 20 years in the US Navy as a Nuclear Submarine officer. Emile lives in Nashua, NH with his wife Mary Ann and 3 children. He is an active member of Knights of Columbus, American Legion, VFW and Disabled American Veterans (DAV).

Karis Callahan – Nashua, NH - Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker: Karis has over 15 years of experience providing clinical interventions with children and families. She specializes in behavioral and attachment issues. Karis is the founder of Home Base Collaborative Family Counseling which is contracted to provide mental health and parenting services for families involved with Division of Children, Youth and Families.

Daniel Gray – Manchester, NH - Eastern Bank: Dan is an Assistant Vice President Portfolio Manager at Eastern Bank in Concord, NH. Dan began his banking career almost five years ago, when he started with Eastern Bank in Bedford, NH. A graduate of SNHU, Dan earned his undergraduate degree in 2009 and his MBA in 2010.

Stephan Hamilton – Salem, NH - New Hampshire Department of Revenue: Stephen is the Director of the Municipal and Property Division for the NH Department of Revenue. Appointed by the Governor, he is responsible for the management of a significant division within the department, managing review of technical information and understanding the complex statutory interpretation.

Doug Indelicato – Hampton, NH - Insurcomm, Inc: Doug is the Director of Sales and Marketing for Insurcomm, Inc - a full service disaster restoration company based in Portsmouth, NH servicing all of New England. Insurcomm Inc is a full-service restoration company specializing in fire, water, mold and storm mitigation and reconstruction.

Michael MacConnell – Stowe, VT - Vermont Sports Properties: Mike is the General Manager of Vermont Sports Properties, the multi-media rights holder for University of Vermont Athletics. MacConnell’s former roles include the Director of Corporate Partnerships for the Boston Bruins and TD Garden, Global Marketing Manager for Acushnet Company, Account Director for Sprint Nextel at Octagon Worldwide and as a Brand Manager at Atari. Mike lives in Stowe with his wife Courtney and two sons.

Christine Nikola – Brentwood, NH – Esri: Chris is the State Government Sales Manager at Esri. In her role she leads a sales team helping state governments across the United States using location and mapping to make informed decisions. Chris lives in Brentwood with her husband of 15 years, Phil, and two daughters.

Christopher Rice – Berlin, Vermont - MMR, LLC: As a founding partner of MMR, Chris represents a diverse clientele before the Vermont General Assembly, regulatory agencies and Vermont courts. Chris’ work includes insurance regulation, tax policy, telecommunications, and energy issues. Chris and his wife Miriam live in Berlin, Vermont with their five active kids.

Randall Roy – Barre, VT - Co-operative Insurance Companies: Randy is Senior Vice President of Marketing, Underwriting & Member Services for Co-operative Insurance Companies in Middlebury, Vermont. Roy is the former President & CEO of Champlain Casualty Company of Vermont, Past President of the Vermont Insurance Professionals Association, and past Vice President of the Vermont Association of Domestic Property & Casualty Insurance Companies. Randy resides in Barre, Vermont with his wife Jodi and their two children.

Greg Soden – Bedford, NH - Brown and Brown Insurance: Greg is the Executive Vice President for Brown and Brown of New Hampshire, the 6th largest insurance broker in the United States helping small to medium sized businesses with their commercial insurance, employee benefits and personal lines insurance needs.Prior to joining Brown and Brown in 2011, Greg owned his own insurance agency through 2010.

Suzanne L. Singer – Peterborough, NH - Scott-Farrar Independent Living: Suzanne works at Scott-Farrar as Marketing Director and is responsible for all areas of community relations and marketing of the community. She was previously in a leadership role with the American Red Cross where she earned the American Red Cross President’s Award.

Timothy Stickney (Secretary) – Epsom, NH - Lincoln Financial Group: Tim leads a team performing due diligence on all products and services offered through Lincoln Financial Network’s two retail broker-dealers Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp and Lincoln Financial Securities Corp. Tim is also a volunteer firefighter and Advanced Emergency Technician with the Epsom Fire Department.

Allison Trepaney – Laconia, NH - MMG Insurance: Allison serves as Regional Manager for the MMG’s Concord, New Hampshire Regional Office as well as holding responsibility for the overall marketing efforts for all New Hampshire offices. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Southern New Hampshire University and holds the Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) designation.

Derik Whalen – South Burlington, VT - Liberty Mutual Insurance: Derik serves as Senior Branch Manager at Liberty Mutual Insurance responsible for the direct sales and service insurance operation in Vermont. Prior to joining Liberty Mutual in 2001, Derik was a Firefighter/Advanced Life Support-EMT in Massachusetts. Derik holds a Fire Science Technology Associates Degree from Bristol Community College and a Bachelor’s Degree from Bentley University in Finance, and his Accredited Adviser in Insurance designation. Derik currently resides in South Burlington, VT with his wife Sara, and their two daughters.

Directors extending their service for another three years include:

Roxanne Benzel (Chair) – Hopkinton NH - BAE Systems

Jeff Dudley – Litchfield, NH - Retired

Caroline Leonard – Concord, NH - Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell, PC

Directors who are serving midterm include:

Rick Cochran – West Danville, VT - Owner - Mobile Medical International Corp

Ray Dube – Manchester NH - Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Northern New England

Judy Gove – Wentworth, NH - New Hampshire Electric Cooperative

Ken Recke – Hollis, NH - UPS, Inc

John Hauenstein – Williston, VT - Comcast

Christopher T. Hilson – Exeter, NH - Donahue, Tucker and Ciandella, PLLC

Mark Lambert (Vice-Chair) Bedford, NH - Unitil

Bridget Overson – Concord, NH - Bridget Overson Design

Adam Paprocki – Manchester, NH - Clark Insurance Company

Patrick Santoso, Concord, NH - Axiomatic

Justin Vartanian – Portsmouth, NH - Planet Fitness

Directors exiting their years of service on the Board:

Marc Carbonneau – Exeter, NH - Georgetown Bank

Ami D’Amelia – Auburn, NH - Just Flow LLC

Cristina Hammond – Hanover, NH

Ginny McGhee-Condon – Colchester, VT - WJOY / Hall Communications

Georgette Shapiro RN MS – Greenland, NH - Portsmouth Regional Hospital

Tony Welwood – Bedford, NH - Comcast

American Red Cross – Certificate of Merit

The day was also one of celebration as a rare honor was given to a New Hampshire man for saving the life of a co-worker in Bedford, NH. Fresh Market employee and Red Cross volunteer instructor John Reed of Manchester, NH, was called when a coworker went into distress. He performed CPR until help arrived. For his heroic actions, John was awarded the American Red Cross Certificate of Merit. The certificate is the highest honor presented by the Red Cross, and it is signed by the President of the United States, who is the honorary chairman of the American Red Cross. Reed’s family members were in attendance for the event.

“Medical emergencies can arise at any time – day or night. And those times may be near, or far from a hospital,” said Maria Devlin, CEO of the American Red Cross in New Hampshire and Vermont. “Thanks to his CPR training, John was able to step in during a life-threatening situation.”

About the American Red Cross: The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies about 40 percent of the nation's blood; teaches skills that save lives; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a not-for-profit organization that depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. For more information, please visit redcross.org or visit us on Twitter at @RedCross.