NAMES AND FACES - April 2007

Merrimack Valley Hospital's Chief Executive Officer Robert Allen with Employee of the Year Dawn Walker and Mayor of Haverhill Jim Florentini.

Hampton resident DAWN WALKER, an assistant lab manager and chemistry section supervisor at MERRIMACK VALLEY HOSPITAL, in Haverhill, Mass., has been named the hospital's 2006 Employee of the Year. Walker is known for her easy-going manner and great sense of humor. She always has a smile on her face even when the stress level is high and the pressure is on.

Staff members who are awarded the Employee of the Year honor excel in eight areas: performance, reliability, personality, appearance, consideration, initiative, communication and acting as a hospital ambassador during work hours.

Twenty-one lawyers from BERNSTEIN SHUR -- including two prominent New Hampshire lawyers -- have been selected by a team of independent legal researchers for inclusion in the 2007 edition of Chambers USA, a prestigious directory of leading lawyers for business in the United States.

The recognition is significant as it is a result of independent research and interviews with clients and peers to impartially gauge performance and rank top lawyers and firms throughout the United States.

Andru Volinsky

The number of Bernstein Shur attorneys cited in the 2007 guide marks a 75 percent increase from last year, a sign of the firm's growing reputation for legal and client service excellence in Northern New England and beyond. Bernstein Shur has offices in Portland and Augusta, Maine, and in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Bernstein Shur was also recognized as a leading U.S. law firm with top rankings in each of the five practice areas cited in the directory, published by London-based Chambers and Partners, one of the world's most respected legal research firms.

Those selected to be included in the guide for New Hampshire are ANDRU VOLINSKY of Concord, N.H. and ANDREA JOHNSTONE of Hopkinton. Both Volinsky and Johnstone are considered among New Hampshire's leading lawyers in their respective practice areas.

FRAN BERMAN recently joined the WOMEN'S BUSINESS CENTER in Portsmouth as a business counselor, providing information and guidance to women who are starting a business or want to strengthen their existing business.

Andrea Johnstone

At the Women's Business Center, Berman works with women at the start-up and growth phase of their businesses, assessing their business readiness and helping them to develop sound strategies for success. Typical activities include developing a written business plan, identifying sources of capital, conducting financial analysis, creating financial projections, and building a marketing plan.

Berman earned her master's of business administration degree at the Whittemore School at the University of New Hampshire and has operated her own editorial services business for 10 years. She also has experience as an owner/manager in the restaurant industry, in a Web-based venture, and in the nonprofit sector.

TOM CHAPPELL, the co-founder of TOM'S OF MAINE and a client of PIERCE ATWOOD LLP for more than three decades, spoke to members of the University of New Hampshire Center for Family Business recently, offering insight into his highly successful business formula, which has made the Kennebunk, Maine company the top brand in natural personal-care products.

Stressing that it's not just about finance and products, Chappell challenged the small-business owners in the audience to spend time understanding the people aspect of business.

In 1991, Chappell earned a master's of theology from Harvard Divinity School, and at the breakfast session spoke about how his studies inspired him to seek out better values for his organization.

In 2006, Tom's of Maine decided to partner with Colgate-Palmolive Company in a deal facilitated by Goldman Sachs and structured by Pierce Atwood LLP. The company is the largest law firm based in northern New England and has 120 lawyers who serve regional, national and international clients from offices in Portland and Augusta, Maine; Portsmouth and Concord, N.H. and Boston.

PAT WOOLLETT, the director of LITTLE BLESSINGS PRESCHOOL AND DAYCARE, is the 2007 recipient of the New Hampshire Association for the Education of Young Children (NHAEYC) Administrator's Award. The award is to recognize an outstanding administrator whose leadership qualities, managerial skills, and community contributions have significantly influenced early child care in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Attorney CHARLES B. DOLEAC, the senior partner in the law firm of BOYNTON, WALDRON, DOLEAC, WOODMAN AND SCOTT, of Portsmouth, was recently invited by the Fire Chiefs' Association of Massachusetts, Inc., to make a presentation on ethical standards at the association's annual Professional Development Seminar. Through seminars, courses and by personal example, Doleac strives to make municipal officials aware of their unique moral responsibilities to the public good. He offers a course in ethics for municipal leaders for the New Hampshire Local Government Leadership Institute and stresses that while most people hold ethical obligations to their family and friends -- their immediate circle -- municipal officials are bound to a more expansive sphere.