Awards
Silvio dupuis award
Chamber
Internal Awards
In the News
Annual Awards
Given at each GMP Annual Meeting, these awards recognize those within the organization as well as the community at large
2025
Click HERE to read the Press Release for this event!
Click HERE to watch the Slideshow on YouTube!
GMP Board Member of the Year – Andrea Harper
GMP Volunteer of the Year – Tom Witham
GMP Community Spirit Award – Andrew Eaton, owner of Art of Turning
GMP Outstanding Business Supporter – Cackleberries Garden Center + owner Laurie Perry
2025 Special Recognition Award:
Vint Choinere
New Board Members:
Stacie Street
Karin Nelson
Janine Neggers – Alt.
2024
GMP Board Member of the Year – Lindsay Weiner
GMP Volunteer of the Year – Marilee Sundius
GMP Community Spirit Award – Heart & Hands Thrift Shop
GMP Outstanding Business Supporter – Donovan Tree Experts
2024 Special Recognition Awards:
Vickie Carty
Chris Kelly
Lynn Leighton
Kathryn Rolfe
2023
2022
2021
2020
GMP Board Member of the Year – Lynn Leighton
GMP Volunteer of the Year – Paul Ristaino
GMP Community Spirit Award – Meredith Village Pathways Committee
GMP Outstanding Business Supporter – Hermit Woods Winery & Deli
2019
GMP Volunteer of the Year – Jim McFarlin
GMP Outstanding Business Supporter – Meredith Village Savings Bank
GMP Community Spirit Award – Meredith Historical Society
GMP 2019 Special Recognition Award – Lynn & Brad Leighton
The Silvio Dupuis Community Excellence Award – 2022
The Dr. Sylvio Dupuis Community Excellence Award recognizes New Hampshire communities that reflect Dr. Dupuis’ lifelong work to improve communities for the benefit of citizens and families in New Hampshire. “Meredith reflects the spirit of this award and the legacy of Dr. Dupuis,” explained Tom Raffio, Chair of ENA’s Board of Directors and President & CEO of Northeast Delta Dental. “The results from the efforts of the Greater Meredith Program and Community speak for themselves. Their work to promote the arts and nature while also building a healthy and robust area economy with real partnerships for career advancement is inspiring. We can all learn from the activities and lessons offered by these wonderful men and women in Meredith.”
This article first appeared on patch.com Wed, Jan 25, 2023 from the Press Release Desk:
ENA Awards Dupuis Community Excellence Award Greater Meredith Program
The development organization was recognized for its “mission to enhance economic vitality, historical and cultural heritage.”
ExcellenceNorth Alliance (ENA) has presented the “Dr. Sylvio Dupuis Community Excellence Award” to the Greater Meredith Community in recognition of its advancement of the vision for the area to be a year-round business, recreational and social hub for residents, workforce, and visitors. The award honors Dr. Dupuis’ lifelong work to improve communities for the benefit of the citizens and families in New Hampshire. ENA presented the Award at the Greater Meredith Program annual meeting on January 20th, 2023.
The vision has been fostered by the Greater Meredith Program (GMP), a community-based development organization with the mission to enhance economic vitality, historical and cultural heritage, and town-wide beautification. The GMP encourages and guides the community – individuals, businesses and groups – to ignite a volunteer spirit, be creative, find niches of community service, and assume responsibility to move on their ideas. Through this approach the GMP has built a Board of Directors, committees, and community campaigns that reach out to all who want to support community activities and facilitating ways to coordinate their visions with others in the community. This demonstrates the GMP belief that everyone can do better today than yesterday; everyone can learn more tomorrow than today; everyone can offer something to the community if we open the channels.
“From the Meredith sculpture walk to the career partnership program, I believe our volunteer-driven effort reflects the true community spirit of our entire state and we are honored to be recognized as a Sylvio Dupuis Community of Excellence Award recipient and a possible model for other cities and towns to follow as a successful approach to balancing work, play, economic development and preservation,” says Mike Griffin, Executive Director of Greater Meredith Program. “We have robust participation from a wide variety of community leaders and volunteers and that is what makes the difference for us. It’s a team effort all the way.”
“Meredith reflects the spirit of this award and the legacy of Dr. Dupuis,” explained Tom Raffio, Chair of ENA’s Board of Directors and President & CEO of Northeast Delta Dental. “The results from the efforts of the Greater Meredith Program and Community speak for themselves. Their work to promote the arts and nature while also building a healthy and robust area economy with real partnerships for career advancement is inspiring. We can all learn from the activities and lessons offered by these wonderful men and women in Meredith.”
Creating a vision, purpose and values along with promoting legal and ethical behavior is a Sylvio Dupuis trademark and a driving reason behind the creation of a statewide award in his name. The Community Excellence Award is designed to recognize and raise awareness of communities in New Hampshire, that through ingenuity and innovation, are making improvements that benefit economic conditions, quality of life, education, and/or public health. In this award, communities are not limited by boundaries and are defined as a group of people working together with a common goal to provide these benefits to a city/town, neighborhood, or region. The goal is to not only recognize these communities but to share with and encourage other communities to follow suit.
“It is a high honor for my name to adorn this award, but as made clear by the remarkable efforts and collaborations in Meredith, there is no one person who can receive credit for results in a community; rather it is the collective effort of many hands and hearts, driven to improve their world and the lives of others that makes a lasting impact,” says Dr. Sylvio Dupuis, former Manchester Mayor and namesake of the annual award. “Meredith is doing something special and doing it right.”
“This award exemplifies ENA’s purpose to help Northern New England organizations and communities develop, grow, and sustainably thrive.” said ENA Executive Director Anne Warner. “We see examples of how community leaders, businesses, and volunteers collaborate for the benefit of a community and believe that by supporting, recognizing, and sharing these stories, others across the state and region will be inspired to do the same. We are deeply impressed by the progress and successes of Greater Meredith Community.”
Northeast Delta Dental (NEDD) is the sponsor of the 2022 Dr. Sylvio Dupuis Community Excellence Award, in honor of the former Mayor’s lifetime of dedicated service to causes great and small. Dr. Dupuis is a former president of both Catholic Medical Center and Notre Dame College and has served on countless nonprofit boards and various community-centered initiatives. NEDD President and CEO Tom Raffio has cited Dr. Dupuis as a professional mentor with a living legacy of helping New Hampshire in a variety of ways.
Annual Meeting
Church Landing, Meredith NH
Chamber Recognition
2019 Lakes Region Planning Commission’s Award of Excellence
Archie Statue The award recognizes organizations with exciting and innovative projects that have been successfully conceived and implemented in a community over the last year.
2018 Civic Pride Award
For Archie Statue from Meredith Area Chamber of Commerce
2016 Lakes Region Planning Commission Award of Excellence
2015 The All-America Selections Display Garden
Supported by the GMP at Meredith Public Library, won “Best Garden Visibility” Award in Category 1 in the 2015 AAS Landscape Design Contest
2014 “Civic Project” Award
From Meredith Area Chamber of Commerce
2013 “Golden Trowel” Award
From Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce for Crosspoint Shopping Center
2013 “Golden Hammer” Award
from the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce for revitalization of the Wicwas Grange
2013 The All-America Selections Display Garden
Supported by the GMP at Meredith Public Library won 3rd Place in Category 1 of the AAS Landscape Design Contest
2012 Meredith Area Chamber of Commerce “Civic Project” Award
FBLA Business Person of the Year Award
For the GMP’s Career Partnership Program and committee members as a whole
2012 Belknap County Economic Development Council Community Impact Award
GMP In The News!
October 1, 2025 Press Release
Three Meredith organizations, MVSB, GMP Sculpture Walk and the Meredith Pathways Committee, worked together to bring the sculpture “Red Wing” to the entrance of the Laverack Nature Trail at the MVSB trailhead.
Created by Hugh Gibbons, the Red Wing sculpture was part of the 2015-2016 GMP Meredith Sculpture Walk. Upon his death in 2017, his family donated it to the Meredith Sculpture Walk Committee. Retouched and cared for by local artist, Steven Hayden, it was displayed at the 2023 Gala celebrating the Meredith Sculpture Walk’s tenth anniversary. A former professor at University of New Hampshire School of Law, Gibbons was an accomplished sculptor and graphic artist, exhibiting his work throughout the country, including exhibitions in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Florida, and California.
The Meredith Village Pathways Committee monitors and maintains the Laverack Nature Trail, and is pleased to have it installed at the MVSB trailhead. The name “Red Wing” even compliments the trail as Red Winged Blackbirds make the wetlands along the trail their habitat.
The GMP Meredith Sculpture Walk Ground Team installed “Red Wing” at the entrance to the Laverack Nature Trail at the MVSB trailhead. L-R Bev Lapham, Bill Gartner, John McKinnon, Gus Fish, Dan Witney, Andy Lane and Steven Hayden.