DERRY — The Business & Industry Association, New Hampshire's statewide chamber of commerce and leading business advocate, elected officers and directors for 2023-2024, and honored outstanding volunteer members at its Annual Business Meeting Wednesday, May 17.

BIA held its business meeting and networking event with executives of New Hampshire’s top employers at the LaBelle Winery in Derry.

BIA’s board is one of the largest in New Hampshire, featuring the state’s top executives.

“BIA’s success is informed and driven by our board members, past and present,” said BIA President & CEO Michael Skelton. “They are vital to the success of BIA’s mission to promote a healthy business climate and robust economic future for New Hampshire.”

Elected as officers were Chair John Kacavas, counsel, Hinckley Allen; Chair-Elect Katherine Garfield, president, Keller Companies; Past-Chair Sheryl McQuade, New England regional president, TD Bank; Treasurer Steve Lawlor, principal, Nathan Wechsler; Secretary Scott Ellison, partner, Sheehan Phinney; and President Michael Skelton, president & CEO, BIA.

Elected to BIA’s Executive Committee were Ginamarie Alvino, vice president & director of legal reform, The RiverStone Group; Susannah Chance, senior vice president of human resources, Work Opportunities Unlimited; Jamie Burnett, president, Sight Line Public Affairs; Steven Poggi, director of Disposal Operations NE-Upper NY Market Area, Waste Management; and Leslie Walker, managing director, Mason + Rich.

Newly elected to the Board of Directors are Kenneth Boivin, principal, GZA GeoEnvironmental; Joseph Campbell, president, North Branch Construction; Patrick Closson, director, McLane Middleton; Robert Hevert, president & chief administrative officer, Unitil; Matthew Houde, vice president, government relations, Dartmouth Health; Stefanie Lamb, vice president, Sanborn Head & Associates; Brandon McGrath, general manager, Anheuser-Busch; Jim Merrill, managing shareholder, Bernstein Shur; Christiana Thornton, president & CEO, NH Higher Education Assistance Foundation Network; and Val Zanchuk, president, Graphicast.

Re-elected as directors were Dick Anagnost, president, Anagnost Investments; Kevin Boyarsky, president, NH Print & Mail Services; Mark Ciborowski, principal, Ciborowski Associates; and Tom Raffio, president & CEO, Northeast Delta Dental. Also reelected as representatives of the N.H. Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives were Wendy Hunt, president & CEO, Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce; and John Nyhan, president the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce.

Four departing directors were honored: Tom Jokerst, general manager, Anheuser-Busch; Don Baldini, associate vice president & senior legislative counsel at Liberty Mutual Insurance; Jeff McIver, president and general manager, The Mountain Club on Loon; and Thomas Sullivan, senior vice president of operations, Sturm, Ruger and Company.

For the full list of BIA’s Board of Directors, visit https://members.biaofnh.com/board-of-directors.

Above and Beyond Award recipients

The following members received BIA’s Above & Beyond Awards, honoring their standout volunteer efforts: Kristi Baxter, Sojourn Partners; Jamie Burnett, Sight Line Public Affairs; James Dean, University of New Hampshire; Sam Evans-Brown, Clean Energy NH; Wendy Hunt, Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce; Tom Jokerst, Anheuser-Busch; Mark Manuel, Industrial Marketing; Michael O'Reilly, Bangor Savings Bank; David Patterson, BIA Board Member; Adam Schmidt, J. Grimbilas Strategic Solutions; and Courtney Tanner, Dartmouth Health.

For photos from the event, visit https://www.biaofnh.com/bia-photo-gallery/.