What are the most significant ways that New Hampshire has changed over the past 25 years? There have been significant demographic changes such as the aging of our population, the fact that only some 40% of our population are native NH born, and rural areas of the state have a much smaller proportion of the total residents – and, thereby, less representation in the legislature. When I took over management of The BALSAMS in 1971 there were 18 members of the Coos County delegation. Today there are 11.
What in travel and tourism has changed the most, especially in New Hampshire, over the last quarter century? Twenty-five years ago there were a few tourism operators who were trying to bring together for the first time the many disparate elements of tourism so as to lay claim to a proper “industry” status. We were unorganized, seasonal, and had no voice in the state despite the fact that tourism was even then a major employer in the state and it contributed about 25% of the state’s General Fund.
If we were organized at all, it was only by sectors (ski areas, attractions, resorts, campgrounds, etc.) and by regions. Many tourism businesses thought all others were competitors; and most simply waited by the side of the road hoping to do business with whom ever passed by.
Today travel and tourism is a year-round economic force appreciated by most citizens as an important NH industry. The industry is well organized and led by saavy professional managers and dedicated operators.
What Granite Stater(s) would you say inspired you? In what way? Over the years I have been blessed with many mentors. My friend, Len Reed, is one of the most dear to me – he helped me to find peace. Neil Tillotson, the owner of The BALSAMS, had an elemental influence on me throughout my adult life – he taught me that business was a noble pursuit. Governors Hugh Gregg, Walter Peterson, and John Lynch each have inspired me to be involved in the NH community.
What would you consider your favorite spot in New Hampshire and why? Dixville Notch is my favorite spot in the world – after all, I spent 48 years of my life there and raised my family there. I took profound pleasure from living in a place with such a rich Native American heritage that went back to the Ice Age (some 12,000 years ago); and such a unique political heritage with its first in the nation midnight voting tradition; and such a storied history of New England inn-keeping at The BALSAMS.
What would you like to see accomplished in New Hampshire over the next 25 years? My hope is that NH will continue to attract volunteers at all community levels who are willing to serve their fellow citizens with their personal time, attention, and commitment. This sense of personal responsibility for what NH is and ought to become is very reassuring to me. I find it alive and well every day and every where I go in NH. People care here. To keep that as a perpetual communal value means that we won’t depart too much or too often from what has made NH such a special place to live and work.
