From its early years hosting a few loyal vendors to today’s thriving marketplace with more than 40 booths, the Lebanon Farmers’ Market has become a genuine, year-round Upper Valley institution.

I recently visited the Lebanon Farmers’ Market in a steady downpour, intent on buying local corn for dinner and to see who I might run into.

While the rain inspired fewer customers to visit the market, I appreciated having the extra time to speak with the vendors. I ended up buying not only corn on the cob, but homemade cookies, freshly popped kettle corn, and a hand thrown pottery bowl.

I often eat dinner at the market, with its diverse and healthy selection of prepared foods originating in Pakistan, France, Egypt, Africa, Greece, Argentina, and Thailand. And delicious wood-fired pizzas with fresh veggies are made to order – the choices to eat well at the Lebanon Farmers’ Market are virtually unlimited.

The social aspect of shopping at farmers’ markets is often overlooked, but talking directly to the region’s local fruit and vegetable growers, artisans, and international cast of prepared food vendors is the primary reason I like to shop at farmers’ markets. I visited with local vendors selling maple syrup products, frozen yogurt, artisan cheese and soaps, and perennial plants.

Founded in 2003, the Lebanon Farmers’ Market was initially funded by grants from the Valley Food and Farm program at Vital Communities and the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the City of Lebanon Recreation and Parks Department. The market was intentionally scheduled for Thursdays to avoid conflicts with the Norwich and Enfield farmers’ markets, a strategy which also maximized vendor participation.

Within several years, farmers’ markets were started in Hanover, Claremont, and Newport, aligning with a USDA-calculated national trend of a 200 percent increase in the number of farmers’ markets over the past two decades. This translates to more than 5,275 farmers’ markets currently operating in the U.S. today, with more than 60 operating across New Hampshire.

While many new markets operate with the vendors taking turns at scheduling, negotiating contracts, and accounting, Lebanon city officials supported hiring a part-time market coordinator from the beginning so the vendors could focus on generating a loyal customer base.

Photo courtesy of Nicolas Doak

Decisions on where to hold the market (Colburn Park in downtown Lebanon), vendor fees, insurance, promotion, and market rules were well researched to create a successful, sustainable market. Even the definition of a farmers’ market was explored, which suggested that a true farmers’ market consists of roughly 60 percent agricultural products, and 40 percent in the art, craft, and prepared food categories.

If you are looking for organic produce, the cost of buying organic food directly from a local farmer is generally less expensive than at the grocery store. A report by the Northeast Organic Farmers Association of Vermont compared the cost of selected organic vegetables purchased at a farmers’ market with the same organic vegetables purchased from a co-op and conventional grocery store. Every fruit and vegetable compared was less expensive except potatoes. This makes a great case for buying vegetables and fruits at the farmers’ market and freezing them for use throughout the winter for long-term savings on your grocery bill – not to mention the comfort of knowing where your food comes from.

Amy Miller, the market’s longtime coordinator, has introduced several innovations that make it convenient for customers to buy market goods. A program supporting EBT, or Electronic Benefit Transfer, serves customers needing public assistance and provides the opportunity to purchase fresh produce. No cash? No problem. You can swipe your debit or credit card with a vendor to get ‘market coins’ worth $5 each to spend throughout the market. Vendors give you cash back in change, and turn in their coins throughout the summer to receive reimbursement.

One initiative that took several years to achieve, but has been wildly successful, is a partnership with Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center to operate a satellite market on site at the hospital. Four Upper Valley farms share the distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables to hospital employees on “Fresh Veggie Fridays,” with plans to offer cooking classes in how to use the vegetables seasonally.

Most markets have a community booth available to nonprofit organizations that want to promote their good works, and Lebanon’s market is no exception. I spoke briefly with Frank Gould, who attends almost every market to tell the story of the Mascoma River Greenway, a planned bicycle and pedestrian pathway connecting Lebanon and West Lebanon. Frank patiently recites the goals of the project, shows visitors a map depicting the route of the greenway, and signs people up to volunteer for fundraising, trail clearing, public relations, and other tasks.

The Lebanon Farmers’ Market is a great place to bring the entire family, including kids of all ages. Live entertainment is offered each week, and AVA Gallery often has art activities available for children. The community atmosphere is infectious as people bring blankets to spread out near the music to enjoy a market picnic. Children meet their friends old and new and dance or just giggle. After the market closes, there is live music in the historic band shell at the other end of the park.

In an interview with the coordinators of the Upper Valley Healthy Eating Partnership, a program of the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth, Amy Miller spoke of the Lebanon Farmers’ Market success.

“We are fortunate to have farmers and artisans throughout the Upper Valley who are willing to bring their goods to market,” said Miller. “The trend is definitely catching on and each year more and more towns are hosting markets. These events offer not only fresh food, crafts and entertainment, but create a central gathering place for friends and neighbors. For children, the markets are a dynamic incubator for exploring fresh local products, meeting local farmers, and appreciating the cyclical nature of farming—lessons to last a lifetime.”

To further ink its position as a place where the ‘cool’ people go, the market has more than 800 ‘likes’ on its Facebook page, and favorable comments on food-specific websites and blogs including Fodor’s, Chow, US Travel, and Offbeat Eats.

So join other ‘buy local’ converts and check out the Lebanon Farmers’ Market. Consider choosing a rainy day – the vendors will appreciate the business, and you’ll be supporting a uniquely local institution.

Mascoma Savings Bank has always aimed to serve the best interests of the community. For that reason, when Marketing Director Samantha Pause was asked to share in sponsoring the mailing of Lebanon’s very own, good-news-only publication, she jumped at the opportunity.

By co-sponsoring the mailing, Mascoma Savings Bank makes it possible for every household, business, and organization in Lebanon and West Lebanon to receive good news in their mailbox every quarter.

Mascoma knows how important it is to help create and maintain a vibrant, healthy, and prosperous place to live and work. As President for 23 years, Steve Christy has been a solid force behind the Bank’s do-good philosophy.

“My predecessors really developed a wonderful bank and a wonderful culture which permeated the entire organization,” he says. “It has always been a great working environment. You feel like you are doing something to help your customers. It’s been a great place to have a career.”

Mascoma Savings Bank has been mutually owned since 1899. This means that it is not for sale and thus is able to maintain its commitment to reinvesting profits in the community. Its first priority has always been – and will always be – its customers.

In 1988, it established the Mascoma Savings Bank Foundation, funding it with $1,000,000 for the purpose of giving back an “ongoing dividend,” in the form of grants, to the communities responsible for the Bank’s prosperity. As of April 2013, $2,927,252 had been granted to nonprofit organizations.

When asked what has influenced the Bank’s mission to serve its community, Steve points to the people behind the institution.

“We’ve been very blessed for a long number of years to have had a great Board of Directors, a great staff, and great customers. Being mutually owned has played a significant role in all of this. We know when we come to work in the morning and we know when we leave at night who we are working for. We get to think about what is truly the best thing for our community, our customers, and our employees. And I think that helps in making decisions,” says Steve.

“All in all, I think we’ve done some good over the last 114 years.”

Individuals wishing to contribute to the Foundation may mail a check made payable to the Mascoma Savings Bank Foundation to 67 North Park Street, Lebanon, NH 03766. For more information visit mascomabank.com.

Striving to be a Cornerstone

When Lebanon resident Cinnamon Murray and her husband, Brent, opened their first Amcomm Wireless location in West Lebanon nearly eight years ago, it was the only Verizon Wireless retailer in the Upper Valley. Despite the many competitors that have sprung up since then, the company is no less unique.

The Murrays “designed the company a little differently than the way a lot of retail sales environments work,” says sales manager Jeff Temple. Employees aren’t paid on a commission basis, and customer service is the top priority, attracting business from as far away as Warner, N.H., and Randolph, Vt.

Another priority is supporting other local businesses, part of the reason the owners chose to sponsor The Lebanon Times.

“The whole ‘good people, good places’ thing really struck a chord for me, and I think it resonates what the Upper Valley’s all about,” he says.

Jeff moved to the area in 2010. Dissatisfied with the food service industry, he answered a help wanted ad that would eventually turn into “something fantastic”: His career at Amcomm Wireless.

The first staff meeting, held as usual at the Murrays’ Lebanon home, let him know this was a different kind of company.

“It was as much a social event as it was a business meeting,” he recalls. “Everybody was having a good time and really enjoying being a part of something bigger than themselves.” Jeff says the owners’ loyalty to their employees has earned high performance in return.

“You take care of your people, they take care of your customers,” he says.

Amcomm Wireless participates in Toys for Tots every year and has raised funds for David’s House. And the company plans to be even more active in community service.

“We’re going to close the store down for a Sunday and volunteer our time to better the community,” Jeff says. “What I’m looking for is for us to be not just contributing to the community—I want to be one of the cornerstone businesses in the community.”

Anyone with ideas for volunteer projects the team might take on may email him at jtemple@amcommwireless.com.

Jeff himself won’t be going anywhere soon.

“I’m passionate about what I do because I believe in what I do, and I believe in the people that run this company and the foundation they’ve built,” he says. “I’m planning to stay here for the rest of my life.”

Are we saying, here, that Steve Christy is a community champion, or that he has a community champion? Both, actually.

Let me tell you a little story about a big vision and the man who not only saw the importance of heralding the champions in our community, but actually did something about it. Steve Christy walks his talk and has become one of the City of Lebanon’s most active supporters.

In 1991, when I worked in Lebanon for Results Marketing, I met Steve Christy during a business meeting to discuss advertising and marketing strategies for Mascoma Savings Bank. At that time, the options in the area were limited to a few radio and print media choices. While not edgy in his philosophy or how he wished to present Mascoma’s image to the community, Steve was on the edge of something completely new and different: Good news. What a concept!

“I was very active in the Rotary Club for 20 some-odd years here in Lebanon,” said Steve.  “And it was virtually impossible to get anything printed in the local paper about our activities. We had speakers come in, and many were from local nonprofits. We discovered a common theme – that nobody could get their story out about the good things they were doing.

“One day I was driving back from the [Rotary] meeting at the old Lander’s Restaurant. I had asked the Valley News why they wouldn’t publish some of our events, and they said that it’s not newsworthy, and if we wanted to promote this material, we would need to buy an ad.

Summer 2008: Wife, Donna; daughter, Missy; Steve; Steve’s mom, Leslie; son, K.C.

So, I got to thinking, ‘Gee, I wonder if we bought an ad once a month, or something like that…if the bank bought a single page and had it printed in a newspaper format and let these organizations write their pieces and submit them, and we will make it all fit and away we go.’”

So, when Steve brought up the idea of creating a “good news page” on a monthly basis that Results Marketing would write, edit, layout, and submit to the Valley News, I was completely on board. I had started an employee newsletter at my former company and loved the challenge and the do-good nature of this monthly project. The Community Champion was ready to go!

Steve with his Cessna 195

The idea was borne out of a genuine gesture of goodwill. But there were practical matters that reinforced this good idea, as well. Steve went on to say, “These organizations couldn’t afford to advertise, and it would have been kind of a waste of their charitable funds to buy advertising space to tell their story…. So the idea was to have a page available for any non-profit organization to talk about a particular activity or fundraiser or accomplishment.”

Getting organizations to contribute articles was not as easy as his original concept would have him believe. Often with only a handful of staff and volunteers doing all the work, many of the non-profit organizations needed and appreciated press and publicity but did not have the manpower or funds. It became my job to seek out individuals and organizations making a positive difference in the lives of fellow Upper Valley residents, and to share their stories in the most powerful and beneficial way. I felt like Santa Claus and I loved it!

Steve’s “good news page” vision came at a time when the Northeast was still in a deep economic recession and people were feeling pretty low. The bleak headlines and broadcasts didn’t help, and Steve liked the idea of reminding people of the good they’re surrounded by.

“I thought this would be a good way to give people some optimism about their fellow man and about things going on in the community that were positive,” he said. “People were being helped and good things were happening.”

So, that is what we did each month for several years. We created a mock front page of a newspaper and featured a variety of organizations to pique all areas of interest. We even made a faux transaction ad section featuring event listings to help boost community participation.

Being the one to spread good news was also a good idea from a business perspective; it helped reinforce the fact that Mascoma Savings Bank is a philanthropic leader known for giving back to the community. When businesses help each other by sharing financial resources, expertise, willing hands, or creative ideas, everyone benefits. And those who walk the talk really stand out!

It’s no surprise that Steve Christy would come up with such an altruistic idea benefitting so many. He has always been one for hard work and independence while finding ways to give of his time for the benefit of others.

Raised in the south, Steve started coming to New Hampshire in the mid-’60s. During his high school and college summers, he worked on the Mt. Washington Cog Railway doing a variety of jobs. “Three days before my 19th birthday, I qualified to become an engineer. I didn’t enjoy running the train three or four trips up the mountain every day – it got kind of boring! But I really enjoyed my time in the machine shop. Since no one was making steam locomotives any more, if we wanted something, we had to build it!” After the summer of 1973, it was time for Steve to leave the railroad and settle down; he would be getting married in the fall.

“I needed to get a real job, so I walked into the bank, here, and met with Reuben Cole, who was the president, and a few days later he offered me a job,” Steve said.

Except for a five-year stint working for another local venture, Steve has been with Mascoma Savings Bank ever since, and its President since 1990.

According to Steve, carrying out Mascoma Savings Bank’s mission – to make the best interests of the community a top priority – has not been a challenge at all. It suits his philosophy and the way he has tried to live his life.

Steve with Reuben Cole (past President of MSB). Steve took a trainload of Bank employees to the top of Mt. Washington about 15 years ago.

Steve and his wife, Donna, have lived in Lebanon since 1973 and raised two children, both of whom went through the Lebanon school system and have since graduated from college and now live in the Big Apple. Steve prefers the simple life that Lebanon offers: “I have a seven-minute commute. Two stop signs. Beautiful, beautiful.”

As Steve has amply demonstrated, he is a true “community champion.” He shows that when one believes in and actively supports good people and organizations, it creates a ripple effect of positive citizenry for generations to come.

And The Lebanon Times is here to keep it going!