Center Meeting House

Congratulations Newbury and Center Meeting House

On Sunday May 16, 2010, the towns of Newbury, Sunapee and New London were jointly awarded the Profile Award for cooperatively engaging their citizens in the stewardship of their natural and cultural resources, including lakes and hills, "nature preserves, hiking trails, and charming village centers with lovely old buildings."

Of course, we are always tempted to focus in on the Center Meeting House!  In the notes for the award, it is mentioned that "Current notable projects include restoration of the Center Meeting House..."

The list of projects that are being stewarded by the citizenry of the three towns is truly amazing.  And the cooperative management of the area by the three administrators of the towns is considered to be remarkable.  Dennis Pavlicek of Newbury, Donna Nashawaty (Sunapee) and Jessie Levine (New London) were cited for their once a week meetings to coordinate events and approaches to area issues and resources.

The actual award reads as follows:

New London, Newbury and Sunapee boast an impressive array of natural and cul­tural resources, including Lake Sunapee and Mount Sunapee, many smaller lakes and hills, nature preserves, hiking trails, and charming village centers with lovely old buildings. All of these resources are managed and stewarded by an extraordinarily engaged citizenry. Volun­teers staff town boards and committees, as well as dozens of non-profit organizations and programs that all contribute to a remarkable sense of community engagement and environ­mental awareness. The Ausbon Sargent Land Preservation Trust, the Lake Sunapee Protec­tive Association, the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway, and Sunapee State Park are just some of the cherished institutions that protect natural resources and provide recreational op­portunities. Historic preservation successes abound. Current notable projects include restora­tion of the Newbury Center Meeting-house, energy upgrades to the New London's Tracy library, and on-going preservation of the house and gardens at The Fells. The three towns' historical societies collaborate with the Barn Playhouse in shared programming as PALS, Partners Around Lake Sunapee. The three town managers meet weekly. For all these things, and more, these towns form a notable triumvirate in central New Hampshire. Accepting the award are town administrators Jessie Levine (New London), Donna Nashawaty (Sunapee), and Dennis Pavlicek (Newbury).  (Jessie Levine was absent due to illness.)