CATCH Neighborhood Housing Celebrates 35 Years and Announces 2025 "Affordable Housing Hero" Awards

Concord, New Hampshire…On Friday, March 14, 2025, CATCH Neighborhood Housing will hold its annual benefit gala and awards event Keys to a Brighter Future. This annual celebration of CATCH partners, residents, donors, volunteers and staff will recognize several individuals and organizations who have made a meaningful impact on the ongoing crucial need for affordable housing throughout Merrimack County and the state of New Hampshire. This year’s gala is extra special, as we recognize CATCH’s thirty-five years of good work in the community. In that time, thousands of adults and children have called CATCH’s beautiful and well-maintained properties their home.

Tom Furtado, President and CEO of CATCH, is proud of the organization’s longevity and long list of accomplishments. “Running an affordable housing non-profit is a team sport. Every one of our partners is a teammate who plays a crucial role in our success.” He notes of the award recipients, “Each of these awardees is dedicated to helping alleviate New Hampshire’s housing crisis. They are stalwart supporters of our organization and our mission, giving their time, money and expertise so that others can have a safe and affordable home.”

As this year’s Community Collaborator, our first award will recognize Granite VNA for their eight years of dedicated partnership implementing the PATHS program at CATCH’s Friedman Court II property, for residents aged 62 and older. PATHS, which stands for Positive Aging Through Home Supports, is offered at no charge to CATCH residents, and uses, “a team approach to support older adults in staying active and independent while managing chronic conditions.” Granite VNA staff provide basic health education and support, but in the process, they build wonderful trusting relationships with CATCH residents while acting as a sounding board for those who have questions about their physical and emotional health. Thanks to Granite VNA and the PATHS program, our residents get to successfully age in place with their friends, in a community they love.

Our next award, the 2025 Business Partner of the Year, is an honor given to a business or individual who has demonstrated a commitment to ensuring that safe and affordable housing is available throughout the community. This year’s awardee is KDL Commercial Cleaning, LLC. For years, the team at KDL have made sure that all of our CATCH properties are clean, well maintained, healthy safe spaces for our residents. Jennifer Hawkins, Director of Operations for Alliance Asset Management, CATCH’s property management team, was enthusiastic in her praise, “Butch and his staff work miracles every day for CATCH and Alliance properties. Whether it’s day to day cleaning, or when existing residents move out, the wonderful folks at KDL are on hand to make sure that everything for current and future residents is clean and shining like new. They are the people who work behind the scenes, who are always there and available when needed but rarely publicly appreciated. We are excited to acknowledge their hard work with this award.”

This year, CATCH will honor three recipients for the 2025 Volunteer of the Year Award. Jeff Feingold, Beth Slepian, and Rusty Mosca have served on the CATCH board for a collective total of eighteen years and will step down this spring at the end of their final terms. Through their leadership, they brought unparalleled professional expertise in communications, health care and finance respectively to CATCH in ways that helped the organization thrive, even through the challenging Covid years. Furtado notes, “Jeff, Beth and Rusty were always there when we needed them. They all served on additional Board committees and made the time to answer phone calls and emails at any time of the night or day. They were fun, down to earth, and dedicated to solving the unique challenges that come with affordable housing. They will be missed!”

The Helen M. Greene Visionary Award recognizes an individual or organization whose investment in the community has impacted the issue of housing in a significant way. This year’s recipient, Milestone Construction, went above and beyond the usual scope of duties in CATCH’s most recent multi-year affordable building development on Sheep Davis Road in Concord, NH known as Davis Ridge. The construction of a new apartment building may seem straightforward but there are always challenges along the way. CATCH prides itself on being involved in every step of a build, from planning and design, to systems, appliances and paint colors. Milestone Construction’s team worked closely with CATCH to implement new ideas, suggest creative solutions, and return to the drawing board in order to have the best outcome for the project and CATCH’s future residents. In the end, our residents are the ones who benefit when they are able to enjoy their new homes without any issues.

Last but not least is our Rosemary M. Heard Housing Award, named after a longtime dynamic and inspirational leader of CATCH. This award recognizes an individual or organization who serves as a fearless advocate and tireless champion of safe, affordable housing, and no one embodies those qualities more than former NH Housing staff member Ignatius MacLellan. MacLellan was a founding board member for the Concord Area Trust for Community Housing, more commonly known as CATCH Neighborhood Housing. Working closely with CATCH’s leadership, MacLellan used his legal expertise and experience with HUD, Fannie Mae, and the Northern New England Housing Investment Fund (now Evernorth) to promote the affordable housing cause here in Merrimack County. Although MacLellan started his career as a lawyer specializing in multi-family developing and financing, he found himself drawn to the public service side of the industry. Among his many roles, he served as the head of NH Housing’s Homeownership division for ten years before becoming the Managing Director of NH Housing’s Multi-Family Housing Division in 2022.

MacLellan recently retired from NH Housing, and Furtado acknowledges this loss to the housing community, “Ignatious’ entire career has been focused on making safe and affordable housing a reality for everyone. Through programs that he spearheaded, he made homeownership here in New Hampshire possible for thousands of people. His relentless dedication and passion to making affordable multi-family rentals a reality throughout the state is unmatched. And on top of it all, he’s just a really good guy who was a good friend to CATCH over the years. The impact of his hard work and vision for housing in New Hampshire will have long lasting benefits for decades to come.”

These awards will be presented in person at CATCH’s annual benefit gala “Keys To A Brighter Future” which will take place on Friday, March 14, 2025, from 6pm – 9pm at The Barn at Bull Meadow in Concord, NH. The evening will include cocktails, music and a buffet dinner. Join CATCH and help celebrate this year’s Housing Heroes while raising funds for a future where every person is confident of a safe and affordable home. The event is open to the public. Pre-registration is required. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit: www.catchhousing.org/events  

This event wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of all of our sponsors, and most especially our Presenting Sponsors Merrimack County Savings Bank and Bank of New Hampshire. We would also like to thank our Gold Sponsors, including HUB International, Milestone Construction, M&T Bank, and RBC Capital Markets.

CATCH Neighborhood Housing

Founded more than 35 years ago, CATCH Neighborhood Housing is a 501(c)3, community-based non-profit organization offering a full spectrum of housing and education services in Merrimack County, New Hampshire. CATCH meets the needs of the communities it serves by constructing new affordable housing units and revitalizing existing housing in an area where affordable rental options are limited. Since 1989, CATCH has expanded its real estate portfolio to include more than 400 affordable workforce housing units in Concord, Penacook, Bow, and Franklin, New Hampshire. These units serve approximately 900 seniors, adults, and children per year.

In order to better meet the needs of its residents and ensure the proper maintenance and professional management of its rental properties, while also providing a source of sustainable funding for the organization, in 2013 CATCH created Alliance Asset Management, a property and asset management company specializing in affordable housing regulations and associated financial services.

In 2014, in partnership with NeighborWorks Southern New Hampshire and Lakes Region Community Developers, CATCH collaborated to provide homeownership and financial education services through HOMEteam. This innovative partnership organization serves the entirety of Merrimack, Hillsborough, Belknap, and Rockingham Counties, providing over 68% of New Hampshire's residents access to first-time homebuyer education seminars as well as financial fitness courses and mortgage counseling.

CATCH Neighborhood Housing is located at 105 Loudon Rd, in Concord, New Hampshire. For further information about the organization, please call 603-225-8835 or visit our website at www.CatchHousing.org.

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