BRETTON WOODS — In one of the North Country's most famous places, the Omni Mount Washington Hotel, the Northern Community Investment Corp. last week celebrated the people and passions that make the region unique.

NCIC helps business owners with four types of business financing, and support services in financial management, marketing assistance and business coaching. It also participates in regional initiatives in telecommunications, tourism, energy and learning centers.

At the corporation's annual luncheon Thursday, Mount Washington Resort managing director Larry Magor told several hundred business owners, bankers and community leaders that “the pride of the people who live in northern New Hampshire is nothing short of remarkable.”

Magor introduced the NCIC video “People. Places. Passion,” which spotlighted several small businesses NCIC has assisted in its coverage area of Coos, Grafton and Carroll counties in New Hampshire; and Orleans, Essex and Calendonia counties in Vermont.

Jon Freeman, president of NCIC, spotlighted North Country projects such as Gorham Paper & Tissue, Secured Network Services in Littleton and Burgess BioPower in Berlin, and then said it's not just the big companies that make a difference.

“That's why we focused on the businesses that you saw in the video,” he told the crowd. “These are the more common businesses of the region and the more common ones that we work with and they are doing a remarkable job.”

George Bald, commissioner of New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development, said NCIC is more than just a financing program.

“It's the partnerships that they create, it's the relationships they develop with their companies and how much they want them to succeed and they want them to grow, that tells me an awful lot about the organization,” he said.

Bald is retiring Oct. 31 and Jon Freeman, president of NCIC, told him, “We appreciate you both at NCIC in the North Country of New Hampshire and also the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont.”

Freeman said of Bald, “He has never forgotten that a river doesn't stop economic activity so he's been a wonderful partner to everybody in this room.”

Wendy Cole and her mother, Sandra White, are renovating the rental houses and farm house of their family business, Peckett's of Sugar Hill. They're also looking for business assistance and found out about the NCIC luncheon from nhgrand.com, which highlights North Country attractions.

“We had no idea what this was about,” Cole said. After watching the video and listening to the presentations, her reaction was extremely positive.

“I personally think we're going to reach out more to people who can come in and help,” she said. “I think it would be interesting to have them come up and see what we're doing.”

Freeman said NCIC is also working on a new program called Business Services North, a one-stop point of access for businesses seeking services in the region.

“We will continue to work hard to create a stronger, more vibrant environment for employment in this area,” Freeman said.

“We think it's a good work and it's a work that we're very passionate about.”

For more information about NCIC, go to www.ncic.org.

kgarofalo@newstote.com