By Roger Wood
Woodworkers in New England (and elsewhere in the nation) are being invited to compete in the first annual New England Woodworking competition in Concord this fall. The nonprofit guild of New Hampshire Woodworkers is hosting the event at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center and planetarium. It’s all about fine craftsmanship, according to Elliot Savitsky, who chairs the event this October. A craftsman himself, the Portsmouth resident speaks to podcast producer Roger Wood about planning for what he hopes will become an annual event.
By Elliot Savitzky
Unlike many of my colleagues at my current company, I never really wanted to be in market research. My dream from an early age was to be either a locomotive conductor, a Zamboni driver or the guy at the amusement park that starts up the roller coaster. I went to college for chemistry, but quickly realized that I didn’t want to be a chemist. So I went to Business School where my goals shifted to either being a Brand Manager for a CPG company, or a Madison Avenue Mad Man, complete with big expense accounts and three martini lunches.
Truthfully, they would have to pour me into a bucket if I ever consumed three martinis. Needless to say, I wound up landing a job at General Foods learning how to do market research from some of the smartest people in the field. That led to a stint at Pepsi-Cola at the tail end of the Pepsi Challenge era and smack into the Michael Jackson years. Shifted to the agency side where I transitioned from a small company partnership to larger and larger global networks. I’m really happy to be back in the more manageable sized firm loaded with really talented professionals.
Over the years, I have probably worked on almost every industry vertical helping clients domestically and globally, with a particular expertise in Pharma/Biotech, Consumer Healthcare, Financial Services, CPG and BTB. I help clients solve their problems with techniques that leverage years of experience in segmentation, branding, communication, journey mapping and custom experience. I am a lifelong learner, and have a wide range of interests, like learning to rock climb, achieving a 2nd degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do, becoming a bartender, learning to cook and teach cooking professionally and most recently fine woodworking.
I also drove an Indy car an average speed of 122.6 mph and went trekking in Nepal for three weeks to see Mt Everest in 2019. This may explain why I have trouble focusing during a Zoom call.
Roger Wood is an award winning radio, podcast, newspaper and television journalist, with over 50 years of experience in the media. Roger has spent his entire professional career in New Hampshire. Roger currently serves as associate publisher and podcast producer at InDepthNH.org. In 2021 and 2022, he was recognized by the New Hampshire Press Association for his work in news podcasts. He is the 2022 winner of the NHPA lifetime achievement award. Prior to that he was honored for his work in broadcast radio news and public affairs. He has produced news and special feature reports for InDepthNH, New Hampshire Public Radio, NPR, and other public and commercial radio stations. He also has produced spot news for CBS Radio. He has produced and narrated some 50 audiobooks and has written three novels. Roger has also moderated political forums for Seacoast Area Chambers of Commerce in Senate, gubernatorial and congressional races. He has also facilitated public policy discussions locally and statewide. He has three adult children and four grandchildren. Roger and his wife Elaine, reside in Portsmouth with their cat Sebastian.