By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org
The New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism, publisher of InDepthNH.org, is thrilled to announce that George Bald is joining our board of directors.
He is joining at a pivotal time as we are about to launch plans for our Zoom and in-person events in April and May on the topic of sustainable journalism.
“George has been a huge help to me for years behind the scenes as we have grown our nonprofit news outlet. I am so glad he has agreed to a more formal role on our board,” said Nancy West, founder and publisher of InDepthNH.org.
“George is a builder of businesses as you can see from his work over the years as executive director of the Pease Development Authority, as commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development, and more recently on the Lakeshore Redevelopment Planning Commission.
“In our next phase of growth, we will focus on finding a sustainable path to finance journalism. And George Bald sure knows how to build a business,” West said.
Very few people talk about George Bald without adding the caveat that besides his business acumen, he is a really nice guy, West added.
George serves on the Bangor Savings Advisory Committee and on the board of the NH Fiscal Policy Institute.
George was elected Mayor of the City of Somersworth in 1978, the youngest Mayor in the City’s history at 27 years old.
After leaving Somersworth, he began the Economic Development department for the City of Rochester and directed efforts to retain existing companies and set up a program to attract new industries.
George began his duties as Economic Development Director for the Pease Development Authority in August 1994. He assisted in the redevelopment of the old Pease Air Force Base into a world class business park. His duties included recommending buildings to be redeveloped, demolished or upgraded, as well as recruitment of new businesses and the retention of existing companies.
In 1998, Gov. Jeanne Shaheen appointed George as Commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development for the state of New Hampshire. As Commissioner, he was responsible for the Division of Forests & Lands, the Division of Parks and Recreation, the Division of Travel & Tourism and the Division of Economic Development. In that capacity, George worked closely with other departments such as Environmental Services, Banking, Public Utilities Commission, Safety, Attorney General and others.
For his work in attracting Fraser Papers to purchase the bankrupt American Tissue mills in 2002, he was awarded Honorary Citizenship by the City of Berlin and the Town Gorham.
George is a U.S. Navy veteran. He lives in Somersworth with his wife Candace Small. They have one son, Casey Bald.
