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By Mark Hayward, Union Leader
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When Richard I. Winneg came to Manchester and established Winwood Sportswear Inc. in 1957, he was just starting to make his mark on the Queen City.
He ran the mill for more than three decades; for two decades, he oversaw Benmar Apparel Co. in Laconia. In the early 1960s, he helped found the Derryfield School. During five decades, Winneg sat on boards and committees at Elliot Hospital, the Moore Center, the Jewish Federation of New Hampshire and other nonprofit organizations.
All along, Winneg and his wife, Frances, raised three children.
Winneg's last five decades were honored last night by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, which named him the Citizen of the Year for 2007. The honors took place before some 800 Chamber members at the Radisson Hotel, Center of New Hampshire. |
He accepted the award and proclamations from Mayor Frank Guinta and Gov. John Lynch.
"I want you to know, this is the result of good, clean living in Manchester, New Hampshire," Winneg said with his wife and three sons beside him. Manchester, said the native of Brockton, Mass., has been very good to him.
Winneg was introduced by Dick Gustafson, president emeritus of Southern New Hampshire University and a 2003 Citizen of the Year. "Seldom have we seen an individual able to support and sustain such a diverse array of activities for so long," Gustafson said in printed remarks.
Other credits include founder of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation's Manchester division. He also has held board or committee membership with the United Way, Elliot Hospital and Child Health Services.
Gustafson said Winneg's involvement is "at the center" of such organizations, never on the periphery.
The Chamber said Winneg does not take any investment or philanthropic endeavor lightly. He approaches each undertaking rationally and carefully, with a focus on the cause and the people and a determination to help.
"We have known for over 40 years that we can count on Dick virtually whenever we call for help because Dick is truly reliable and committed," says Jennifer Meklonian, interim head of the Derryfield School.
Those supporting his nomination included Gustafson, Elliot President and Chief Executive Doug Dean, Central High School veteran teacher Selma Naccach-Hoff, Jewish Federation Director Adam Solender and Charitable Foundation Chairman James Cook.
Winneg currently serves as chairman of the Jewish Federation of Greater Manchester Foundation, trustee and secretary of Elliot Hospital, director of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Manchester Region and Fiscal Policy Task Force, director of Innisfree Cancer Help of New Hampshire and director of Child Health Services Inc.
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