Here are Seacoast 10 to Watch winners for 2022: 'You've got to make it happen'

PORTSMOUTH — Minutes after being named a 10 to Watch Seacoast young professionals contest winner Tuesday night, Kevin Dwyer reflected on how he balances his professional life with being a positive agent for change in the community.

In late 2019, at 27 years old, he opened Dwyer’s Pub on Bridge Street in downtown Portsmouth, where he grew up. When the coronavirus pandemic upended the economy a few months later, Dwyer became a vigorous advocate for the city’s business community, serving as a key player in the city’s decision to implement outdoor dining and to keep it going.

“To do it, you’ve got to put a lot of work in. Enjoy it, but to succeed, it’s going to have to eat up a lot of your life,” he said. “The balance is easier if you’re super passionate about it.”

The new 10 to Watch winners were crowned Tuesday night at 3S Artspace. They include a wedding photographer and videographer, a realtor and a litigation attorney, among other professions.

This year’s 10 to Watch contest was the ninth annual competition presented by Seacoast Media Group and Catapult Seacoast, a young professionals networking organization. Lead sponsors for the event were Bank of America and Heritage Home Service, while Eversource NH also served as a contest partner.

Ellen Roy, administrator of Harbour Women's Health in Portsmouth, is among the 10 to Watch winners. Each winner, on behalf of Eversource, receives a $200 donation to make to a nonprofit of their choice, and Roy said she plans to contribute the funds to New Generation, a women and children shelter and transitional housing facility in Greenland.

Her advice to young professionals looking to make an impact in their communities? “Keep going,” she said. “There’s always going to be some obstacles in your way and you’ve just to keep moving past them.”

Al Fleury, a past 10 to Watch winner, and a well-known local restaurateur and entrepreneur on the Seacoast, served as Tuesday night's keynote speaker.

Fleury is the owner of numerous local restaurants and bars, including The Goat, which has locations in Portsmouth, Manchester and Hampton, Bernie's Beach Bar and Wally's Pub in Hampton and The Green Room in Hampton and Portsmouth. He is also opening a new restaurant, Lucho's, in Newburyport, Massachusetts and owns the Surf House in Hampton Beach and the Winnacunnet Apartments in Hampton.

Fleury, 40, led off his remarks by congratulating each of the contest's 20 finalists and urging them to slow down and recognize their accomplishments and persistence in their professions and their community volunteerism.

“You can acknowledge the achievement that you got tonight,” he said. “It’s OK to hear that you did a good job. It’s OK when you’re at the peak of all the different things that you guys do to sit back and be like, ‘Wow, I did it.’”

Fleury, following his remarks, was given his official 10 to Watch winner's certificate by Catapult Seacoast co-chairs Scott Forte and Elizabeth Mullen. The gesture was made due to Fleury’s absence the day he was named a 10 to Watch winner six years ago. His mother died the same day.

A 2004 graduate of Saint Anselm College, Fleury left his job in the finance sphere, then decided to find work where he was surrounded by people and pursued his passion, the hospitality industry.

His winding road led him to Hampton Beach, an area where, he said, he had no connections. Then 23, Fleury entered the restaurant ownership industry, a path that has resulted in his numerous businesses now employing roughly 1,000 workers.

“I always tell people that I choose to invest in myself. Our go-to motto is, you’ve got to make it happen,” he said.

Here are the 2022 10 to Watch winners:

Leif Becker

Leif Becker of Hooksett is a litigation attorney and principal of Becker Legal PLLC with offices in Portsmouth and Concord. As a member of the DOVE Project, he provides free legal services to victims of domestic violence, stalking and sexual violence. He is a former board member of Portsmouth Public Television and the CCSNH Board of Trustees, and a current member of the Board of Governors for the New Hampshire Association for Justice. He worked with New Hampshire state Rep. Sherry Frost to rewrite a portion of RSA 540 to protect victims of household violence. Becker is the 2020 winner of Haven NH's Life Changer Award for work with victims of domestic and sexual violence, and the 2021 winner of the New Hampshire Bar Association's Rising Star Award for pro bono services.

Torey Lee Brooks

Torey Lee Brooks of Portsmouth is an engineer and sustainability coordinator at Oak Point Associates of Portsmouth and Biddeford, Maine. She is a volunteer member of the City of Portsmouth Sustainable Practices Committee and serves on the Green Buildings, GHG Inventory and Climate Action Plan subcommittees. She is an associate member of the Structural Engineers of New Hampshire and on the Sustainability Committee. She is an Athlete Alliance member of Protect Our Winters, an alpine skiing coach in hometown of Wolfeboro and a volunteer guide for Inclusive Ski Touring.

Jayde Cherico

Jayde Cherico of Exeter is a National Certified Guardian in the Office of Public Guardian, a private nonprofit corporation organized in 1979 to provide guardianship and advocacy services to citizens of New Hampshire. Her work with the Seacoast Suicide Prevention Coalition has been featured in articles in the Portsmouth Herald and Foster's Daily Democrat. She was recognized with a World AIDS Day distinguishing honor for AIDS awareness by Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack, N.J.

Kevin Dwyer

Kevin Dwyer of Portsmouth is the owner of Dwyer's Pub on Bridge Street in Portsmouth. When his restaurant shutdown in March of 2020 because of the pandemic, just a few months after opening, he became a tireless advocate for the small businesses of Portsmouth with the City of Portsmouth for outdoor dining through direct advocacy and through the Chamber of Commerce. He researched other communities and provided information to the City Council. He employs local staff, many of whom have lived in Portsmouth their entire lives. He has established a business with a local clientele during hard economic times when other local businesses like his were closing.

Kat Howland

Kat Howland of Dover is vice president of employer brand and talent at Jewett Construction. She is focused on revolutionizing the candidate experience and developing an industry-leading internship program as Jewett celebrates 50 years in business. She volunteers with multiple community organizations. She loves empowering girls to feel confident and capable through Girls At Work, Inc. She was a collegiate figure skater at Miami University of Ohio and love to cheer on the Ice Dance International performances at Labrie Family Skate at Puddle Dock Pond. She was recently recognized as an Inspirational Solo Talent Brander by the Talent Brand Alliance.

Wayne Moulton

Wayne Moulton of Portsmouth is the owner of Sages Entertainment along with his wife, Kali. Born and raised in Portsmouth, he became involved with the Seacoast community at an early age. For over 20 years, he has been an educator and mentor to Seacoast youth. Along with now being an entertainer, he creates and implements curriculum-aligned STEAM programs at Seacoast schools and mentors award-winning FIRST robotics and Destination Imagination teams. At Sages Entertainment, he works to build a network of programs that will allow people of all ages to learn 21st-century skills, increase their confidence, and be creative.

Matthew Paul

Matthew Paul of Dover is the co-founder and COO of Picture This Wedding located in Dover. When the pandemic shut down his business, losing 95% of its revenue, he left his home and moved into his office for over a year to save his business. During this time, he worked on building his business and by 2021 the company hit $1 million in revenue for the first time. He has run the Boston Marathon, and he gives back to the community by donating the use of photo booths, and photography and videography services to many community organizations.

Ellen Roy

Ellen Roy of Somersworth is the administrator of Harbour Women's Health in Portsmouth. She is the vice president of the New Hampshire chapter of Medical Group Management Association. She is also a candidate for the public member position for the Medical Review Subcommittee for the state of New Hampshire. She volunteers for a domestic violence advocacy program Her Voice Foundation to assist in creating a list of emergency shelters for all 50 state to better serve female domestic violence victims and survivors.

Andrew Samonas

Andrew Samonas of Portsmouth is a co-owner and real estate agent at Samonas Realty in Portsmouth, licensed in New Hampshire and Maine. He sold $25 million-plus in real estate sales in 2021 and has sold $30 million-plus so far in 2022. He is also co-owner and operator of The Davenport Inn. He is a member of the Seacoast Outreach Committee and the Professional Development Committee, Seacoast Board of Realtors, the Portsmouth Planning Board and Big Brothers Big Sisters, Young Philanthropists for Mentoring.

Jaime Yates

Jaime Yates of Strafford is the manager of community relations at Service Credit Union, where she is the steward the credit union’s community giving budget. She works to advance and elevate Service Credit Union's community involvement and works many hours running events that support the community, veterans, health and wellness, music and arts and youth sports organizations among many others. She is a member of the board of the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center. With help from the credit union's tuition assistance program, she earned her master's degree in marketing this fall and was one of a select few chosen as a Defense Credit Union Council "Crasher" for its 2022 conference that honors winners who epitomize determination, drive and initiative, identifying her as a rising star in the industry.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: 2022 Seacoast 10 to Watch young professionals contest winners named