Dear friends, It is with great sadness we write to you in the early days of 2021. Rosemary M. Heard, CATCH’s fearless leader of over 15 years, passed away surrounded by her family on December 28, 2020. While we miss her dearly, we are grateful for her many contributions to the housing world and for the joy, laughter and thoughtfulness she shared with each of us. Throughout her time at CATCH, Rosemary expanded our reach growing the portfolio of housing south to Bow and north to Franklin. She was passionate and instrumental in developing different ways to help the community and residents through programs like first-time homebuyer education, and health and wellness services to our residents. She was a dynamic speaker at CATCH events and others, sharing her own experiences of housing struggles and promoting CATCH’s work. Through a NeighborWorks America and Harvard Business School leadership program, she spearheaded the creation of Alliance Asset Management and other complimentary mission ventures to CATCH. Together with CATCH’s sister housing organizations, she co-led the creation of HOMEteam, a partnership that provides homebuyer education, financial fitness courses, and one-on-one counseling throughout most of NH. With this and other initiatives, Rosemary foresaw and emphasized the need for a wide range of housing opportunities for NH residents. For over 15 years, she truly lived the vision of creating communities where every person is confident of a home. From all of us at CATCH and Alliance, we are grieving losing our friend and colleague. To those of you who knew Rosemary, we grieve with you. As we process this loss, we pledge to follow her visionary lead and continue her legacy of fulfilling the mission of providing safe affordable housing in our community. We are forever indebted to her passion and dedication to CATCH and we will work tirelessly to attempt to fill the hole she has left. With that being said, the Board of Directors is pleased to share that it has unanimously appointed Tom Furtado, Executive Vice President and Director of Real Estate, to be the next President and CEO of CATCH. We strongly believe that with Rosemary’s endless foresight and Tom’s leadership, our organizations remain in a position of strength and for that we are extremely grateful. With the rest of the staff and board, we will work together to ensure a seamless leadership transition. All of our programming continues to move ahead; construction has begun on our newest housing development on Village Street in Penacook and we look forward to completing it in Rosemary’s honor! As we move forward, we sincerely thank you for your patience and kindness during this difficult time! Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you for your support of CATCH and we look forward to collaborating with you to continue working toward our vision of creating communities where every person is confident of a home. Sincerely,
Kenneth Koornneef, P.E. Chair, Board of Directors