Carrie Foss Memorial Award and Diane Bessey Outstanding Therapist Award Winners

Pictured: Jean Parsons, Board President, Monarch School; Andrea Pruna, Chief Growth Officer, Northeast CU; and Jeanette Souther, Executive Director, Monarch School

In the recently published book, Nature-Based Allied Health Practice, by Amy Wagenfeld & Shannon Marder, the Monarch School of New England serves as a case study to highlight how outdoor therapy services are possible within a school setting.

At the 2023 Dover Chamber of Commerce Awards Gala, the Monarch School of New England was recognized as the 2023 Nonprofit of the Year! This award honors the school’s positive impact on its students, and its commitment to helping students reach their greatest potential.

In honor of Executive Director Diane Bessey’s upcoming retirement, the school is proud to announce an annual award in her name. Recognizing Diane’s many contributions to the school, both as a Physical Therapist and later as the Executive Director, this award will honor an exemplary member of the therapy team who demonstrates: strong professional ethics, a commitment to health and wellness, excellent clinical and communication skills, dedication to MSNE’s students, and a vision to support the school’s goals.

Each year in memory of MSNE’s founder, Carrie Foss, the school presents an outstanding staff member with the Carrie Foss Memorial Award. Congratulations to Donna Marble, Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant, who was recognized as the 2023 recipient of this award!

A big thank you to everyone who helped make the 5th annual Monarch School of New England Golf Tournament a success! It was a beautiful day at the Rochester Country Club.

Annually, the Monarch School of New England recognizes dedicated staff members who’ve achieved a significant anniversary in years of service to the school. In addition to those staff members recognized previously, the following staff members were honored on the first day of school for their commitment and reaching a new milestone this year.

Thank you to Service Credit Union!

During the 2022-2023 school year, their support directly benefits both MSNE’s library resources and community field trips for our students.

During the holiday season, the incredible team at Albany Engineered Composites hosted a book drive for our school libraries.

The school’s libraries are more important than ever as MSNE’s literacy team moves forward in partnership with UNC Chapel Hill’s Center for Literacy and Disability Studies.

Since early 2022, fundraising efforts have been underway to install permanent outdoor fitness / therapy equipment at MSNE’s high school campus. These important facilities will keep our students strong, active and healthy! These facilities will also ensure that our therapists have the equipment they need to help our students reach their goals!

A special thank you to everyone who helped make the 2022 Mile for Monarch a success! Our students enjoyed a fun week of transportation and career exploration activities, culminating in a very special on-campus Touch a Truck event.

Thank you to Bank of New Hampshire for sponsoring our Vocational Program for the second school year in a row! We are grateful for your continued support.

We’d like to thank the team at Albany Engineered Composites! For the second year in a row, their employees took part in a school supply drive, gathering resources for our vocational, therapeutic and life skills programs.

A big thank you to Tri-City Subaru! For the fifth year in a row, as part of their Subaru Loves Learning initiative, the team and their customers filled a Subaru full of school supplies to help MSNE have a great start to the school year!

Each year in memory of MSNE’s founder, Carrie Foss, the school presents an outstanding staff member with the Carrie Foss Memorial Award. We’re thrilled to announce that Marie Melanson has been named the 2022 Carrie Foss Memorial Award honoree. Congratulations, Marie!