Honoring Community Champions at our 2026 Annual Meeting
by N.H. Community Loan Fund
on November 9, 2026
See more photos from the Annual Meeting here!
We recognized two community champions at our 2026 Annual Meeting on November 5 as we brought together our supporters and borrowers to connect and celebrate an incredible year.
New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte and U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen were honored for their advocacy for affordable manufactured-homeownership in the Granite State.
Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais welcomed attendees to the Queen City and spoke about the Community Loan Fund’s impact in Manchester and beyond.
“The work that is being done to help build those bridges for people to get into homeownership — and the stability that that kind of homeownership provides — is truly extraordinary and second to none,” he said.
Many of our borrowers were also in attendance to share their stories of success, including Joe Whitten, CEO of Apparel Impact, and Sara Blair, a first-time homeowner, through videos on the big screen (watch videos of Sara and Joe).
Chris and Donna Colella, homeowners at Iron Wheel Cooperative who make up the acoustic duo "Another Shot," provided live music before their fellow residents spoke about how they recently formed a cooperative and purchased their 55+ community in Plymouth.
Residents of Iron Wheel now have control over monthly lot fees, rules, infrastructure investments, and the long-term affordability of the community.
Katie McQuaid, Community Loan Fund Executive Vice President of Philanthropy & Community Engagement introduced the Community Champion awards:
“At the Community Loan Fund, we know homeownership is the path to building generational wealth — and, the most affordable path to homeownership is through manufactured homes,” she said. “But existing zoning laws limit where these beautiful, durable, and innovative new homes can be placed.”
McQuaid also highlighted the fact that manufactured-home communities owned by the homeowners who live in them are more affordable than communities owned by out-of-state investors.
“But, our current policies are not strong enough to protect these homeowners’ opportunity to purchase their land when it comes up for sale,” she added. “That’s why we work with local and national policymakers to reduce the stigma around manufactured homes and create stronger protections for homeowners who want to own and operate their communities.”
Senator Jeanne Shaheen was awarded the Community Champion Lifetime Achievement Award for being a trailblazing advocate for Americans who live in manufactured-home communities during her nearly four decades of public service, including three terms as our governor and three terms as a U.S. senator.
In the recently passed 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, Sen. Shaheen secured key provisions like the PRICE Act, which provides federal grants to support the purchase, construction, and renovation of manufactured housing communities.
Over her three terms, Sen. Shaheen consistently introduced legislation, like the Manufactured Housing Tenant’s Bill of Rights and the Manufactured Housing Community Sustainability Act, which would protect tenant’s rights and incentive manufactured-home community owners to sell their land to its residents or nonprofits, rather than commercial developers or corporate landlords.
“For over 40 years, the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund has provided transformative financial support, guidance and counseling to individuals, families and organizations across the Granite State. Nothing describes the organization’s philosophy better than ‘Neighbors Helping Neighbors,’ and its work has been indispensable to unlocking economic opportunity throughout New Hampshire,” said Senator Shaheen. “It is humbling to receive this Lifetime Achievement Award from such a critical institution in the state. I’ve been so proud to work alongside the Community Loan Fund, investors and local leaders to make great strides in advancing affordable housing, supporting manufactured housing communities and bolstering economic growth across New Hampshire.”
Governor Kelly Ayotte was recognized as a Community Champion for making housing a top priority during her first term in office. She led the effort to streamline the State’s permitting process to cut red tape and speed up construction, signed a package of bipartisan housing bills that modernized zoning laws, expanded accessory dwelling units, and created opportunities to convert empty office space into residential housing.
“We are especially grateful to Governor Ayotte for signing a law that keeps costs low for resident-owned cooperatives by modernizing outdated annual audit requirements,” said McQuaid.
Mayor Jay Ruais accepted the award on behalf of Gov. Ayotte.