LACONIA — Belknap Economic Development Council welcomes the Lakes Region community to explore the world of advanced manufacturing during the first annual Lakes Region Manufacturing Week, March 11-15. The week features tours and open house events at eight manufacturing facilities throughout the region. In addition, Lakes Region Community College will host an information session for the community to learn more about their new advanced manufacturing certificate and degree programs.
The Huot Technical Center's Manufacturing & Pre-Engineering Program will also host an open house for anyone interested in learning about their unique four-year high school program that prepares students for careers in high-tech fields.
A detailed schedule can be found here: http://www.belknapedc.org/lrmanufacturingweek2013.html
"This will be a fun opportunity for people from the community to get inside these high-tech companies and see what they do," said Carmen Lorentz, Executive Director of Belknap EDC.
"Many people don't have a direct link to manufacturing today, so we wanted to give the community a chance to get to know these companies and see for themselves what great career opportunities they offer. It's a really exciting industry to be part of."
Advanced manufacturing is a critical industry in New Hampshire, making up 19% of the state's economy and paying $75,000 on average. In the Lakes Region, advanced manufacturing employs over 4,000 people, which is 10% of of the local employment base.
These businesses are not the same factories that employed thousands more people many decades ago – they are nimble, high-tech companies that rely on advanced technology and highly skilled employees to manufacture products for markets that require a high degree of precision, such as aerospace and medical product.

LACONIA — The Community Action Program, Belknap-Merrimack Counties is bringing Better Choices, Better Health to the Laconia Senior Center.
Better Choices, Better Health is an interactive workshop designed to help adults and caregivers with the challenges associated with a chronic disease such as diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure, heart
disease, COPD, chronic pain, or anxiety.
The program encourages people to take charge of their lives via 6 two and half hour sessions where they will benefit from an interactive, peer-supported workshop led by two certified leaders. The sessions help participants to set their own goals and to make step-by-step plans to improve and manage their health and lives.
A variety of topics will be discussed including nutrition, better breathing, fitness/exercise, pain, fatigue, communication, plans for health care, problem solving, medications, making treatment decisions, depression, working with health care professionals, using the mind to manage symptoms, and future planning.
Previous participants have found the class to be both helpful for coping with chronic conditions and empowering through the knowledge that they are not alone and the resources available to them.
The program will be offered at the Laconia Senior Center located at 17 Church Street every Thursday from March 7 through April 11.
The workshop runs from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Registration is required; call 524-7689 to register as space is limited. If transportation is needed call the Laconia Senior Center at 524-7689 to schedule a ride.

GILFORD — The mud will be flying in the Lakes Region when Gunstock Mountain Resort hosts a  Tough Mudder event on June 1-2.
The event is expected to draw 12,000 participants over the weekend according to Bill Quigley, director of marketing and sales at Gunstock, who said that after being posted on Tough Mudder's website for fewer than six hours, some local hotels were already fully booked in preparation for the event.
Tough Mudder is a 10- to 12-mile obstacle course challenge designed by British Special Forces to test all-around strength, stamina, camaraderie, and mental grit. Participants may don traditional running attire, but costumes and mullets are encouraged, with best-of awards being given out for both.
Participants will charge onto the course with fellow Mudders — battle cries are essential — and will proceed through 20 to 25 obstacles, each designed to test strength in a very different way. Participants will brave freezing cold water, wade through thick mud, tackle underwater tunnels, finesse high ropes and scramble through multiple cargo nets before finally navigating their way through a gauntlet of electrified wires to earn the coveted orange headband and the right to be called a Tough Mudder.
"We are excited to host Tough Mudder," says Greg Goddard, GM of Gunstock Mountain Resort. "Gunstock is a perfect venue for this type of event, and our team has developed great partnerships at the mountain working with larger events such as Soulfest™ and Timberman Ironman™. The timing of the event will provide great opportunities for local businesses after Memorial Day and just prior to BikeWeek."
"Our event promises to challenge even the toughest of men and women in New England on multiple levels," said Sheetal Aiyer, Vice President of Venues at Tough Mudder. "Participants will be challenged physically and mentally, and they will need the help of one another to make it through the course. We are changing the way Americans think of endurance challenges and having a lot of fun along the way."
Tough Mudder is a proud supporter of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP). To help its cause and to support the needs of severely injured service men and women, Tough Mudder is offering a special discount to participants who see competing in a Tough Mudder as an opportunity to raise funds for WWP.
Over the past three years, Tough Mudder has built a series of more than 50 events around the globe and is billed as "Probably the Toughest Event on the Planet."
The event is listed as Tough Mudder's Boston event. Registration is open now at ToughMudder.com.
Those travelling to the Lakes Region can make reservations online at www.gunstock.com at one of 22 partner hotels.