Tom Aspell named 2026 Citizen of the Year

The Chamber has announced its 2026 Citizen of the Year as Thomas J. Aspell, Jr., City Manager of Concord. A selection committee made up of prominent local business leaders recommended Aspell as this year’s recipient to recognize his nearly three decades guiding the growth and administration of the city, including more than 20 years as the chief executive. As one of the nominators Jim Bouley, former mayor of Concord, wrote, “Few people have shaped this community as deeply, or as quietly, as he has. [His] tenure is rare in municipal government, and it reflects something rarer still: a career built entirely on service to this community, with no interest in the spotlight.”

A native of Lowell, Massachusetts, Aspell began his municipal career as a town planner in Londonderry during a period of significant community growth. His early work included helping implement new land-use regulations and participating in development surrounding what is now Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. He later served as Director of Planning and Economic Development in Haverhill, Massachusetts, before coming to Concord. He joined the City of Concord in 1998 as its first Community Development Director, was promoted to Assistant City Manager in 2001, became interim City Manager in October 2005, and formally assumed the position on April 10, 2006. By the time of his retirement effective at the end of January, he will have served Concord for more than 28 years.

During Aspell’s tenure as City Manager, Concord undertook some of the most visible public improvements in the city’s recent history. Among them was the Downtown Revitalization Project, which breathed new life into Concord’s Main Street. The project received recognition including a New Hampshire Preservation Alliance Achievement Award, an American Council of Engineering Companies Gold Award and the New Hampshire Planners Association’s Project of the Year Award.

Another major initiative developed under Tom’s purview was Concord’s City Wide Community Center. After years of study and multiple proposals, the city opened the new center in 2018, creating a multigenerational public facility with recreation space, a gymnasium, senior programming, and meeting rooms. Jim Bouley has cited both the Main Street redevelopment and community center as significant examples of Aspell’s persistence with long-range projects that were originally passed up over cost concerns. He has also credited Aspell with maintaining a long-term vision for the city and building an experienced municipal leadership team, remarking “What the public rarely sees is his eye for talent. He surrounded himself with genuinely excellent people, and the depth of Concord’s staff today is a direct result of who he chose to hire and how he developed them.”

Economic and community development have remained recurring themes of Aspell’s career. As put by Bouley, “Tom guided Concord through the Great Recession, the Ice Storm of 2008, the Mother’s Day Flood of 2006, and the Covid-19 pandemic, and in every case the city’s finances and services came through intact.” Under Aspell’s administration, Concord has used tools including TIF districting, RSA 79-E property-tax incentives, Community Development Block Grants, brownfields funding, and public-private partnerships to support redevelopment.

Projects undertaken by the city and its partners have included Penacook Landing, downtown housing and commercial investments, and the Merchants Way development near Exit 17. At the Chamber’s 2026 State of the City Forum, Aspell reported that Merchants Way had already generated approximately $18 million in new assessed value with more anticipated in the near future, expanding the city’s tax base and business footprint.

Aspell’s civic involvement has also extended beyond the administrative responsibilities of the City Manager’s office. He has served as an ex-officio member of the Chamber’s Board of Directors and previously served on the board of Concord 2020, a community planning organization involved in long-range discussions about Concord’s development and downtown. He also participates in the city’s Joint City/School Committee on Cooperation, which provides a formal channel for communication among municipal government and Concord’s school districts. As a graduate of the Leadership Greater Concord Class of 2000, Tom has been a longtime supporter of the LGC program, participating as an annual guest speaker at Government & Politics Day. Additionally, he has supported many members of City employees across different departments’ applications to the program, creating a network of connections in the program over the last 25 years. Aspell has been a supporter of the Chamber’s Art on Main program, which brought rotating public art to downtown Concord following the Main Street reconstruction.

As Aspell prepares to conclude his tenure, the evidence of his career extends throughout the city, documenting a period in which Concord experienced substantial changes to its landscape. In announcing his retirement, Aspell described municipal service as more than a profession, calling it his “vocation” and emphasizing the collaborative efforts of elected officials, city employees, businesses, community organizations, and residents.

The Chamber will honor Tom as the 2026 Citizen of the year at its 107^th Annual Meeting on Wednesday, November 4 at the Grappone Conference Center. Presented by Merrimack County Savings Bank, the celebration begins at 5 PM with a cocktail reception, followed by a plated dinner, and culminates in the Citizen of the Year ceremony. All are welcome to attend; registration is available online or by calling (603) 224-2508.

Photo: Tom Aspell, recipient of the 2026 Citizen of the Year award, presents at the Chamber’s State of the City forum.