This maverick has built a NH hospitality empire that includes 18 restaurants and two inns. He prides himself on treating his staff with respect and kindness, and in return, he gets loyalty and professional service, and in turn, his ship has remained afloat. You are saving lives.. However, part of marketing is making sure your employees like the company theyre working for. Dine at a Common Man and make a donation. GEOFF FORESTER / Monitor staff Morey Stettner is author of "Skills for New Managers" (McGraw-Hill) and editor of Executive Leadership (www.execleadership.com). Cancel anytime. Donations will fund critical programs such as a Bloodmobile, a daycare and trauma counseling center for Ukrainian refugees in Poland, food distribution, and an orphanage/safe housing for children in Ukraine. The United Nations estimates there are now 2.5 million Ukrainian children who have been displaced by the war, living in orphanages and secret safe houses hundreds of miles from their homes. Were okay now, Ray said. Its a simple formula that, apparently, is not lip service, not a facade from a man whos forgotten his roots. You live in a hot attic. 12/21/22 Watch NBC 5 VT News Coverage here. Common Man for Ukraine will board a flight to Poland on Monday afternoon. "We're ramping up our efforts with trauma counseling, both in residential treatment and day facilities, because there's just not enough help for all these kids," Mathison said. Please Note: Requests should only be made for events occurring within the next two months. When someone doesn't meet them, their peers squeeze them out. Then, and only then, can Ray even think about reopening the doors for in-house dining at the Common Man Restaurant here in Concord, one of 15 scattered across the state. Alex Ray, owner of the Common Man restaurants around the state, puts up a sign earlier this year after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. Ray: I don't like that word "chain." It is good to be the Santa and it was Eversource in the funny hat and beard this week doling out presents. The Red Sox and Patriots? Alex Ray meets the District Governor of the Warsaw, Poland rotary. ANTOINETTE: AND NEW ON FIVE, MEMBERS OF A NEW HAMPSHIRE NONPROFIT ARE PACKING THEIR BAGS THIS NOON AS THEY PREPARE TO HEAD TO UKRAINE. Still (Proudly) Not Corporate Material . And hes not sure what the forecast is, with winter on the way. That was in 69. So, while we're happy to see the kids we're serving, we also know that the need is so great and growing every day," said Susan Mathison, co-founder of Common Man for Ukraine. Distressed dams: Better to have than have not, Ode to city: Concrete canvas at Arms Park, Good move on charter: Keeping the purse strings. You adjust the sails, Ray said, quoting one of the colorful signs planted in front of his restaurants. I want to see crooked walls and old floors, so we tried. The virus loves invading our fun. How else to explain the additions hes made to his financial spheres of influence: two inns, a spa, a company store and the Flying Monkey Movie House in Plymouth, one of the most popular live music clubs in the state. How did you get started in the restaurant business? We hope you have a tremendous weekend and week ahead regardless of the weather. Ray previously volunteered with World Central Kitchen after Hurricane Dorian hit the Bahamas in 2019. Read All. He told News 9 helping those in need is the foundation of his company. There is so much underlying trauma, said Ray. Common Man server Kate Ross (left) and bartender Alexis Ross stand inside the front entrance of the Concord restaurant on Tuesday. As Ray sees it, the new normal will not be rosy for everyone. *Mindscapes Wayne King Fine Artwww.WayneDKing.comNew Hampshire A love story in images and words, *Sacred Trust, a Novel*The Monkey Wrench Gang Meets the Third Industrial Revolutionhttps://thesacredtrust.blogspot.com/, The View from Rattlesnake Ridge New England Newspaper & Press Assoc. Shared with Public Follow Common Man owner Alex Ray checks in with our guests for a quick update. What do you mean? At the . '"; With The Common Mans promised match, more than $2 million has been allocated to provide relief to Ukrainian refugees in Poland and those still living in war-ravaged Ukraine. So all of those important blocks of a child's development are quicksand right now for them.". Its take-out business remains open. Then I went to work for a company called Canteen Corporation and eventually they took over the Sanders Associates account. Thats what happened to Howard Johnson. Ukrainians are headed into a brutally-cold winter in already uncertain conditions unreliable power, limited or no heat, and unstable living conditions. Those projects include Ray and entrepreneur Rusty McLear breathing new life into mills in Claremont. "This time, we have the chance to serve 130 deaf children in a safe house."Over the past four days, Mathison and co-founder Alex Ray, along with two other Granite Staters, were in Poland, giving . Would you like to receive our daily news? Chance of rain 40%. For more information about The Common Man, visit theCman.com, and become a fan on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @thecommonmannh. Granite United Way serves the Central Region, Greater Seacoast Region, Merrimack County, North Country, Northern Region, Southern Region (Manchester / Derry / Salem) and Upper Valley Regions of New Hampshire as well as Windsor County, Vermont. This year, new reports pinned a daunting number on the scope of New Hampshires housing crisis: 23,000 unitsneeded today, to meet the current Stay informed with our free email updates. A group of volunteers from New England is traveling to Ukraine for the fifth time in order to bring more critical aid to children in the war-torn country.Susan Mathison and Alex Ray, two co-founders of New Hampshire-based Common Man for Ukraine, departed from Boston Logan International Airport late Wednesday night and had suitcases full of hand-crocheted toys in tow. 0:15. I did it before and after school. Where there is a school to go home to," Mathison said. Plymouth businesses Flipn Furniture and Ladders Thrift donated to the cause, as did Mount Prospect Academy. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. A. I dont like new buildings. Hearst Television participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox. He sat down for the following interview at his Common Man restaurant in Concord. Low around 70F. As Ray likes to say, Its been 50 years of telling everyone who works for me to speak nicely to the customers. Donations to The Common Man Ukraine Relief Fund continue to be accepted and can be made by clicking the donate button at the top of this page. Donations continue to be accepted and can be made by clicking the donate button above. He made sure his employees were given Common Man meals. JESSICA: SO FAR COMMON MAN FOR UKRAINE HAS RAISED AND DISTRIBUTED $2.6 MILLION IN RELIEF AID. How President Biden got from DC to Kyiv without hardly anyone noticing, war against Russia is entering its second year. Thats what happened to Boston Chicken. He got off the floor from laughing and said, What are you really going to do? I said, Go to cooking school cause thats all I really know. So I did. Click below to sign up for news about events at our Common Family locations, special discounts and promotions!We value your privacy and do not sell our lists to other companies. var photocredit = photocredit.toUpperCase(); The United Nations estimates there are now 2.5 million Ukrainian children who have been displaced by the war, living in orphanages and secret safe houses hundreds of miles from their homes. The group returned to Poland and Ukraine in October to check on the progress of the programs that were funded. He noted that the 50th anniversary of the opening of his first Common Man, in Ashland, is next year. Q. //LBtag_id.innerHTML = ''; }, The Common Man restaurant on Water Street in Concord next to exit 13 on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in. 2023, Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of WMUR-TV. Each year, 1 in 3 residents of New Hampshire and Windsor County, Vermont engage with Granite United Way as a donor, volunteer or beneficiary of a United Way-funded program. Click the video above to watch FOX 25 Bostons interview with Alex Ray and volunteers of The Common Man Ukraine Relief Fund during their Convoy of Kindness to orphanages in Ukraine in December. Ray: I went to the Culinary Institute of America. If your event is further out than two months from today, please bookmark this page and return to submit your request two months in advance. The group plans to deliver 15 truckloads of supplies, including 15 tons of food, 500 sleeping baths, clothes and other items to 14 Ukrainian orphanages. To donate visitwww.thecman.com/cman4ukraine, Day of Caring is a community-wide effort that brings together volunteers and local businesses to provide short-term, project-focused volunteer service to our community's localread more. At 61, the New Jersey native considers himself "old enough to know better and . 2023, Hearst Television Inc. on behalf of WCVB-TV. By WAYNE D. KING, NH Secrets, Legends and Lore. Ray: It just came up. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. We are touched by the donations from New Hampshire citizens and businesses that recognize the critical importance of this humanitarian aid.. Common. United Ways purpose is to convene public, private, and governmental leaders and resources to tackle the largest, most pressing issues facing our community. He was 26. But the first Common Man thrived and Ray . He encouraged and insisted that his staffers give back to the community, offering them days off for fundraising activities. I want a $12 or $11 salmon. A. I do everything I can not to be upscale. The Common Man restaurant on Water Street in Concord next to exit 13 on Tuesday, October 13, 2020. I still do. This COVID was scary, and we knew we had to go to tables with gloves and not touch the tables, and now that is the new normal. Ray haslots of little sayings. I got thrown out. Alex Ray meets the District Governor of the Warsaw, Poland rotary. ASHLAND, NH With more than $600,000 raised thanks to the generosity of more than 2,200 donors, the New Hampshire Relief for Ukraine Fund has exceeded the halfway mark to a $1 million goal. JESSICA: THEIR MISSION, DELIVER RELIEF SUPPLIES TO 700 ORPHANS AND DISPLACED CHILDREN ACROSS 14 UKRAINIAN ORPHANAGES. Ray said hes not sure when his employees will know their test results. Rays Kindness for Kentucky program is working with the World Central Kitchen, which Ray has helped in the past, to solicit donations. He built slowly and conservatively and at last count has 13 venues, from the Tilt'n Diner to the Lakehouse in Church Landing at Mill Falls. Do you ever feel that way? With Zoom now you are talking to your managers and it will be something that will be really good for us.. John Lynch, WMUR-TV, iHeart Media, Granite United Way and Rotary International, have joined forces in a statewide partnership to help raise money to bring much-needed humanitarian aid and resources to the people of Ukraine. A. Coming:Common Sense for Our TimesSteady Hands and Open HeartsRenewing the American Idea in the Post Trump Era. The dining room doors closed last Saturday and remain closed. It happens in business. According to a post on the restaurants'. Ray, a member of the Plymouth, NH Rotary Club, and his team, spent a week meeting and traveling with Rotarians from Rotary Clubs in Warsaw and Zamosc, Poland, and from the Ukraine. From there, they'll cross the border into Ukraine, where the war against Russia is entering its second year. You do not adjust the wind. I said, "I'm going to cooking school.". To date, the organization reports it has raised and distributed $2.6 million in relief aid. We dont have it. The Common Man Websitehttps://www.thecman.com/, Wayne D. KingMail: PO Box 1208 Campton, NH 03223Street: 22 Orris Rd #F1 Thornton, NH 03285603-530-4460 Cellwaynedking: Skype@wayne_d_king:Twitterhttp://bit.ly/WayneDKing, PodcastsThe Radical Centrist PodcastNew Hampshire Secrets, Legends and Lore Chosen as NH Podcast of 2019 by NH Press Assoc.*NEW! The principal said to me, What are you going to do? I said I wanted to be an engineer or an architect. So we try to win by I dont know being smart, working harder, being good to our employees. Mathison, Ray and two colleagues will spend two weeks in the region, checking in with their rotary partners on the ground in Poland and Ukraine. Our mantra to Do Good is top of mind daily, and our hospitality family has instilled a can do attitude and corporate culture that each location has an obligation to give back. The group plans to deliver 15 truckloads of supplies, including 15 tons of food, 500 sleeping baths, clothes and other items to 14 Ukrainian orphanages. THEIR GOAL IS $10 MILLION TH. Granite United Way fights for the education, health and financial stability of everyone in every community. New Hampshire Union Leader: Alex Ray, Common Man restaurants launch $2m fundraising effort for Ukraine. To date, the NH Relief for Ukraine fund has assisted in the purchase and delivery of more than 700 tons of food to orphanages and refugee centers throughout Ukraine; funded a trauma counseling center for children; purchased and deployed a Bloodmobile, which supplies field hospitals throughout Ukraine; distributed hundreds of generators; is striving to provide more than 10,000 sleeping bags to give extra warmth this winter; and assisted with repairs and supplies for orphanages and centers for children with disabilities. Enrichment Coordinator. Members of a New England-based nonprofit are preparing to travel from Boston to Ukraine, where they'll deliver relief supplies for hundreds of orphans and displaced children.