epstein morrell award 11/8/01

George Epstein to receive Bob Morrell Award Founder of Echo Management to be honored tonightGeorge Epstein, founder and chairman of Echo Management Group in Conway, will receive the 2001 Bob Morrell Award at today's Mount Washington Valley Economic Council annual meeting. The award recognizes the qualities and values which Morrell, founder of Storyland and Heritage New Hampshire, exemplified as a business and community leader. From his early years as a teacher at Kennett High School, through his present role as a national leader in the behavioral health software industry, Epstein has exhibited innovation, imagination, ingenuity, and creativity, a council press release stated. In the true entrepreneurial spirit, he recognized and responded to an unmet need at the dawn of the age of information technology. "My dad was always intrigued by people who had a vision, confidence, and werent afraid to head out into uncharted territory," said Stoney Morrell, Bob Morrells son. "George Epstein has shown this pioneering spirit in creating an enterprise of the future right here in the valley." As Echo Management began to grow, it was incumbent on George to recognize local talent and create an environment where his employees could grow into highly skilled professionals. As a link between his teaching career and his role as chairman of Echo, he has continually offered School-to-Career internships to local youths, a number of whom have gone on to highly successful information technology careers. In addition to his work and success with Echo, Epstein has served as town moderator in Madison, Kennett High School basketball announcer, director of Northern Community Investment Corporation, trustee of The Memorial Hospital, director, instigator, and chair of many committees of Mount Washington Valley Economic Council, provocative columnist for The Conway Daily Sun, and last year as a strong Independent candidate for N.H. State Senate. Past recipients of the Bob Morrell Award include Kay Reed and Betty Whitney, ski industry pioneers, The Gibson Center with special recognition to Glenna Mori, and Skip and Joan Sherman as exemplary community radio station operators and for their decades of innovative cultural contributions to life in Mount Washington Valley.