When Easterseals NH asked state officials to support its proposal for a new veterans campus in 2022 with $23 million in federal pandemic money, it promised to create what it called a “Veteran Housing and Retreat Center.” Thirty-one apartments and 30 “respite/retreat beds” would be available for visiting veterans and their guests.
“The goal is to create a ‘One Stop’ approach to care for those in need,” the request said. Easterseals, a nonprofit providing disability and support services for veterans, military families, seniors, and caregivers, described it as “a center of excellence and first-of-its-kind in the state to serve those who have served.”
There was no mention of a hotel.
Three years later, the apartments are there, but the availability of promised short-term “respite/retreat” beds for veterans and their guests is less clear: Two former employees said they don’t exist. And references to a 22-room hotel have appeared (and disappeared) from marketing language for the campus.
Now, some veterans living on campus and former staff members say this evolving description reflects a shift they’ve observed in Easterseals’ priorities for the sprawling campus: from veteran care to the money-making hotel and conference center. And it comes as the campus is undergoing a major — and unexpected — leadership shift.
Just weeks ago, the campus’ four-person leadership team resigned in protest over what they called poor management and harsh responses by Easterseals to rule violations by veterans living on campus.
In the weeks since, Easterseals has amended the way it’s marketing a project that state leaders say provides a much-needed service to veterans. And on Wednesday, it appointed a new interim director, Ana McKenna, an Army veteran who has worked in veterans care for decades.
From '30 respite/retreat beds for veterans and guests' to '22 hotel rooms'
In its 2022 annual report, the Governor's Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery (GOFERR), which oversees the use of federal pandemic aid in New Hampshire, said the project — which would come to be called “Easterseals NH Military & Veterans Campus" —would include “31 units of permanent housing, 30 respite/retreat beds for veterans.”
Some state officials said that the inclusion of both permanent and short-term housing for veterans in need was critical to earn their support for the $23 million contract awarded to Easterseals. At that time, there was no public discussion of a 22-room for-profit hotel, nor was a hotel in Easterseals’ request for funding.
The hotel first appeared in GOFERR’s annual report in 2025. It said the campus would “feature 29 units of permanent housing for veterans, 22 hotel rooms, and a conference space for up to 150 guests.” The inclusion of respite beds was gone.
Nicholas Grant was hired to manage sales and promotion for the hotel and conference center in February. He submitted his resignation letter Dec. 1.
In that letter, Grant said Easterseals did not have a clear plan for the campus and had mismanaged the project. He said the Easterseals leadership did not have the “understanding, commitment, and respect necessary” to serve veterans, and was prioritizing the hotel and conference center over their needs.
“Veterans are being leveraged as a means to secure financing, publicity, and institutional accolades — with little focus on delivering meaningful, sustainable support,” Grant wrote.
Maureen Beauregard, president and CEO of Easterseals in New Hampshire and Vermont, told NHPR the hotel was part of Easterseals’ plan from the beginning. She said the use of the word "hotel" does not mean Easterseals is operating a typical hotel on the site.
“We had been calling it a hotel and conference center for public awareness purposes,” she said.
Rental fees from the hotel and conference center are helping pay for veterans housing and assistance, she said.
In a promotional video on the campus website, Beauregard says: “By using our facility, by staying here, you do good because you help us to offset the cost of a vital mission for the folks that serve in whatever way they serve.”
Beauregard declined to say how much Easterseals is charging to rent the rooms and conference center because they are reviewing rates.
She said the beds in the 22 hotel rooms are serving as the respite/retreat beds for veterans and their guests referenced in earlier proposals — though a person must be attending an event at the conference center to use them.
“We had been calling it a hotel and conference center for public awareness purposes." - Maureen Beauregard, President of Easterseals NH.
Beauregard said the 22 rooms can accommodate up to 42 guests, though former staff said that would require people sharing a bed, because most rooms have only one.
Former employees — and the campus’ evolving website — have described the hotel’s purpose differently: as a convention center more than a retreat and respite facility.
Until this month, the campus website was promoting the overnight accommodations as a “hotel” for veterans groups as well as private businesses that rented the attached conference center. The website said couples could rent the rooms and conference space for weddings beginning in 2027.
Before he resigned as sales and promotion manager, Grant said he toured the campus with a couple considering holding their wedding on the site.
In the days after NHPR asked Easterseals about the purpose of the hotel and the existence of respite beds, references to “carefully appointed hotel guest rooms” on the project website were removed and replaced with “carefully appointed guest rooms,” according to a comparison of the website on Dec. 17 and an archived version on Dec. 11. References to weddings on the campus were removed as well, according to website archive records.
In recent days, the FAQ page was also expanded to include a number of questions NHPR submitted to Easterseals in early December about the availability of respite and retreat beds for qualified veterans and their families, as proposed in the original contract with the state.
The website does not mention respite beds. Grant said they “don’t exist.”
As the hotel was preparing to open, Grant learned he was unable to rent rooms to individual veterans in need because Easterseals did not have the proper insurance. He said Easterseals was exploring ways to reserve rooms for groups and businesses holding conferences on the campus, while also making rooms available for travelers visiting the area.
“We had veterans reaching out that were like, ‘Hey, I'm either homeless now living in my car, or I'm about to be homeless in a week, two weeks. Is there anything that you can do?' ” Grant said.
He said he had to turn them away. And now, individuals can rent a room only if they are military members between deployments, according to Easterseals’ latest version of the website, or if the rental is part of a conference or event booked at the campus. According to the website, veterans living on campus cannot reserve a room for visiting family members.
Frank Swirko, a retired Army veteran who served as the campus’ assistant director until he resigned Nov. 24, said he was never told military members could stay between deployments. But he was told tourists could rent rooms, he said.
Swirko, who spent his first months writing operating policies for the hotel and conference center, recalled talking with the Easterseals’ hotel consultant about ensuring there were rooms available for veteran organizations but also people visiting the area.
“We talked at length,” Swirko said. “He said, ‘You have a lot of events up here that could draw people in during leaf peeping season, motorcycle races in Loudon and Motorcycle Week in Laconia.”
The campus website promotes the campus to non-profits that serve veterans and private companies. It does not promote respite beds. “Take your corporate retreat, wellness getaway, or team-building experience to the next level at The Bernadine Herron Center at the Easterseals NH Military & Veterans Campus,” it says.
According to the resignation letter by Grant, the former sales and promotion manager for the campus, Easterseals collected nearly $20,600 in November from four events and two retreats. It also waived rental fees for a Leadership New Hampshire event that month at the request of an Easterseals employee who sits on the organization's board.
Beauregard confirmed the fee waiver for Leadership New Hampshire, and said Easterseals waives fees when it’s "appropriate" and viewed the event as a new business development opportunity for the campus.
Maximizing revenue to help veterans makes sense, Grant and Swirko said. But they argue Easterseals is prioritizing the overnight accommodations and conference center over veteran care.
Swirko said that contributed to his decision to resign. While Easterseals was marketing its conference center and hotel rooms, it was also slipping eviction notices under the doors of veterans living on campus for smoking infractions and $200 in unpaid rent. One veteran who received an eviction notice had recently had a stroke and been hospitalized, Swirko said.
“I joined this campus because I believed in its mission and trusted that Easterseals was committed to serving veterans and first responders with integrity. Instead, the mission was overshadowed by bureaucracy, internal politics, and decisions that prioritize appearances and fundraising over genuine service,” Swirko said in an email. “I hope [Easterseals] can right the ship, as the mission remains critically important, the need is undeniable, and our veterans and first responders deserve far better than what is currently being delivered.”
Easterseals confirmed eviction notices have been issued for rule violations but that no residents have been evicted.
Beauregard said Easterseals’ commitment to “providing compassionate and critical program support” to veterans and their families “has remained rock solid and ongoing.” She said the disagreement between Easterseals and the campus leadership team was not over its mission. Beauregard said former staff were not implementing Easterseals' plan as requested.
Grant, Swirko and the other employees who resigned, including former Manchester Police Chief Alan Aldenberg, dispute that.
Reaction from public officials
Response from state officials — including some who approved the $23 million contract with Easterseals — about the resignations and concerns raised by staff and veterans living on campus has largely been muted.
Of the three current members of the Executive Council who were also on the council in 2022, when they approved the $23 million contract, only Councilor Janet Stevens has publicly voiced concerns.
The day after NHPR published its first investigation, Stevens wrote on X: “Having fought to approve $23 million in ARPA funding — I expect answers on Monday. NH’s new veterans campus contends with a wave of resignations, resident complaints.”
Stevens said she was declining comment for this story until she gets answers to her questions.
Councilor Karen Liot Hill, who joined the council this year, raised questions about the project at an Executive Council meeting on Dec. 17. She asked Tom Broderick, deputy director of GOFERR, how the state was ensuring Easterseals was fulfilling the promises in its contract.
Broderick said the state has no ongoing oversight because the $23 million it gave Easterseals was for construction and renovating buildings, not campus operations. Broderick said Easterseals did not ask to amend the contract to include a hotel. His office asked Easterseals about the hotel after NHPR’s first story.
“I can say we checked in with them about this,” Broderick said. “I think this is stemming in part from the website listing hotel rooms, etc. I spoke with Easterseals, and they are going to be changing that website to more accurately reflect the use of those beds.”
Councilor Joe Kenney, who voted to approve the 2022 contract, said no staff members or veterans living on campus had contacted him with concerns.
“You can go into any veteran installation,” said Kenney, who served in the Marines. “Go to the VA in Manchester. Go to the soldiers home in Tilton. Go to different facilities around the state, and you can always write a story. There are always going to be veterans complaining about something.”
“There are always going to be veterans complaining about something.” - Executive Councilor Joe Kenney.
Kenney said he “had a lot of faith” in Beauregard.
“It’s a new operation. There are going to be bumps and bruises along the way,” Kenney said. “We’ll iron them out. We are all in the veterans game to help veterans.”
Gov. Kelly Ayotte attended the campus's grand opening in September and returned several weeks later for a meeting with the Executive Council. She said then, “I want to welcome everyone to this beautiful military and veterans campus that we are so proud of.”
Ayotte’s office had not responded to multiple messages seeking comment.
Wheeler said he received a call from Easterseals after NHPR published its investigation, but said he did not have enough information to comment.
“We have to give a little bit of a chance to take hold,” he said.
Wheeler objected to NHPR’s use of “hotel rooms” to describe the overnight accommodations on the campus, unaware that Easterseals was promoting them that way on its website when NHPR interviewed him.
Easterseals NH is an NHPR underwriter, but, like all underwriters, they have no influence or input into how we cover the news.
