Craig D. Zamzow, 70 (From The Laconia Sun)

Published Date Wednesday, 04 September 2013 07:25

NEW HAMPTON — Craig Dean Zamzow, 70 of Mountain Vista Drive, died August 31, 2013, at Speare Memorial Hospital, in Plymouth, NH.

Born in Grand Island NE on June 8, 1943, he was the son of Harlan Francis and Theda W. (Linderkamp) Zamzow. He grew up in the Mid-West and graduated from Westside High School, in Grand Island. He also earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering, at Iowa State University, in the mid-1960s.
Craig hired into Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in Maynard, Massachusetts, where he served for twenty years as a sales engineer, corporate manager of sales training, and product line manager of Logic Products, a $25 million PC board business. His achievements led to his being named in 1983 the Corporate Manager, Marketing Programs, directing the efforts of over 5,000 employees. Along the way, Craig earned an MBA in marketing and human resource management from Rivier College in Nashua, NH.
After the collapse of DEC, Craig served in marketing roles with several other firms in New England, before coming to Plymouth, New Hampshire in 1997 as co-owner of The Pilgrim Motel and Cabins on the Daniel Webster Highway. Very soon thereafter he was recruited by Plymouth State University to teach some marketing courses, first as an adjunct professor, and then as a full-time lecturer. In 1998, he accepted the job of Director of the Small Business Institute® at PSU, which serves the local business community with teams of MBA students who act as consultants, helping the businesses in whatever needs they may have, and preparing formal consulting reports.

Craig excelled as an SBI Director. The Small Business Institute® Directors' Association (SBIDA) holds an annual national contest, wherein the consulting reports from 250 university programs are judged at undergraduate and graduate levels in three categories, comprehensive (multifunctional business analyses), specialized (addressing a single business function, such as marketing, finance, or production), and feasibility studies (start-up plans). During his fifteen years as PSU's SBI Director, Plymouth State MBA teams placed either first or second in every single year, nationally. In one year, they swept the three first place awards, and PSU's SBI was recognized as the top SBI program in the United States. At his last national conference, in 2013, Craig was named the first Fellow of the Small Business Institute®.

In 2003, Craig also became Director of Graduate Programs in the PSU College of Business Administration (CoBA). As director, he administered the budgets, course schedules, and enrollments, and served as the academic adviser to as many as 600 MBA students. He successfully reversed slumping enrollment numbers to double the size of the 40 year-old MBA Program, and to turn it into a respected, self-sustaining mainstay of CoBA.

Craig Zamzow has been active in the community, as well, serving on the boards of the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, Plymouth Main Street, Inc., and the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative.
For the past ten years or more, Craig has worked to bring to life the brand new Enterprise Center at Plymouth, a joint effort by Plymouth State University and the Grafton County Economic Development Council. A conference room in this new business incubator building will be dedicated in honor of Craig Zamzow's work.

Craig's energy was boundless, his integrity unquestionable, and his enthusiasm infectious. Craig's colleagues and students at PSU all will miss him. A fine gentleman has left us.

Craig is survived by his wife, Marica Litchfield Zamzow of New Hampton, son, Barry Zamzow and his wife Jessica and their children, Grace, Ella and Abby, son, Darren Zamzow and his wife Carroll and their children, Ben and Bodie, step-daughter, Alyson Tracy and her children Casey, Cody Gibbs, step-daughter Michelle Tracey and her children, Vanessa Tracey and Mason Smith, brother Stephen D. Zamzow and his wife Linda, nieces and nephews.

A memorial service will be held in the Plymouth United Congregational Church, UCC, Main St, Plymouth, on Saturday, Sept. 7th, at 11am. A balloon release and gathering will follow at Plymouth State University.

In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Craig D. Zamzow MBA Scholarship Fund, Plymouth State University Advancement Office, 17 High Street, MSC 50, Plymouth, NH 03264.

To sign Craig's Book of Memories, please go to www.mayhewfuneralhomes.com.