Diane Miner knows all kinds of New Hampshire lore.
What you get depends on who you are: She’ll regale history-loving tourists with the story of each flag that lines the entrance of the State House. For field-tripping fourth-graders, her spiel is about how a bill becomes a law.
Equipped with her green uniform and extensive knowledge of New Hampshire history, travel and attractions, the Granite State Ambassador of nine years often posts up in the State House, at the airport, at state welcome centers and other events.
Miner, a retired Hooksett science teacher who lives in Bow, is originally from Ohio but has spent much of her life in the Granite State. Having volunteered with the group since 2016, she’s spent well over 1,500 hours greeting new faces and spreading the good word about New Hampshire – and she gets back as much as she puts in.
“It’s rewarding,” she said. “Being a Granite State Ambassador, I just learn so much about our state and get to show pride to people from other states.”
Pieces of history
With more than 300 members in its ranks, the Granite State Ambassadors trains and mobilizes volunteers to answer all kinds of questions from visitors, everything from travel directions and itinerary advice to niche factoids about New Hampshire history. Their basecamp is on the first floor of the State House, but ambassadors also work at large state events and helping newcomers at the airport.
Miner spends most of her time at the State House. Like most tour guides, she has her favorite tidbits to share, like the story of Harriet Dame, who is one of just nine women to be featured in portrait in the Capitol building. As Miner tells it, Dame wanted to serve the Civil War but was told the military was “no place for a woman.”
So, Dame did what she could. She cooked, tended to wounds, mended uniforms. Because of her gender, securing a pension for her service required an act of the U.S. Congress, and when she finally received it, she used her pension to build a veterans’ home near Lake Winnipesaukee.
There’s also the massive display of campaign paraphernalia from presidential hopefuls. One wall of the State House Visitors Center is covered in stickers, buttons, photos and hats, some donated by candidates passing through and some collected by people who staff the center.
It’s jokingly dubbed the “wall of losers,” Miner said. Out of the hundreds of items, only three people featured on the wall have won the White House: Presidents Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
A helping hand
Aside from showing tourists around, Miner and the ambassadors staff a station at the Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. Those shifts are the most unpredictable, she said. People often turn to the green-shirted volunteers seeking directions or transportation, a help that’s hard to give because of New Hampshire’s limited public transit options, Miner said.
Still, the group serves as a welcome to the Granite State.
“We really like being the friendly face that people can turn to in the airport,” Miner said. “I travel a lot, and I can’t say that I’ve ever come across another place where they have people who are willing, people who are volunteering to do that, to help other people do that.”
Ambassadors also cook up itineraries for travelers, a skill that can keep anyone on their toes. Miner makes sure to ask questions to decipher what they might enjoy: where visitors are from, where they’re headed and what they’re interested in. Tourists from Montpelier, Vermont, typically want something historical, she said, and she recommends a stop in Portsmouth for those heading up to Maine.
Miner’s fellow ambassadors speak highly of her commitment to helping people. Her reputation as a knowledgeable and reliable volunteer led them to nominate her as last year’s Granite State Ambassador of the Year.
“She’s always, always positive,” said Kelly Bryer, the group’s executive director. “She always is confident. She knows her stuff. You can always rely on her… She’s just awesome.”
Quirks of the job
If there’s one question Miner hears the most, it’s this: Why does New Hampshire have 400 state representatives?
“I would say that’s the thing that people are most surprised by,” Miner said. “Such a small state has, number one, so many people willing to do that job, and number two, why do you need that many people?”
Miner’s favorite shift is Wednesday mornings, the best slot to run the fourth-grade tours. To learn about how bills become laws, she runs a mock legislative session.
Often, she proposes a bill to add an extra hour to the school day, which the kids consider, debate and vote on. (It rarely passes.)
“It gives them a sense of, people are on both sides of the issue, and just because they are it doesn’t mean they can’t get along with each other,” Miner said. “If your friend has a different opinion, you’re still friends.”
The high point for the kids – and one of Miner’s favorite parts of the tour to watch – is getting to meet the governor. During Executive Council meetings every other Wednesday, shop talk stops for a few minutes when the kids file in. Miner and the other ambassadors invite them to shake Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s hand or, if she’s tied up, to sit in the governor’s chair.
“When they come out that door behind the governor, they’re all going, ‘I’m never gonna wash my hands again,'” Miner said, laughing. “They’re so thrilled that they met the governor.”
