Chris Carpenter
Our Power Pitcher
He’s played for the St. Louis Cardinals since 2003, but was born in Exeter, and people here consider him one of their own.
“There’s just not a nicer person than Chris Carpenter,” says auto dealer Jon Xiggoros, the general sales manager of Bonneville and Son in Manchester. Mr. X is a big fan of the Trinity High grad, St. Louis Cardinals ace and winner of the Cy Young award as best pitcher in the National League. John’s daughter, Kristen, died of cancer, and John started Kristen’s Gift, a charitable organization to help families of children with cancer, under the auspices of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and the Norris Cotton Cancer Institute. Carpenter has been there, donating baseballs, baseball shoes and other memorabilia, giving gifts and signing autographs for the kids.
“He’s just a great human being,” says Mr. X.
New Hampshire Magazine knows where “It” is at. Each November, we identify the state’s most happening people and publish their names and profiles in our annual “It List.”
So what defines an “It” Person?
How about buzz, panache, je ne sais quoi, currency, a person whose time has come, a person of tomorrow, a timeless person, noteworthy, below the radar, in the news, in the know, hot, cool, high impact, slippery, a mover and shaker, a humble saint, a behind-the-scenes operator, a scenery chewer, an unsung hero, a hero who knows how to sing.
It’s a quality that’s hard to define, but you know it when you see it.
Above is one member of the 2006 It List.
