From working in the drug prevention field to now administering government funds for prevention efforts across the state, Kandyce Mohan’s event planning and organizational skills first sprouted in Franklin.

Kandyce Tucker, now Kandyce Mohan, was born in Concord but lived all over New Hampshire in her early years. When she was in eighth grade, her family settled in Franklin.

“So, I had come from a really tough school before, where the teachers and staff weren’t super supportive,” said Mohan. “And then when I came to Franklin, it was like a world of difference. The teachers were great. They were really supportive.”

This support encouraged Mohan to explore her interest in event planning in high school. From putting up Winter Carnival decorations in the gym to making t-shirts and orchestrating the flow of homecoming parades, Mohan worked on her skills, enjoying every step of the way.

As a senior, she got involved in theater and led the first district-wide production of The Wiz as the stage director.

“We had little kids, we had middle schoolers, we had high schoolers, we had adults from the community,” said Mohan. “It was really cool and I got to stage manage, which was a big undertaking.”

Mohan’s love of event planning led her to major in programming and event management at the University of New Hampshire. She graduated in 2017 and returned to Franklin, where she worked as a waitress while she looked for a permanent job.

A year later, she heard about a job opportunity from her aunt, who was an accountant for the city of Franklin at the time. The position was coordinator for the Mayor’s Drug Task Force.

“She asked me if I was interested because with that role there’s a lot of planning, and they knew that I really wanted to do something community-based, and I’ve always liked to give back and volunteer and things.”

According to its website, the Mayor’s Drug Task Force — which is now named Franklin Partners in Prevention — has a mission to “engage, educate and support the Franklin Community by preventing substance misuse through promoting healthy alternatives.”

Mohan figured the role was perfect for her since she could incorporate her love of event planning and her passion for substance abuse prevention. The city hired her as the coordinator and she began to work with her team of volunteers to encourage prevention in Franklin.

“I also have family members who struggle with substance misuse and so it just kind of fit. It had a little bit of everything,” she said. “I was able to give back to the community and really started identifying my passion for prevention.”

When Mohan was growing up, her grandmother, Pat Tucker, who has been a licensed drug and alcohol counselor for over 30 years, always spoke to the family about making good choices when it came to using substances.

“I was thrilled to death that she went into the field because I’ve been doing this a long time and I really believe in prevention,” said Tucker. “Because if we can even save one child from getting in trouble, that’s a great thing. So I’m proud of her.”

In 2020, Mohan became the program director and continued to plan community outreach events and make presentations to educate students and families. She worked with middle school students to create public service announcements about making sure medication is locked up and that parents are speaking to their children about substance misuse and prevention. Those announcements aired on the radio.

“Kandyce is super high energy and one of her main strengths is connecting people,” said Barbara Slayton, the coordinator of School Wellness for the Franklin School District. “She would get an idea, or we would have an idea, or we would be working on a project together, and she would say ‘I’ll make that happen.’ And then she would.”

Slayton worked closely with Mohan on various projects. One of them was National Night Out, a free annual family event where the Franklin Police and other first responders collaborate with organizations to provide a space for residents to meet law enforcement, receive information and have fun in the community. The event typically includes a cookout, inflatable bounce houses and vendors who incorporate family-based activities at their tables and booths.

“The idea is that not everybody’s relationship is super great with law enforcement, and so it’s a night that they can get back into the community and no enforcement is happening,” said Mohan. “It’s more for kids so they can start to see police officers in a different light and recognize that they are safe people, for the most part.”

Partners in Prevention has historically planned the function and typically has a table where they provide resources such as educational pamphlets and even lock boxes for parents to keep medication safe from kids. Slayton said that when Mohan planned the event in 2022, it was “just fabulous.” Over 600 people attended, which was the biggest turnout they had seen in years.

“My office always does the popcorn machine, and that night we just ran out,” said Slayton. “We couldn’t keep up fast enough.”

The event was such a success that organizers ran out of wristbands to give to those entering the area.

“And so that’s my thing. It’s like we can have super fun events, but then we can also get the information into the hands of people who want it,” said Mohan.

While Mohan was director, she received a multitude of awards for her work, including the Prevention Coalition Leader award in 2020 and the DEA Operation Engaged Excellence in Leadership award in 2021. Former Franklin Mayor Jo Brown issued a proclamation recognizing Mohan’s contributions in Franklin by dubbing April 4, 2022, Kandyce Tucker Day.

Mohan continued as the director of Partners in Prevention until 2022, when she left Franklin to work as a coordinator for Communities for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth in Plymouth. She worked there for a year, doing similar work, when the prevention services administrator role at the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services opened up. She applied, got the job, and started in Concord in April 2023.

“Any federal dollars that come into the state, specifically for prevention, I get to assist with getting that out into the communities,” said Mohan. “So, I get to oversee all of their funding and make sure that everybody’s kind of on the same page and doing what they need to for their communities.”

Although Mohan does significantly less event planning in her new role, she gets to organize an annual showcase where the state highlights prevention efforts occurring in different communities. She also helps prevention partners with professional development, conducts training sessions and assists partners with making connections.

Now, her job incorporates helping organizers in the prevention field receive what they need to put on their events.

“Now I kind of get to be that support for other people who are doing events and help them kind of work it out and figure out, what they’re doing, how they’re doing it and how to be successful,” said Mohan.

Mohan attributes her success in the prevention field to Franklin.

“I never really thought that I was going to go back there. And going back was like the best decision that I ever made,” said Mohan. “I think just the amount of community spirit and the folks that live there and the great work that they’re all willing to do is really great, and is what made my job great, and fun and easy.”

Yaa Bame can be reached at ybame@cmonitor.com.