2008 NHBR honors business excellence
(originally published Oct. 9, 2008)
From business services to transportation, health care to manufacturing, 17 businesspeople from 14 industries across the state were honored Wednesday night for their determination, industriousness, innovation and achievements at the sixth annual NHBR Business Excellence Awards.
The event also singled out two prominent Granite Staters for the long-standing impact they?ve had on the state through their careers.
Some 300 people attended the event held at The Event Center at C.R. Sparks in Bedford to celebrate the Business Excellence Awards, which are given to owners and operators of businesses or organizations with 100 employees or fewer. The winners were chosen by a panel of judges who reviewed some 60 nominations.
Emcee was Charlie Sherman, host of WGIR-AM's morning news talk program and a longtime New Hampshire sports anchor.
The event concluded with a celebration of NHBR's 30 years of reporting on the business news, events and trends that have shaped New Hampshire over the past three decades.
Recipients of the 2008 Business Excellence Awards were:
• James Grady, LighTec Inc. — Excellence in Business Services
• Brian Hooper, MSI Mechanical Systems Inc. — Excellence in Construction
• Jim Dunphy, Hampshire First Bank; Matthew Masiello, SAN Group Inc. — both of whom won in the Excellence in Financial Services category
• Dr. Ronald Lanzara Sr., Lanzara Chiropractic Clinic — Excellence in Health Care
• Jeff Eisenberg, Manchester Monarchs — Excellence in Hospitality
• Frank Reinhold Jr., Flag Hill Winery & Distillery — Excellence in Manufacturing
• B. Allen Sprague, bGG Advertising Inc. — Excellence in Media & Marketing
• Melanie Gosselin, New Hampshire Food Bank; Robert Chambers, Bonnie CLAC — both of whom win in the Excellence in Nonprofits category
• Eileen Pannetier, Comprehensive Environmental Inc. — Excellence in Professional Services
• Michael Vlacich and Roy Duddy, New Hampshire Business Resource Center — Excellence in Public Service
• Michael Reed, Stebbins Commercial Properties — Excellence in Real Estate
• Cathy Tedesco, La Mia Felicita Bead Boutique — Excellence in Retail
• Jeremy Hitchcock, Dynamic Network Services Inc. — Excellence in Technology
• Mark Lore, Ride-Away Handicap Equipment Corp. — Excellence in Transportation
In addition to honoring Business Excellence winners, two citizens were inducted into the NHBR Business Excellence Hall of Fame for their many years of service and dedication to New Hampshire's business community and the state.
The 2008 NHBR Business Excellence Hall of Fame inductees were:
• Mary Ann Esposito, internationally known cook and author and host of PBS's long-running cooking program, "Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito"
• Karl Norwood, co-founder of the NAI Norwood Group of real estate companies
This year's Business Excellence Awards judges were: Thomas P. Farrelly, executive director of Cushman & Wakefield commercial real estate; Patrick F. McDermott, economic and community development manager for Public Service of New Hampshire; Kathleen Reardon, senior vice president of public affairs and community relations for Citizens Bank; Laurie Ferguson, executive director and co-founder of New Hampshire Made and a 2007 winner of NHBR?s Excellence in Media & Marketing; Sharon Drake, executive director of the Women's Business Center; Debra LeClair, co-founder of Full Spectrum Wellness holistic health and education; and Michael Vlacich, director of the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development at the Department of Resources and Economic Development.
Presenting sponsor of the event was FairPoint Communications. Other sponsors were Laconia Savings Bank, Public Service of New Hampshire, Corks Wine Bar at the Bedford Village Inn, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England, Merrimack Street Volvo, PC Connection and Charter Trust Company and The Event Center at C.R. Sparks. Media sponsors were WGIR-AM and New Hampshire Public Television.
A portion of the evening?s proceeds was donated to Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA, an organization that advocates in New Hampshire?s courts and welfare systems for the best interests of abused and neglected children. ? CINDY KIBBE/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW
