2012 NHBR Business Excellence Awards winners

Twelve businesspeople were honored Nov. 5 at New Hampshire Business Review's 10th annual Business Excellence Awards, which recognize the accomplishments of owners of companies with 100 employees or fewer.

More than 250 people attended the event, which was held at the Radisson in Manchester. WMUR-TV anchor Erin Fehlau was the night's emcee.

A portion of the proceeds from the evening benefited Court Appointed Special Advocates of New Hampshire, or CASA-NH, which advocates for children in the state's court system in cases of neglect and abuse.

NHBR Editor Jeff Feingold praised this year's winners not only for the success of their companies, but for their dedication to the state's greater business community.

"We would like to salute all of the nominees, the people who nominated them and the winners themselves for their contributions toward making New Hampshire a great place to do business," he said.

While each winner had a different path to success, what they have in common "is determination, industriousness and the ability to come up with innovative solutions that have allowed their businesses to survive and thrive, regardless of economic conditions, and a commitment to serving their communities," said Sharron McCarthy, president of McLean Communications and publisher of NHBR.

Awards were presented in 11 categories.

The winners of the 2012 NHBR Business Excellences Awards are:

• Business Services: Michael Steinberg, Relyco Sales Inc.
• Construction: Scott Knightly, EnviroVantage
• Finance: Mary Carroll Murphy, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
• Health Care: Lisa Ganem, Home Instead Senior Care of Seacoast and Southern New Hampshire
• Hospitality: Chris Barstow, Favorite Foods
• Manufacturing: Nancy Sampo, Enviro-Tote Inc.
• Media & Marketing: Lisa Landry, Print Savvy
• Nonprofits: Jamie Coughlin, abi Innovation Hub
• Professional Services: Tod O'Dowd, Avery Insurance Agency
• Retail (tie): Laurie Vachon, Boomerang Furniture and Funky Stuff Ltd.
• Retail (tie): Heather Owen, H2O Salon Spa
• Technology: Joe McEachern, QA Cafe

Judges for the 2012 NHBR Business Excellence Awards were:

• Tammy Boucher, owner, Boucher Public Relations & 2009 Business Excellence Award recipient
• Bill Hyde, account executive, OTT Communications
• Greta Johansson, New Hampshire district director, U.S. Small Business Administration
• Michael L'Ecuyer, president, Bellwether Community Credit Union & 2011 Business Excellence Award recipient
• Pat McDermott, economic and community development manager, PSNH
• Kathleen Reardon, senior vice president of community relations and public affairs, Citizens Bank
• Marty Sink, president, Court Appointed Special Advocates of New Hampshire
• Christopher Way, interim director, New Hampshire Division of Economic Development

Sponsors of the event were Citizens Bank, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England, OTT Communications, Bank of New Hampshire, Public Service of New Hampshire, Devine Millimet, Merrimack Street Volvo, NH Economy, and media sponsors WGIR-AM and New Hampshire Public Television.