Business NH Magazine and the NH Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives are announcing the winners of the 2021 Business Leader and Businesses of the Year Awards, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Winners are featured in the May issue of Business NH Magazine due out next week.
Brendan P. Keegan, CEO of Merchants Fleet in Hooksett was named the 2021 Business Leader of the Year. Since Keegan took the helm in 2018, Merchants Fleet, which provides customized fleet management and leasing has launched a number of new initiatives even during a pandemic. Keegan was chosen because of both his leadership in his industry category as well as his giveback to the community.
Business NH Magazine and the NH Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives also recognized Businesses of the Year in 10 industry categories. The 2021 winners are:
• Bellavance Beverage, a family-owned beverage distribution company in Londonderry won the Retail/Wholesale Business of the Year.
• The Common Man Family, an Ashland-based hospitality company—with 15 restaurants, two Common Man inns, a spa, a company store, The Flying Monkey Movie House & Performance Center, and The Common Man Roadside—won the Hospitality/Tourism Business of the Year.
• ConvenientMD Urgent Care, an urgent care provider based in Portsmouth with almost 30 clinics in three states, won the Health Care Business of the Year.
• JSA Design, an architecture firm in Portsmouth, won the Business of the Year in Construction Services.
• Merchants Fleet in Hooksett won the Business Services Business of the Year. This year marks only the second time in three decades that the Business Leader of the Year won in the same year that their business also won a Business of the Year award.
• NH Food Bank, a Manchester-based program that provides food and resources, won the Nonprofit of the Year. This is the third year that the NH Charitable Foundation has partnered with Business NH Magazine to award a $5,000 unrestricted grant in honor of Walter J. Dunfey to the winner in this category.
• Northeast Delta Dental, a dental insurance nonprofit in Concord, was awarded the Insurance Business of the Year.
• Red River, an IT and technology provider in Claremont won as the Technology Business of the Year.
• Rivier University in Nashua received the Education Business of the Year.
• St. Mary’s Bank in Manchester, the nation’s first credit union walked away with the Financial Services Business of the Year.
Winners are selected from a pool of applicants from across NH and will be honored at the Business of the Year luncheon (currently scheduled as an in-person event) on Nov. 4 at The Armory at the DoubleTree by Hilton Manchester Downtown. To register, visit BusinessNHmagazine.com/events.
A portion of the proceeds of that event goes toward a scholarship fund for the NH Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. The scholarship is available to all chamber executives to pay for training. Business NH Magazine has contributed more than $80,000 to that fund during the past 30 years.
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