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Best Employment Law Firm: Sheehan Phinney
900 Elm Street, Manchester 603-625-6464 www.sheehan.com
Sheehan Phinney attorneys are experienced in all aspects of employment law, labor relations and employee benefits. In a time when there is an ever-changing number of workplace laws and regulations, Sheehan Phinney assists employers in understanding and effectively managing an increasingly complex range of workplace legal issues. The experienced team counsels clients on how to deal with sensitive workplace problems before they become claims and defends aggressively for clients when claims do occur.
Best Intellectual Property Law Firm: McLane Middleton, P.A.
900 Elm Street, 10th Floor, Manchester 603-625-6464 www.mclane.com
McLane Middleton’s intellectual property group works diligently with companies seeking assistance managing and executing intellectual property strategies. McLane Middleton attorneys offer expertise on intellectual property development, protection, licensing and litigation. The intellectual property group primarily focus their practice on U.S. and foreign trademark and copyright law, patent procurement, e-commerce and internet law, among other matters regarding transaction and licensing agreements.
Best Real Estate Law Firm: McLane Middleton, P.A.
900 Elm Street, 10th Floor, Manchester 603-625-6464 www.mclane.com
McLane Middleton represents investors, lenders and developers of real estate projects as well as companies that are acquiring, expanding, leasing, financing or selling their business locations. The real estate practice group’s expertise includes title insurance and title issues, commercial leasing, commercial real estate purchases, sales and 1031 exchanges and more. McLane Middleton regularly counsels companies in the utility, energy and communication industries related to acquiring, expanding and financing various projects.
Best Tax Law Firm: Devine Millimet
111 Amherst Street, Manchester 603-669-1000 www.devinemillimet.com
With offices in Manchester, Concord and Portsmouth, Devine Millimet’s tax team helps businesses navigate the increasingly complex web of federal and state tax laws. New Hampshire has a unique set of tax laws that can create compliance challenges. Devine Millimet defends challenges to compensation deductions under the Business Profits Tax and transactions involving the Real Estate Transfer Tax as well as assisting with business tax liabilities facing business owners.
EDITOR’S PICK
Most Diligent Tracking of State Revenues: New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute
100 North Main Street, Suite 400, Concord 603-856-8337 www.nhfpi.org
NHFPI has kept Granite Staters abreast of the economic shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. The state initially faced a significant budget shortfall, though circumstances improved some, thanks to a combination of revenues recovering faster than anticipated and underspending at public agencies. Through the ups and downs, NHFPI has served the public and stakeholders well as a resource on New Hampshire’s fiscal outlook.
EDITOR’S PICK
Most Generous Gesture: Stark Brewing Company & Families in Transition-New Horizons Homeless Encampment Meals
Stark Brewing Company
500 Commercial Street, Manchester 603-625-4444 www.starkbrewingcompany.com
Families in Transition
122 Market Street, Manchester 603-641-9441 www.fitnh.org
Families in Transition-New Horizons and Stark Brewing Company partnered as part of a state-funded effort to prepare and deliver meals each day to various encampments around the city of Manchester. With the soup kitchen shuttered to participants not staying in the shelter due to the pandemic, this partnership delivered meals twice a day, seven days a week to multiple points around the city in the spring of 2020.
EDITOR’S PICK
Best Distribution Model to Feed NH: NH Food Bank Mobile Pantry
700 East Industrial Park Drive, Manchester 603-669-9725 www.nhfoodbank.org/next-mobilefood-pantry
NH Food Bank’s Mobile Food Pantry program provides inner-city food drops on a weekly basis, and when funding is available, additional food drops in remote locations round the state, in response to local need and as a means to distribute nutritious food, such as fresh produce, meats, dairy and canned or boxed items.
EDITOR’S PICK
Fast Response to Emerging Community Needs (TIE):
Granite United Way’s Covid-19 Relief Fund
22 Concord Street, Floor 2, Manchester 603-625-6939 www.graniteuw.org/covid-19
When Covid-19 hit our communities back in March, Granite United Way was amongst the first responders. Granite United Way quickly equipped its 211 NH hotline with additional resources needed to manage the skyrocketing call volume associated with this health crisis; mobilized its public health and social services networks; and worked with business partners to expand learning opportunities for students attending school remotely. Gifts to the Covid-19 Relief Fund continue to connect people to Covid-19 resources including medical, unemployment and housing supports, and food and financial assistance.
New Hampshire Charitable Foundation’s Community Crisis Action Fund
37 Pleasant Street, Concord 603-225-6641 www.nhcf.org/about-us/communitycrisis-action-action-fund
The Community Crisis Action Fund is a vehicle for the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to allocate unrestricted grants to scores of nonprofits working on the front lines to reduce the pain and hardship from Covid-19 for our most vulnerable neighbors — food for hungry kids and seniors, shelter for homeless people and families, transportation and whatever other assistance is needed wherever it is needed. Strategic grants to help reduce the longer-term impact of Covid-19 on critical systems such as healthcare, emergency response, child care and food security — especially for marginalized children and families.
EDITOR’S PICK
Most Consequential Actions to Expand Broadband in Rural NH: New Hampshire Electric Co-op
579 Tenney Mountain Highway, Plymouth 866-431-1928 www.nhec.com
Prompted by a grassroots effort by its members, New Hampshire Electric Cooperative has added broadband to its offered services. With the aid of a federal CARES Act grant distributed by the governor, in 2020, NHEC rapidly constructed two fiber optic networks, extending access to nearly 900 NHEC members in four towns — Lempster, Clarksville, Colebrook and Stewartstown — who previously were severey lacking reliable internet coverage. But that is only the beginning of NHEC’s plans, as it intends to build high-speed internet service to all 115 of its member communities that do not have 25-megabit download and 3-megabit upload capability.
EDITOR’S PICK
Most Unrelenting Promotion of the Arts & Culture in NH: New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts
155 Dow Street, Suite 402, Manchester www.nhbca.com
The New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts is a statewide membership organization for businesses, artist entrepreneurs, and arts and cultural organizations. NHBCA breaks down barriers between the business and arts communities to develop important relationships that more broadly define how art and businesses can support one another. Together, members ensure that the arts are recognized for their economic power in the state’s workforce and community development. Nominations for the annual prestigious recognition of an individual, business or arts/cultural organization are due by 8 a.m., Friday, April 30.
EDITOR’S PICK
Best Media Match-Up to Raise Pandemic-Era Funds:
WMUR-TV
100 South Commercial Street, Manchester 603-669-9999 www.wmur.com
iHeartMedia
815 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth 603-436-7300 70 Foundry Street, Suite 300, Manchester, NH 603-625-6915 iheartradio.com
WMUR’s Erin Fehlau and Sean Mcdonald joined iHeartRadio’s Greg Kretschmar to host a one-hour special to raise money to help the New Hampshire Food Bank keep up with an incredibly high demand and feed local families in need during this crisis. The WMUR/iHeartRadio Project Community: New Hampshire Together From Home fundraiser generated more than $831,434, translating to more than 1.6 million meals. And that number grew even larger thanks to two matching grants from the Lois Roy Dickerman Fund and Thomas W. Haas Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation.
EDITOR’S PICK
Strongest Push to Help Flying Car Industry Take Off in NH: Rep. Keith Ammon, New Boston
Keith.Ammon@leg.state.nh.us
During a break in his legislative terms, Keith Ammon worked with Rep. Steve Smith, R-Sullivan, to introduce legislation laying out protocols for registering, inspecting and plating “roadable aircraft” — otherwise known as a flying car. Ammon, a New Hampshire dealer of European roadable aircraft PAL-V, encouraged collaborative input from others in the industry including Sam Bousfield, founder of Oregon-based Samson Sky, and Woburn, Mass.-based Terrafugia, a subsidiary of a Chinese-owned company. The result was national attention for New Hampshire leading the way for these new vehicles and the testing of them, with the hope it will attract further industry interest to the Granite State.
EDITOR’S PICK
Most Significant Industry Resource: New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association’s New Hampshire Hospitality Employee Relief Fund
16 Center Street, Concord 603-228-9585 www.nhlra.com
The New Hampshire Hospitality Employee Relief Fund was launched by the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association and the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association Education Foundation to support employees of the hospitality industry who have been impacted by Covid-19. New Hampshire’s second largest industry was among the most negatively affected by governmentimposed restrictions. The fund continues to accept donations and award funding to hospitality workers who are struggling to pay bills, having been laid off at no fault of their own.
EDITOR’S PICK
Best Effort to Combat Economic Effects of Covid in the Upper Valley: Upper Valley Haven
713 Hartford Avenue, White River Junction, VT 802-295-6500 www.uppervalleyhaven.org
Almost entirely dependent on private donations, Upper Valley Haven is working mightily to mitigate food insecurity and to provide supportive housing for people struggling with finances, addictions, mental health issues or any combination of the three. The organization distributes food from a large tent six days a week to anyone eligible. The 40-year-old organization also provides financial literacy, rental education and other services to those living on the New Hampshire or Vermont side of the region.
EDITOR’S PICK
Most Resilient Workforce: PAK Solutions
16 Page Hill Road, Lancaster 603-788-4784 paksolutionsusa.com
It was the resilience of a group of employees that led to the turnaround of a Lancaster flexible packaging manufacturer. The company was on the brink of closure, having been starved of investment and suffering from poor management, as dictated by its Indonesian parent company. Learning the company was for sale, three families purchased the plant, which they were struck to find had well maintained, albeit dated, machinery that was in good working order and employees with a dogged spirit and sound work ethic — creating a reputation that allowed them to retain and build upon their customer base.
