This year, NH Business Review marks the 20th anniversary of our Business Excellence Awards, which celebrate the initiative, creativity and tenacity of the Granite State’s business community.
In all of those years, the Business Excellence Awards have been presented to over 250 exceptional Granite Staters — people from across the state whose accomplishments can inspire others to make their own mark on New Hampshire’s future. This year, we recognize 15 businesspeople who embody the resilience and passion needed to defeat the odds and build a successful business.
Each of them has a unique story to tell, but what they all have in common is ambition, industriousness, the ability to cultivate innovative solutions and respect for their employees, vendors, customers and clients. And each shares a commitment to serving their communities that will impact our state for generations to come.
And again this year, we celebrate the induction of another member of our Business Excellence Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame honors people whose entire careers have been devoted not just to the business community of New Hampshire, but the whole state, and often beyond our borders.
This year’s winner, Tom Raffio, is the embodiment of that description. We’re thrilled to honor and thank Tom for his accomplishments and contributions to New Hampshire, and beyond.
Finally, we’d like to acknowledge all of the 2022 nominees, the hundreds of people who have nominated business leaders over the past 20 years, the judges who have graciously given their time to select our honorees and, of course, all of our past and present Business Excellence Award winners, who have set the standard for business success in New Hampshire.
MEET THIS YEAR’S WINNERS >>
Hall of Fame
Tom Raffio Northeast Delta Dental
Tom Raffio has served as president and CEO of Northeast Delta Dental since 1995. Before joining the company, he was senior vice president of Delta Dental of Massachusetts and director of group healthcare management reporting at John Hancock Insurance. Tom spearheaded the creation of the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation, which supports oral health programs each year by investing several hundred thousand dollars. He is an engaged civic leader, serving on numerous boards and has authored several publications, including “Prepare for Crisis – Plan to Thrive.” He earned an undergraduate degree at Harvard University, an MBA from Babson College, and designation as a Fellow of the Life Management Institute.
Business & Professional Services — Small Company
Matt Mayberry, NH Home Builders Association
Matt Mayberry, a longtime Realtor with 25 years of real estate and development experience, is the new executive director for the NH Home Builders Association, which has been representing the industry for decades and is affiliated with the National Associate of Home Builders — a highly respected home building industry organization. He was previously the Dover City Councilor, as well as the former commissioner of the New Hampshire Human Rights Commission and a former candidate for the Republican nomination in the 1st Congressional District.
Business & Professional Services — Large Company
Brian Groshon, Casella Waste Systems
Brian Groshon is a market area manager for Casella Waste Systems, a large regional waste and recycling service provider based in the Northeast. Brian manages the collection and transfer operations in southeastern New Hampshire and northeastern Massachusetts. Brian came to Casella in 2014 through the company’s Operations Manager Trainee Program. Through his time at Casella, he’s held various roles, operations supervisor, assistant general manager, to his current role. Previously, Brian was an aviation officer in the U.S. Army, where he was part of two deployments in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.
Consumer Services — Small Company
Traci Bisson, Golden Dog Adventure Company
Traci Bisson is the owner/founder of Golden Dog Adventure Co., where she creates and implements events for dogs and their people, including a Doggy Easter Egg Hunt, Doggy Olympics, Corn Maze & Halloween Pawty, Wine & Wags Socials, among many others. In 2020, Traci was featured in an issue of Sitter’s World for her focus on sustainability and community. She was also named a Northeast Credit Union Planet Protector for her contributions to sustainability, and has been featured on NH Chronicle and the Portsmouth Herald, and chosen as a 2022 Best of NH Editor’s Pick in New Hampshire Magazine and the 2022 Best of the Seacoast.
Consumer Services — Large Company
Penney Mabey, Eastern Propane and Oil
Penney Mabey joined Eastern Propane & Oil in 1990, focusing on her customers and building a team of customer service professionals. As the AVP of customer care, she oversees the 24/7 customer care department in Rochester, and works closely with the 12 district offices to ensure customers receive the best service. Penney is active in national and regional propane associations, and has been a member of the Women in Propane committee and the Propane Benchmarking Group for many years. For the past 20 years, she has chaired Eastern’s annual golf tournament, Swing for Charities, which donates approximately $30,000 each year to over 40 local charities.
Financial Services — Small Company
Matthew Neuman, Absolute Title
Since 2015, Matthew Neuman has served as the sole managing member of Absolute Title, a company he helped co-found in 2005. Matt has been dubbed the “Titan of Title” for his industry innovations, including his patented software, AbsolutePay, and his MCV closing services. Providing top-tier customer service has always been his top priority, and any realtor or loan officer in the state will attest to his willingness to go above and beyond for his customers and business partners. Matt is a member of the New Hampshire and Massachusetts Bar Associations, and currently serves as the legal advisor to the New Hampshire Capital Region Habitat for Humanity.
Financial Services — Large Company
Mark O’Dell, Service Credit Union
Mark O’Dell is the vice president of lending at Service Credit Union, the largest credit union in New Hampshire, where he supervises the consumer, indirect, commercial and real estate lending divisions in addition to special accounts at the credit union. He is a member-experience driven, results-focused professional with success in strategic planning and growth, staff training and business development. Originally from Illinois, Mark previously was the VP of residential lending at Alliant Credit Union in Chicago in addition to other roles at NB&T and JP Morgan Chase.
Healthcare — Small Company
Beth Slepian, Granite VNA
Beth is president/CEO of Granite VNA, which serves thousands of patients and families each year as the state’s largest home health and hospice organization, where she oversees employees and volunteers who help implement the nonprofit’s mission. She serves on the board of directors for Havenwood Heritage Heights’, CATCH Neighborhood Housing, the Greater Concord Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association for Home Care and Hospice including its public policy committee and government affairs advisory council. Her work emphasizes that providing clinical and administrative opportunities for learning and advancement helps strengthen the community’s health and improves workforce retention and sustainability.
Manufacturing — Small Company
Sal Lupoli, Lupoli Companies
Sal grew up in an Italian American home in East Boston, learning from his Italian grandfather, who opened a pizzeria at Revere Beach in 1940. As the third generation of entrepreneurs, Sal opened his first Sal’s Pizza store in Salem, NH. Today, Sal’s Pizza is sold at Fenway Park and TD Garden, and Sal’s “Oven-Ready Pizza” is available at major grocers including Walmart, BJ’s, Hannaford, Shaw’s and Market Basket. Known for his transformation of Riverwalk in Lawrence, Mass., Sal’s company was recently named the 4th Largest Developer in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal.
Manufacturing — Large Company
Thomas Taylor, Foxx Life Sciences
In 2013, Tom founded Foxx Life Sciences, a bioprocess singleuse technology supplier with over 5,000 products and five clean rooms in three manufacturing and distribution facilities in Salem and Londonderry, NH, and Hyderabad, India. Tom holds over 30 patents and dozens of registered trademarks, and previously served as president of Roush Life Sciences and Nypro Medical Products Group, the vice president at Millipore, and director of sales and marketing at Pall Corporation (Gelman Sciences). He serves on the board of the BIA, Medical Products Outsourcing, and was the 2009-11 chairman of Mass Medic, and was on the Advisory Board for Nypro Forbes India, Radius Product Development and NPA.
Nonprofit — Small Company
Eileen Liponis, NH Food Bank
After receiving her undergraduate degree from Boston College and many years in finance in the Boston area, Eileen came to New Hampshire to pursue her MBA from the University of New Hampshire. The rewards of mission-driven work drew her away from the for-profit world and led her to the helm of the New Hampshire Food Bank. Through their network of over 400 partner agencies, they reach 9% of NH folks who are food insecure with nutritious food to positively impact their health. Eileen now resides in the Seacoast area with her husband and three daughters.
Nonprofit — Large Company
Paul Dann, NFI North
Paul Dann is the executive director of NFI North, a nonprofit mental health and human services agency meeting the needs of children, youth, families and adults throughout New Hampshire and Maine. He was previously the director of children and family services for North American Family Institute and held various positions with Northeastern Family Institute. Paul is part-time faculty at New England College and at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. He is a former research fellow at the Institute for Social Innovation and a published author who focuses on effective leadership development, nonprofit and change management, and organizational culture.
Real Estate & Construction — Small Company
Emily Jeanson, HIRS, LLC
Emily owns and operates two companies: HIRS LLC, a small, family-operated, home improvement business, and Rose Barn Management Group LLC, a professional services and management contracting company. After two years overseas in the Peace Corps, Emily worked in human services before moving on to corporate incident management, disaster recovery and risk management. In the last several years, Emily achieved her MBA, two professional certifications in resiliency and business continuity, and several excellence awards, including a local 40 Under 40 in 2016 and Rising Star award in early 2022.
Real Estate & Construction — Large Company
Mark Aquilino, Outdoor Pride Landscape and Snow Management
Mark embraces the philosophy of people, planet and profit at his company, Outdoor Pride, the Northeast’s leading snow and landscape management provider. Mark assumed the role of president in 2016, and has grown the company by nearly 290% (7 million to 24 million). He gained national recognition as a “Forbes Small Giant,” several national industry awards, and most recently as one of the best places to work in snow and ice management. Mark also founded the Aquilino Family Foundation in 2019 to support local nonprofits, donating more than $250,000 since.
Social Equity — Small Company
Emerald Anderson-Ford, CRED
While growing up in Atlanta, Ga., Emerald spent weekends helping to feed the homeless population and visited prisons and detention centers. She majored in philosophy at Georgia Southern University, where she began to understand the gaps in the education system and those stuck in carceral and poverty cycles. Emerald served as a co-founder of the City Year Office of Equity, later serving as the managing director of diversity and equity strategy. She founded Communities Reaching for Equity and Diversity (CRED), an equity consulting group, specializing in abolition and Black liberation work with multiple school districts, police departments, and other government and nonprofit entities.
Technology — Small Company
Jason Golden, Mainstay Technologies
Jason is the president at Mainstay Technologies, an IT and information security company, where he leads company-wide operations within the executive and senior leadership team. As an Enneagram 8 (The Challenger), he fights for things that are good and right, and stays competitive and focused on growth in all its forms. At home, Jason spends time with his wife of 25 years, their three adult children, two grandchildren and a homestead farm — a place where he finds deep meaning, peace and joy.
