DERRY — Service Credit Union, Concord Pediatric Dentistry, Tiny Bully, Ruffner Real Estate, the Performing Arts Venues Group and artist Richard Haynes were announces as the winners of this year’s New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts Awards. Jeff Johnston and Mark Stebbins were named as the Leadership Award recipients. The online presentation hosted by the New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts was on June 2 at Studio Lab in Derry.

The winners were recognized for their outstanding support of the arts and culture through donations of time, money and resources to benefit their communities in and around New Hampshire. NHBCA Executive Director Tricia Soule and Board Chair Tom Raffio co-hosted the event.

Service Credit Union was lauded for providing critical financial support to the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center to develop its first ever FreeMusic and Art Week. Concord Pediatric Dentistry was cited for its longtime sponsorship of the Capitol Center for the Arts’ summer children’s theater and supporting its return to live outdoor performances last summer. Tiny Bully received accolades for providing Portsmouth Music and Arts Center pro bono services that amounted to approximately $80,000 in value and resulted in 550 students accessing online learning. Ruffner Real Estate was honored for its support of the Exeter Music Fest, the American Independence Festival and the TEAM Fall Equinox Festival which have transformed the town of Exeter into a thriving local music scene.

Artist Richard Haynes was presented with the TD Bank Artrepreneur Award for his collaborative project “Culture Keepers, Culture Makers,” which creates a space for people from diverse backgrounds have authentic conversations about race, unity and equity.

The Performing Arts Venues Group received the Northeast Delta Dental Artsbuild Community Award for forming a coalition of dozens of performance venues including the Capitol Center for the Arts, the Hatbox Theater, The Stockbridge Theater, Weathervane Theater, Winnipesaukee Playhouse, Tupelo Music Hall, Andy’s Summer Playhouse, Jean’s Playhouse, 3S Artspace, the Palace Theater and many more to forge a strong community that speaks as one voice in the fight to ensure that live performance can (safely) continue to flourish during these pandemic times and beyond.

Jeff Johnston of Cathartes and Mark Stebbins of XSS Hotels were honored with the Business Leader Award for the Together 200 campaign they established to challenge the Portsmouth community to raise $100,000 which they would then match with their own funds. The goal was met and exceeded, necessitating a name change to the “Together 250” challenge, which ultimately raised over $250,000 for area organizations including the Music Hall, Seacoast Repertory Theater and Prescott Park Arts Festival.

Winners were awarded a framed mixed media work of art by Boscawen-based artist Adele Sanborn. Each award was inscribed with the award recipients’ name. In addition to sharing the stories of this year’s award winners, the program included a production created by NH Dance Collaborative featuring 22 dancers and actors. Interviews with Dean Kamen of FIRST, Paul LeBlanc of SNHU and Howard Brodsky of CCA Global Partners served as the muse for Hidden in Plain Sight.

Presenting Sponsors were NH Business Review and New Hampshire Magazine.

Premier Performance Sponsor was NH Dance Collaborative.

TD Bank was the naming sponsor of the Artrepreneur Award and Northeast Delta Dental served as the naming sponsor of the Artsbuild Community Award.

Digital Stage Sponsors were Events United, Studio Lab, Membit and WhyFly.

Trailblazer Sponsors were Bellwether Community Credit Union, Brady Sullivan Properties, Fidelity Investments, Lavallee Brensinger Architects and People’s United Bank.

Avant-Garde Sponsors were Baker Newman Noyes, Bank of America, Business and Industry Association, Catholic Medical Center, CGI Business Solutions, Couch Family Foundation, Fiduciary Trust of New England, Harvey Construction, Hitchiner Manufacturing, Hypertherm Inc., Ledyard National Bank, McLane Middleton, Orr & Reno, and Stibler Associates.

B2W Software, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, Membit, WhyFly and Mountain View Grand Resort and Spa are the AR Art Walk Sponsors.

Media Sponsor was 92.5 The River and in-kind support was provided by Bridge & Byron.

The New Hampshire Business Committee for the Arts presents the awards annually to recognize and honor outstanding individuals, businesses and organizations for support of arts and culture. The NHBCA was founded to educate, motivate and recognize business support of and participation in the arts. For more information contact the NHBCA at 603-228-4797 or visit www.nhbca.com.