You know Marc Berube’s name because he’s been selling insurance in Nashua for more than 25 years.

You know his face from board meetings, church and Main Street. He’s involved with a half-dozen local nonprofits and civic groups, much like his father before him.

“I’ve been very fortunate, and my business is doing better than I could have ever imagined,” said Berube, 50. “I want to give back.”

Berube, a Nashua native, started working for his father’s insurance company after graduating from the University of New Hampshire in 1985. But when his father died in 1989, the then-25-year-old found himself without the money, knowledge and wherewithal to run Caron & Berube alone, he said.

A couple years later, he sold the Nashua business to Cy Thibault, who owned the Eaton Agency in Milford and Greenville.

“I worked for him until 2001, when I bought him out,” Berube said. “He’s a great guy. He was the best man in my wedding. In essence, he took the place of my father.”

Eaton & Berube Insurance Agency has continued to grow with Berube as president. He later bought Nashua’s St. Laurent & McArdle Insurance, merging the agencies. The combined company, which focuses on home, auto and business insurance, now has 25 employees and two locations – one in Nashua and the other in Milford.

Berube works closely with his wife and co-owner, Sue.

“We call her the big boss,” said Berube, who lives in Bedford with Sue and their three children.

In 2011, Berube partnered with four other New Hampshire insurance agencies to form the Northern United Agent’s Alliance. The alliance is made up of small, independent agencies that pool their resources so they can compete financially with larger companies. Membership has grown to 13, with agencies in Massachusetts and Vermont participating, too.

“We want to keep our own individual identities and brand names in our local markets but compete with bigger guys,” Berube said. “I think people want to work with a company they know locally.”

Berube serves on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Nashua. He’s a member of the Rotary Club and an adviser to two Rotary-run leadership programs, Nashua High School’s Interact Club and Nashua Community College’s Rotaract. He’s a member of the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Milford/Amherst Area Chamber
of Commerce, and he’s a professional ski instructor.

It’s not lost on Berube that all his community work, while it’s the right thing to do, is also good for business.

“We’re hoping to be the brand that’s recognizable in Nashua and Milford if you want to do business with the local guy,” he said.