NASHUA – Jody Gage is a lot of things.

Second-generation downtown business owner, Rotary Club president, board member of local advocacy groups, tireless civil servant, and, according to The Telegraph reader’s-choice polls, the best Nashua florist for seven of the past eight years.

But it is Gage’s passion, Citizens Bank branch manager Lauren Boardman said Monday, that made the proprietor of Fortin Gage Flowers and Gifts the best choice for Nashua’s “Heart of Your City” award, one of 13 being presented in the state’s 13 cities throughout the year.

Of all Gage does, Boardman said, “Jody brings the most important thing to the table, and that’s passion. Not only are you a passionate businessman, you’re passionate about helping others, about your community.”

Along with the plaque, which Gage, surrounded by family and associates, received during a brief ceremony Monday at Citizens Bank on Main Street, Gage will be featured in the Friday edition of WMUR-TV’s “New Hampshire Chronicle,” the station’s evening magazine feature on Granite State people, places and things. The program runs weekdays from 7-7:30 p.m.

An initiative of WMUR-TV and Citizens Bank, the Heart of Your City award is a yearlong program that recognizes “a citizen who goes the extra mile to make a difference in your community,” according to the description. “It might be someone everyone knows, or a person who quietly carries the banner to make good things happen,” it states.

“It’s humbling, to say the least,” Gage said as cameras clicked and applause filled the main lobby of the bank branch. “I’m kind of speechless, really … all I can say is I love Nashua, and I’ll always strive to help out as much as I can.”

Joe Carelli, president of Citizens Bank-New Hampshire, said Gage has been on the civic advocacy path for years.

“We applaud Jody for the tremendous work he is doing in his community and are delighted to work with … WMUR to showcase his efforts,” Carelli wrote in a statement.

Gage’s selection Monday makes Nashua the latest city to present the award, joining Manchester, Portsmouth, Dover, Claremont, Lebanon, Rochester and Somersworth. Concord, Keene, Laconia, Franklin and Berlin will name winners by year’s end.

Gage and his wife, Jill, have run Fortin Gage Flowers and Gifts since 2000, when they bought the business, at 86 W. Pearl St., from his father, Edward Gage Jr. The couple expanded their line of gifts, adding unique, sought-
after lines like Vera Bradley, Byers’ Choice Carolers and Mark Roberts Santa’s and Fairies.

Founded as “Fortin the Florist” by the late Charles Fortin in 1931, the shop became Fortin-Gage Ltd. when Edward Gage bought it in the early 1960s, after Fortin’s death. Jody – Edward Gage III – eventually joined his father, who turned it over to Jody and Jill when he retired.

Ed Gage and his wife, Doris, watched their son receive the award Monday. Jody’s brother Kevin also attended and brought sons Nicholas, 13, and Alex, 9.

“I was surprised, very surprised,” Jody Gage said later, recalling when a New Hampshire Chronicle producer called to congratulate him – and set a time for filming – in mid-September.

He was quick to cite his parents’ influence for today’s business and community accomplishments.

“I was taught from a young age to help those less fortunate,” he said, adding that seeing how involved his parents were in the community “instilled these values in me growing up. I love the feeling of making a positive impact in my community and in the lives of people who are in need.”

Dean Shalhoup can be reached at 594-6443 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com. Also follow Shalhoup on Twitter (@Telegraph_DeanS).