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Hundreds of attendees came out to NJBIZ’s Business of the Year awards on Monday evening to celebrate their company’s nomination and hopes in winning an award.The reception areas of The Palace were lively with conversation until the grilled chicken came out – then it came alive with the clinking and clanking of forks on china. Hundreds of attendees came out to NJBIZ’s Business of the Year awards on Monday evening to celebrate their company’s nomination and hopes in winning an award. The Business of the Year awards are broken into three separate categories: Business of the Year, Corporate Citizen of the Year and Emerging Business of the Year.

The Business of the Year awards were broken up into three sub-categories based on size: 1-50 employees, 51-100 employees and 101 employees. Beating out eight other nominees, Rock Brook Consulting Group took home the award in the 1-50 employees category.

“It’s kind of a shock. It’s really the team – the managers, they work so hard.” said Greg DeMarco, owner of Rock Brook Consulting Group. “The clients have supported us through the years and it’s really been awesome.”

In the 51-100 employees group, Primepoint HRMS & Payroll earned the top spot.

“The energy was fantastic,” owner David Bothwell said of the evening.

Founded in 2000, Primepoint serves approximately 2,000 customers.

“We’re constantly trying to make it easy for our clients,” said Mary Bothwell, Primepoint event coordinator, citing her husband David’s hard work and dedication to the company’s mission to engineer smart solutions for problems that arise with HR and payroll.

Summit Health Management (SHM) nabbed the top spot for the 101 employees group. Since opening in 2014, it has created a model based on its success growing Summit Medical Group into a multispecialty group with four care hubs, more than 70 satellite locations, and more than 800 providers in 70 specialties. SHM recently announced its intentions to take their physician group management model beyond the limits of New Jersey and into Oregon and Arizona.

Although all six nominees for Corporate Citizen of the Year were well-deserving of recognition, Crum & Forster won the award by matching 100 percent of all employee donations. Jersey Girl Brewing Company earned Emerging Business of the Year over five other nominees, as the number one beer sold at the Prudential Center at only a year and a half old.

Of future goals, Jersey Girl owner Charles Aaron said, are “we’re going to open up accounts in all 21 counties before next year is over. All 21 counties, all Jersey Girl beer.”

The final award of the night was given to Robert Unanue and Peter Unanue, president and executive vice president of Goya Foods. Accepting the Executive of the Year Award in front of the crowd, Peter said, “It’s amazing to sit here and learn about all of the innovation going on here in New Jersey.”

Peter spoke to the history of Goya, started by his family in Manhattan in the 1936 and then moved to New Jersey in 1974.

“New Jersey provides fertile ground for businesses to thrive,” he said. “I was born here, and I’ve lived in New Jersey for 50 years now. It’s a great state. It offers so many things for quality of life and opportunity. We’re happy to be here.”