The East Bay Chamber of Commerce held its annual Business Excellence Awards dinner and election of officers on Oct. 21 at the Ramada Conference Center in Seekonk. Two businesses were chosen from the Chamber’s nearly 400 members to be recognized for their performance and contributions to the local economy and East Bay communities.

President Steve Hollands and a dozen employees from Jade Engineered Plastics attended the banquet and were honored for Jade’s commitment to the East Bay. In the past two years, Jade relocated from Bristol to Warren, set up a state-of-the-art facility in the former FedEX plant along Market Street, and grew to 99 employees and counting. Business is booming and they’re looking to grow more.

Ben, Mary Beth and Mark Lescault of Grace Barker Health also attended the event to be recognized. Mary Beth and Mark are second-generation owners of the senior care facilities in Warren, and Ben will be the third generation to lead the company.

They were honored for their remarkable performance during the Covid pandemic, when their facilities maintained one of the lowest rates of infection or death in Rhode Island. Rep. Jason Knight and Sen. Cynthia Coyne both spoke to recognize the businesses and present their citations.