MINT HILL, NC – The Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce is proud to present the Tina Ross Business Leadership award for 2021 to Denise Boston of Chick-fil-A Mint Hill & Albemarle Road!

Typically presented at the Chamber’s annual meeting in November, Boston received the award at the March Member Luncheon in keeping with the Chamber’s plan to spread awards out over member luncheons in lieu of holding a virtual annual meeting last winter. 

Boston was nominated by Lynn Nelson, who remarked on Boston’s tireless devotion  to the Mint Hill community and her generosity in particular to our town’s veterans and the less fortunate in our community.  “When I got the email from the Chamber and I read about Tina Ross and everything she did so selflessly in the community, she struck me as a lady who was very similar to Denise,” says Nelson.  “Some people, you know they’re in service because they tell you about everything they do,” she continues.  “Denise is really very unassuming and very humble.  She’d never tell you what she’s doing if her life depended on it; she just does.”

Boston’s service to the community through her role as Marketing Director at Chick-fil-A Mint Hill and Albemarle Road is well-known, but as Boston’s neighbor, Nelson has been able to witness some of the quieter acts of leadership and service that she practices routinely, like volunteering at her church, caring for her own aging mother, and opening her home to foreign missionaries.  

“If there’s anything that comes up civically in the community, especially when it involves the kids who are her employees and what they’re doing in school, she’s there,” says Nelson.  “She has a true servant’s heart.  You see her everywhere in the community giving unconditionally.  She’s got so much going on at home, and she’s also giving so much to her church and her extended family.  It’s just amazing.  I couldn’t imagine anyone more deserving in Mint Hill.”  

Late commissioner Tina Ross was a dedicated teacher, businesswoman, politician and mother who was strong in her convictions, passionate about her causes and always ready to listen to others with an open mind.  As a public servant, she pursued her vision for a strong and thriving Mint Hill and wrote the first check for what is now the Mint Hill Chamber of Commerce.

The Business Person of the Year Award is presented annually to an individual who, like Tina, has positively contributed to the betterment of Mint Hill’s business community.  The recipient must hold a leadership role in a currently operating business, have made significant contributions to aid community-oriented projects, display exemplary customer service, practice personal integrity and fair business practices, inspire or motivate others to get involved and serve the Mint Hill community, and lead by example.

It’s those criteria the committee turns to when reviewing nominations and selecting the award’s recipient.  “We were lucky to have a superb pool of candidates this year who held all of the eligible criteria,” says Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Paige McKinney.  “The committee really went line by line with those last few candidates evaluating each of the criteria.”

Boston was selected from a pool of ten candidates including herself.  Other nominees included Sheryl Smith (Town of Mint Hill), Anna Granger (1st Choice Properties), Tess Siler, Kat dePrater (The Gift Workshop and Mint Hill Flower Market), Jordan Cox (The Roof Medic), Maria Hogge (Mending Strides Ranch), Tammy Brooks (Novant Health Mint Hill Medical Center), Debbie Carver (Mama K’s Kettle Corn), and Angela Mills (Spotlight Performing Arts).

Congratulations to Denise Boston for this well-deserved recognition!