#BestChamber Practices - Annual Awards --- Bringing Deserving People and Organizations into the Spotlight at Your #Chamber

How much does an award certificate with a frame cost? Twenty dollars. How much might that award mean to a new or emerging business? Plenty. Never lose the opportunity to recognize one of your member businesses with an award at the annual meeting or dinner. Chambers have a great opportunity to spotlight a member business and help create some buzz. Put the list of winners in a prominent place on your chamber website. Send out a full color announcement about the winners in your chamber newsletter. Send a email blast to your members, former  members and media. Take plenty of photos and submit them to your local newspaper, magazine, radio station and TV station. (Find the right contact at each of these media with a phone number that you can follow up with. Don't send the email announcements to info@WKRPradio.com).  Putting a video of each award winner on the chamber website would be a plus.

Here are some awards that would create positive feelings throughout the community and give braggin' rights (2014 Award Winner for Your Hometown Chamber of Commerce) on an annual basis:

Entrepreneur of the Year
Executive Leadership of the Year

Health and Wellness Provider of the Year 
Heart of the Chamber
Small Business Veteran 
Business Anniversary (10, 25, 50 years)
Volunteer of the Year 
Small Business of the Year (1-10 Employees)
Board Member of the Year

Award of Excellence
Chamber Restaurant of the Year
Technology Company of the Year (small, medium, large)
Rookie of the Year Business
Start-Up of the Year 
Innovator Practices

Fastest Growing Business (Revenues, Employees)

Home-Based Business of the Year
Not-For-Profit of the Year
New and Emerging Business Person 
Business-to-Business Company of the Year
Woman-Owned Business of the Year
Community Relations
Minority-Owned Business

Small Business Person of the Year 

Service Business of the Year
Customer Service
Small Business Advocate of the Year

Phoenix Award - Comeback of the Year (recovery from bad luck/a natural disaster etc.)

Local Graduate of the Year (with or without a scholarship)

Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Exporter of the Year

Veteran Owned Business of the Year
Most Local Business Loans

Which awards would benefit your community? How many other recognition awards can you and the chamber staff think of? Email me at jdussman.vp@villageprofilemail.com .

Multiple Sources and Acknowledgements to: Austin (Texas) Chamber of Commerce,  Roanoke (Virginia) Regional Chamber of Commerce, Greater Springfield (Illinois) Chamber of Commerce.