Home » 2022 Salute to Small Business Awards application available now

2022 Salute to Small Business Awards application available now

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Commerce Lexington began honoring the contributions that small businesses have to our economy in 1986, and since that very first Salute to Small Business event, the impact of small businesses has become more important than ever.

The Lexington business community is pleased to recognize some of the area’s best small businesses and one outstanding nonprofit organization during the 2022 Salute to Small Business Awards presented by Forcht Bank.

Under normal circumstances, owning and operating a small business is difficult, but the last two years of the pandemic have made it even more challenging.  Small businesses and entrepreneurs across our region have not only had to adapt and evolve quickly, but many had to find ways to be more innovative and efficient, while others completely changed products or production lines to meet the needs of their customers and the community.

How does your small business or nonprofit stack up against the area’s best?  Apply by July 11, 2022, for one of four award categories in this year’s Salute to Small Business, and find out who will be crowned the new Small Business of the Year at the Salute to Small Business Awards Luncheon presented by Forcht Bank on Friday, August 26, at The Campbell House (1375 South Broadway), from noon to 1:30 p.m.

Award Categories:

MINORITY BUSINESS AWARD

The Minority Business Award recognizes an ethnically-owned member business, which is defined by Commerce Lexington as a business that is 51-percent owned, operated, and controlled by a person within the following racial and ethnic groups: African American (individual of Black race of African origin or parentage); Hispanic American (Latin American culture, origin or parentage); or Asian American (Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Indonesian, Indochinan, Malaysian, Fillipino, native Hawaiian or other Pacific Island culture, origin or parentage). Tell us about the unique aspects of your business, such as enhanced services for customers, workplace flexibility initiatives, logistics adjustments, and/or expansion efforts.

BUSINESS SUCCESS AWARD

The best small businesses within a community not only provide exceptional products or services but have become part of the fabric of the city. This award exemplifies both business and civic leadership. Community involvement, good management practices, overall financial performance, and workplace culture and employee relations are the primary criteria for this category.  Tell us about unique aspects of your business, such as enhanced services for customers, workplace flexibility initiatives, logistics adjustments, and/or expansion efforts.

ENTREPRENEUR AWARD

This award celebrates a visionary entrepreneur who has turned an idea into a successful and growing business. The individual must serve as a majority owner and operate or bear principal responsibility for operating a small business with at least a three-year track record. Evidence of success as measured by sales and profits, increased employment opportunities created by the nominee’s business, development and/or utilization of innovative or creative business methods, and demonstrated entrepreneurial potential necessary for long-term business success and economic growth.

NONPROFIT COMMUNITY IMPACT AWARD

To be considered for this award, the organization must highlight its services, fundraising efforts, its impact and return on investment, ability to inspire and engage volunteers, maximize its output, and reach a wide variety of groups and people within the community. The nonprofit Community Impact award winner is not eligible for the Overall Small Business of the Year.

How to Apply / Nominate Your Favorite Small Business:

Access the awards application online at www.commercelexington.com/salute-to-small-business.html or nominate a small business in our community that deserves to be recognized, and the Commerce Lexington team will contact the business with all the details on how to apply. The deadline to submit applications for the Salute to Small Business Awards is Monday, July 11, 2022.