“It’s an honor just to be nominated.” We’ve all heard that statement and in today’s hustle and bustle world it couldn’t be more true. When fellow community members and customers take a minute out of their day to nominate or vote for a local business, the impact on the organization is transformational.
If you follow us on social media, get our emails, listen to local radio, or read The Daily World you might have heard about our upcoming Leader’s Banquet and Business Recognition Awards ceremony that is quickly approaching at the end of this month.
This annual tradition took a two-year hiatus and is coming back with an exciting return. Believe it or not, this is my first-time planning and attending this event even though I started in July 2020!
The greatest celebration of the night comes from being able to recognize local businesses for Small, Large, Non-Profit, Newcomer and Business of the Year. But it’s not just the winner we celebrate, we also celebrate everyone that was nominated. Starting in June the entire community was invited to nominate businesses and organizations for the Small, Large, Non-Profit and Newcomer of the Year awards. The community rallied and nominated over 50 local businesses and organizations. Once nominations were closed a ballot for the GGHI membership was prepared. To be eligible to win nominated a business/organization must be a member of GGHI. Some nominees didn’t make the ballot for voting, but we felt it important to let them know they were nominated by their community and offered them the opportunity to become a member.
In early September we sent the ballot of 36 nominees to the entire GGHI membership allowing them to vote. It was the largest field of nominees to date and had broad representation throughout the county. The results of these votes led us to where we are today with the top 4 vote recipients being recognized in the media and the winner to be revealed at the Leader’s Banquet.
When it comes to Business of the Year the process is a bit different. GGHI Ambassadors, the volunteer outreach and PR group for the organization identifies, interviews, and selects businesses over the course of the year. These businesses are recognized as Business of the Quarter and become eligible to be on the ballot for Business of the Year. The past two years have presented challenges in this process, but we are so happy to have four businesses to celebrate and recognize.
All of this is just process and operations though. What we really want to celebrate is the impact of what a nomination has on our local business community. From the front line to the executive office the feeling of knowing that your community nominated you is meaningful. It is a rare and special experience to know that wherever you are in an organization you are being thanked and celebrated. No individual business can receive the acknowledgement of their community without the collective effort of the entire organization and all nominees should feel an enormous sense of pride in that recognition. Much like shopping local is important, it is also important to “know who is local” by way of discovery, recognition, and celebration.
To learn more about our event and nominees visit our event page here: leadersbanquet.afrogs.org/#/details/event
Event Details:
When? Friday, October 28th 5pm-9pm
Where? Ocean Shores Convention Center
Ticket sales end on Monday, October 10th at 5pm! Secure your seat today for this one-of-a-kind event complete with a live auction, GGHI 10 Year Anniversary Champagne Toast, surf and turf dinner, and much more excitement!