See Our New Winners! Annual Contest Reveals Nearly 4,000 Local Biz Superstars​

WOW, you've already blown us away this year and 2023 is just getting going.

Throughout our six-week contest,  226,000+ votes were cast, and nearly 51,000 testimonials were penned. 

This frantic (and hopefully fun) activity resulted in all of you electing 3,976 Local Business People Of The Year -- breaking every record set over several years of Alignable competitions. 

We witnessed a whopping 61% spike in participation in 2023, and the number of winners skyrocketed by 55%. 

Back in early January, we asked you all to come out swinging in support of the most giving local business peers you know in your towns or across your Alignable network. And you not only listened, but you all delivered in a VERY BIG WAY. 

You fueled a virtual love fest for small business owners who go out of their way to help others. And it's our hope that this circle of support, praise, referrals, and recommendations continues to grow throughout 2023.

Find Out If You Or Your Friends Won!

We're going to cover several fun stats in this article, so let's cut to the chase for those reading this on the run, who just want to learn who won. 

If you emerged victorious in your Local Biz Of The Year competition, you should have a winner's badge on your profile, like this one personalized for JB Beckett of Beckett Financial Group in W. Columbia, SC. 

Please check for your badge now and come back!

The reason we're highlighting JB's badge is that he not only was elected W. Columbia's Local Business Person Of The Year for 2023, he has also earned the title of Alignable's No. 1 North American Business Person Of 2023. That's because he amassed more votes than anyone else this year: 264.

(When you have a minute, please reach out to JB and congratulate him. This is a big achievement. Plus, he is a super-nice guy who's very well-connected, and he wants to help everyone. So, you should be on his radar and politely ask him for networking advice, too). 

Now, if you didn't get a badge on your profile,  but still want to see who won in your community, use this link.  (It should work well, but if it doesn't go to a local leaderboard, that means no one met the three-vote minimum to win in your town). 

Next step: if you want to see who won in other communities, then follow this simple URL trick.  Start with this general link (www.alignable.com/town-st/votes), and substitute the town/city and state/province of the community leaderboard you want to visit. As one example, to see who won in Mesa, AZ, you'd create the link: www.alignable.com/mesa-az/votes. 

Whether Or Not You Won, The Contest Has Helped

I hope you took home a Local Biz Person title. But if you didn't, don't fret. There's always next year. 

And just by participating this year, you've likely reaped rewards, as this entire contest turned into a "Networking On Steroids" exercise with 125,000+ great small business people receiving recognition in the form of a vote, a testimonial, or more. Chances are good you could have been one of these folks.

Beyond that, any testimonials you might have written will appear on the profiles of those you praised as recommendations soon, linking back to your profile, giving you added visibility. 

That's just one reason why this contest is a win-win-win no matter who actually walks away with a local title.

BIG Reveal: The Top 25 Local Winners Across N. America

So, we already gave you a way to see if you or your friends won. 

Plus, we spilled the beans about JB Beckett winning the North American title. If that's all you wanted to know, you're off the hook for reading the rest of this article. 

However, if you have time, you might want to stick around, as we have a lot more news to share. One huge revelation is the list of the Top 25 North American winners, beyond lucky JB. This colorful chart contains the names of some of the most praised, adored, and helpful folks on Alignable right now. (There were some ties, so it's actually the Top 31 winners. I didn't want to leave anyone out!). 

Quite a list, right? Are you on it? Or do you hobnob with anyone showcased here? Regardless, please share this list and reach out to any and all of these wonderful people -- to keep this contest's networking frenzy going. 

And hey, you could even score some points by telling them you saw them in our newsletter, sending them the link to this story. You might be the first one to tell them, which would probably make their day -- and create a lasting, positive impression, right?

Looking More Closely At This List

While everyone on this list is a Rock Star, I just wanted to take a few moments to highlight a few of these leaders who are doing a lot to help others in their communities and across the Alignable network. For starters, let's look at the rest of the Top 10 Movers and Shakers.

• Following JB in the top spot, Kimberly Wallace of Southern Magnolia Media in Cornelius, NC came in second across North America. She, too, is very well-connected and supportive of others on our network, offering to help all sorts of people in various groups. 
• Michael Keller of Service Finance Company won his local contest in Boca Raton, FL last year, and is back again to take the 2023 title! And he shot right up to the Top 3 across North America this year! 
• In the No. 4 spot, we have one of Alignable's living legends: Alignable Alliance Ambassador Jill Cone of AZ Metals in Mesa, AZ. Jill has been the No. 1 National U.S. and North American champ for a couple of years, across two different contests, spending a great deal of time helping others with their businesses. And this year, she also happens to be No. 1 Among All Ambassadors Across North America, generating more votes than any other Ambassador. Jill's a true giver. Everyone here should get to know her if they haven't already befriended her. 
• In fifth place, we have newcomer Varun Singh of Animus Global &  Wondercomm.  Not only is this his first Alignable win, he also happens to be the No. 1 Canadian Local Business Person for 2023!  What an incredible start for Varun from Victoria, BC.

More Top 10 Champions Across North America

• In the No. 6 spot, we have Helena Smolock of Velocity Athletic Training, who's very active on Alignable and loves to help members with everything from tips on participating in this annual contest to general networking advice. Helena was among our Top 10 last year, too. Congrats on another major achievement, getting yet another year off to a great start! Here's a recent testimonial from Helena illustrating just how much she loves these contests. 
  

• Monty Read is in seventh place overall, and in second place in Canada. An active Ambassador for Regina, SK, Monty also led his community to become the No. 1 Best City For Small Businesses In Canada! Additionally, Monty is Canada's No. 1 Vote-Generating Ambassador. Believe it or not, this is also his first time entering an Alignable contest. Amazing work, Monty!
• Michael Stuck of Gables Search Group is in the No. 8 spot. A perennial local winner out of Willoughby, OH since 2020, he is back again, and stronger than ever. Congrats on making it to the Top 10 in North America this year, Michael!
• Dr. Valencia Moses of Vibrant Coaching in Cincinnati, OH, another frequent local contest winner, has made it to ninth place across the network this year! Dr. V is a very dedicated Alignable Ambassador. In fact, this year, she drove so much support for Cincinnati's local business community, she catapulted Cincinnati to the No. 1 Best Place In The U.S. (and all of North America) For Small Businesses. 
• Rounding out the Top 10 winners, we wanted to introduce Paula Roberts of Aqua Community Relations Group in San Diego, CA.  Similar to Jill, Monty, and Valencia, Paula is a very devoted Ambassador, helping all sorts of people across her local alliance. She and Valencia were also integral to Alignable's Give Back Day, a multi-city charitable campaign last October. And this is Paula's first year in the contest. Excellent work all around, Paula. 

Other Ambassadors Or Group Leaders On The Top 25 List

Before we finish praising our North American winners, we want to call out others in the Top 25 who serve important roles as volunteer Alignable Alliance Ambassadors and/or Group Leaders. (See the chart above for their roles). 

These all-stars include:

• Dr. Mary Welsh of Susie Q's Kids, Inc.
• Jason Integrity of IntegrityGO
• Stacy Mueller of Mueller Acres Rustic 
• Tracey Lee Davis of ZingPop Social Media, who has more contest badges on her profile than anyone else on Alignable
• Bob Chasan of Farmers Insurance Agency
  
• Kevin Rhodes of gadgetlesstech
• Colette Martin of Business In Pearls
• Dr. Karen Fiorillo of Modern Nature
• Jory Hingson Fisher, who's very active across Alignable helping others and has been a local contest winner since our first competition.
• Kimberly Noh of Noh Hassle Bookkeeping who's also a sage advisor to many on our platform, as well as a great supporter of the contests. 
• Shane Hicks of RebootVA, another first-time contest winner this year.

Congrats again to all of our local and N. American winners and to all of the voters who participated. (Without the voters, we would have no contest).

If you want to become even more involved with your online or offline communities at Alignable, like several of the Top 25 winners highlighted above,  join an Ambassador Alliance that already exists, or create your own by becoming a new Ambassador. Go here to get the ball rolling.  

Likewise, if you want to increase your visibility and impact on Alignable, and share your wisdom with a Special Group, you can also apply to be a Group Leader by clicking here. 

Top 100 Communities For Local Businesses Unveiled

Before I wrap up this article, I want to share a quick look at the Best 100 Places For Small Businesses coast to coast, based on the voting and networking activity that occurred during the contest. 

As referenced briefly above, Cincinnati turned out to be the No. 1 City In The U.S. for Local Businesses, and the No. 1 City Across N. America, generating 400+ votes for members of its business community. 

And Regina emerged as the Top City In Canada For SMBs, ranking No. 8 overall in N. America. 

While these rankings are purely based on contest votes, the places with the most-engaged community networks for small business owners often indicate environments where SMBs can thrive. Even one very well-connected person in a town or city can jump-start the local business scene in impressive ways, as many contest winners have demonstrated. 

Here's the Top 100 List:

Looking at this list quickly, it's abundantly clear that the majority of voters in this contest favor towns in Florida, Texas, or North Carolina. Other states that are relatively well-represented include Arizona, Colorado, South Carolina, and Ohio. 

But what's most striking here is how few cities are on the West Coast or in the Northeast, likely because of the very expensive cost of living. 

In Canada, key cities in Ontario appear to be among the most popular for small businesses, though other provinces are represented, as well. 

As our contest continues to evolve, as well as our Ambassador program and our efforts to recruit more qualified Group Leaders, it'll be interesting to see if other hot spots arise as even more small business owners become engaged on Alignable. 

Shining The Spotlight On Terrific People

Thanks so much for reading and for participating in this contest. For all of us here at Alignable, this all comes down to giving local business leaders the recognition they so richly deserve, but seldom receive. 

So, it's beyond heartwarming to see even more of you praising your peers and receiving accolades than in any year previously. 

Keep up the great work! And continue to use all of this contest activity as a springboard to more connections, enhanced networking, and a lot of new business for everyone. 

By the way, we are always looking for new Alignable success stories, as we want to make even more of you famous across our network and beyond. So, if you have a new testimonial to share, please contact me at chuck@alignable.com. I'm collecting them now and plan to feature them in future events, newsletter columns, and more.