2025's Top 50 N. American Biz People & Over 4,700 Local Winners

All I can say is, WOW, what a race! 

In six years, we've never seen so much energy and excitement on Alignable—fast and furious voting, heartfelt recommendations, Zoom calls buzzing, Smart Connects packed, and Contest Pep Rallies in full swing. It was electric! 

And the final numbers? Simply mind-blowing: 333,272 votes! 🎉

That’s a new record! We thought 2024’s total of 309,000 was impressive, but this year, we shattered it—a whole week before the contest ended!

Final Alignable Contest Tally for 2025: 333,272 Votes 🙌

But that’s not all. So many amazing contest fans encouraged their peers to write recommendations along with their votes—and WOW, did that pay off! More than 77,000 recommendations came in—13,000 more than last year! 

A huge shout-out to Evan Raoof, Paul L. Odendahl, Dr. Karen Fiorillo, Steve Levinson, JB Beckett, and so many others who championed the power of recommendations. Just look at the impact you’ve made! 👏

And let’s talk about the winners—4,750 walked away with top honors this year.

2025 also marked a game-changer: our first-ever N. American Local Business Person Of The Year Interactive Leaderboard —and what a HIT it was! 🎯 

Watching the rankings shift for weeks kept everyone on the edge of their seats, especially those who remained on the list until the very end!

Want to see the final Top 5o Leaderboard? Check it out here. 

But I’m also listing everyone below—because we’ll be celebrating this incredible group again and again over the next few months.

Alignable's Top 50 Local Business People of 2025  

1. Brian Gregory, Phoenix, AZ -- 530 votes
2. Paul L. Odendahl, Port St. Lucie, FL -- 401 votes
3. JB Beckett, W. Columbia, SC -- 390 votes
4. Stacy Mueller, Welland, ON -- 309 votes (No. 1 in Canada)
5. Steve Levinson, Boynton Beach, FL -- 299 votes
6. LaToya Germaine, New City, NY -- 297 votes
7. Shane Hicks, New Braunfels, TX -- 293 votes
8. Dr. Thomas Hill, Naperville, IL -- 289 votes (178 testimonials)
9. Yolanda Bennett, Las Vegas, NV -- 289 votes (173 testimonials)
10. Helena Smolock, Blaine, WA -- 283 votes
11. Michael Keller, Boca Raton, FL -- 276 votes
12. Ruth Aldana-Ricketts, Ellsworth, WI -- 269 votes 
13. Paul Finkelstein, Delray Beach, FL -- 260 votes
14. Dr. Mary Welsh, Warren, MI - 259 votes (164 testimonials)
15. Sara Finkelstein, Ft. Lauderdale, FL -- 259 votes (126 testimonials)
16. Dr. Janet, Fresno, CA -- 246 votes
17. Char Ross, Stone Mountain, GA -- 231 votes
18. Dr. Karen Fiorillo, Collegeville, PA -- 230 votes
19. Len Marshall, Toronto, ON -- 219 votes (No. 2 in Canada)
20. Maria Wirth, Allentown, PA -- 218 votes
21. Evan Raoof, Canton, MI -- 204 votes (123 testimonials)
22. Paul Kirch, Ft. Worth, TX -- 204 votes (79 testimonials)
23. Sam Rafoss, Calgary, AB -- 203 votes (No. 3 in Canada)
24. Amberly Shreve, Clarksville, MD -- 200 votes
25. Sheri Hauser, Campe Verde, AZ -- 199 votes
26. Jason Integrity, Concord, NC -- 190 votes
27. Jill Cone, Mesa, AZ -- 189 votes
28. Michael Stuck, Willoughby, OH -- 182 votes
29. Cherri Pedrioli, Santa Rosa, CA -- 175 votes
30. Susan Lubow, Bradenton, FL -- 168 votes
31. Tom Kavanaugh, Ventura, CA -- 164 votes
32. Susan Husa, Fall City, WA -- 163 votes
33. Todd Mitchell, Alamogordo, NM -- 161 votes  (89 testimonials)
34. Mark Robbins, Denton, TX -- 161 votes (84 testimonials)
35. James Clemens, Panama City Beach, FL -- 156 votes
36. Alise Kabakoff, West Hills, CA -- 155 votes
37. Nadya Tatsch, Plano, TX -- 154 votes
38. Uzoma Ra, Southfield, MI -- 153 votes 
39. Carol Witt, St. Petersburg, FL -- 152 votes 
40. Marc Weathers, White Plains, NY -- 143 votes (82 testimonials)
41. Geoffrey Kent, Philadelphia, PA -- 143 votes (71 testimonials)
42. Ralph Danna, Spring Hill, FL -- 140 votes  
43. Christopher Carbaugh, Monterey, CA -- 133 votes
44. Brian Nagle, Winter Park, FL -- 128 votes
45. Tony Ransdell, Elgin, IL -- 127 votes
46. Victor Felix, Orlando, FL -- 126 votes
47. Gunther Kramer, Waterloo, ON -- 123 votes (No. 4 in Canada)
48. Debbie Smith, Glenmoore, PA -- 120 votes
49. Steve Liebroder, Palm Harbor, FL --- 119 votes (71 testimonials)
50. Yvette B. Eldridge, North Conway, NH -- 119 votes (69 testimonials)

Congratulations to these North American winners. Please feel free to connect with them and hear their advice on making the most of networking here on Alignable. 

Local Leaderboards -- Over 4,700 Winners 

Want to know how everything turned out in your hometown -- for you and your peers? 

Then just go to your Local Leaderboard. 

See your final ranking and then hit the big purple button underneath it to have the final leaderboard sent to you. 

What's Next? 

Well, you'll want to maintain the fantastic networking momentum you've established during this contest. The best way to do that is to dive into our brand new product offering: Alignable 360. 

Go to the My Network icon at the top of this page and get started, asking for introductions to the people who've been designated as the best referral partners or potential customers for you. 

Check out this great video describing how Alignable 360 works. 

Congregate with The Top 50 2025 Leaders Every Week!

You should also join the most helpful networkers around at my Contest Club events on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. ET. 

This group includes many of  the Top 50 leaders, plus the Top 50 Women of Alignable and the Top 25 Canadian Entrepreneurs.  Go here now and register to save a spot!

We've formed a very friendly and supportive family-like atmosphere in that group -- as all attendees exchange their success stories, and then there's a lot of time set aside to help newbies with questions.  

Thanks Everyone!

In wrapping up this article -- and the 2025 contest -- let me pass along my heartfelt thanks to everyone who was part of this hugely successful effort. 

A big shout-out goes to all Alignable members who helped their peers navigate every aspect of the contest, along with my team members at Alignable who joined forces to make this the best one ever: Roger, Ryan, Abby, Reina, Brittany, Willis, Amanda, Nick, Chris, Don, and, of course, Eric and Venkat, too. 

Please feel free to share your best memories from the contest and how this contest and/or those in the past have helped you build your business. 

Thank you all again—your support has been absolutely amazing and truly uplifting. I deeply appreciate the very joyful friendships I get to build each year through these incredible competitions. And I'm already looking forward to 2026's contest.