2021 Local Business Person Of The Year Contest Rules

Alignable is launching its third annual Local Business Person Of The Year Contest, after receiving a massive response to our first two years of the competition.  (We amended the name this year from Small Business Person to Local Business Person, emphasizing how important local business leaders are to their communities, especially in the COVID Era).

As many of you know, unfortunately, we were forced to put the 2020 competition on hold in March when COVID hit North America hard, largely because we needed "all hands on deck" to help our members in the most effective ways possible at the time.  Our priorities shifted to include: 

• providing new resource centers replete with practical advice on weathering this storm.
  
• tracking COVID's negative effects on small businesses on a weekly basis
• reporting our findings to the media, as well as local and federal officials and policymakers.

While COVID remains a daunting force as we begin 2021, we are restarting this competition as a new contest, (but the badges we award will cover 2020-2021). There are many reasons why we believe a new contest is appropriate now:

• There's "a light at the end of the tunnel" as vaccines have been approved and key distribution programs have begun. Plus another wave of federal relief has just been passed in the U.S. to help keep struggling businesses afloat.  These developments have sparked renewed optimism.
• This year's contest can help bolster this optimism, as well as small business owners' confidence in the face of adversity.  We want to emphasize more of the "good news" to arise out of COVID: local business leaders helping their communities to survive and eventually thrive again.
• So many local business people have gone above and beyond to help their communities during this challenging time. We want to show overwhelming support for their efforts, empowering them for the months (and years) ahead, so they can unify others in expediting economic recovery.
• Many members use this contest to boost their networking and business-building efforts, which have never been more important than they are now, as members forge new alliances and find new ways to increase revenue. 

We hope you're as excited as we are to be part of this effort celebrating the best, most collaborative local business leaders in the U.S. and Canada in 2021. 

Following please find the official rules for 2021's competition:

SUMMARY: Alignable, Inc., the contest sponsor, is staging Alignable’s 2021 Local Business Person Of The Year Contest in thousands of communities throughout the U.S. and Canada. The No. 1 online referral network for small businesses with 6 million+ members, Alignable.com is hosting this contest to honor the most inspirational and supportive small business leaders in their communities -- women and men who go above and beyond to help their fellow small business peers. And in 2021, the emphasis will be on Alignable members who have collaborated with other businesses to help them and their communities stay afloat during the COVID Era.

Alignable plans to highlight contest winners in our many communications vehicles: our blog, Q&A Forum, newsletter, social media, and news releases. After the contest is over, the company will widely promote winners, bringing as much traditional, online, and social media attention as possible to them and their businesses.

ELIGIBILITY: Alignable’s 2021 Local Business Person Of The Year Contest is open to all legal adults in the fifty (50) United States, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and Canada, who are at least eighteen (18) years old at the time of entry. However, you must be an Alignable member to vote in the contest or win one of the local titles. (Anyone who is not currently a member, may join for free at Alignable.com).

Employees of Alignable, Inc., its owners, investors, partners, and their immediate family members (parents, spouses, siblings, and children) are not eligible. The Contest is subject to federal, state, and local laws and regulations. 

AGREEMENT TO OFFICIAL RULES: Participation in the Contest constitutes contestants' and voters' full and unconditional acceptance of these rules and the decisions of the sponsor, Alignable, which are final and binding. Winning is contingent upon being compliant with the official rules and fulfilling all other requirements set forth herein.

CONTEST TIMING: The Contest will run for approximately two (2) months, leading up to the final local town/city winner announcements, starting in February. However, the voting period is less than one month -- beginning at 6 a.m. Eastern Time on January 6, 2021, and ending at midnight, Eastern Time on February 5, 2021. Votes submitted before or after the entry period will be disqualified. 

All Alignable members will be notified of the contest on January 6, 2021 via email. They are invited to visit their favorite peer's profile to vote for them. The voting process is outlined in this post. 

Each member will have five (5) opportunities to vote. 

To win a Local Business Person Of The Year title, members must have at least three (3) votes.  The members with the highest vote totals in each Alignable community will be declared as that community's Local Business Person Of The Year in February, 2021, assuming he or she is in good standing on the Alignable platform as an active member at that point.

Please note: In some cases, there could be a tie for first place. All winners will be reviewed by Alignable to determine their current member status. Alignable reserves the right to make the final decision regarding any winner in each community.

If someone receives votes who does not want to participate, we will promptly remove him or her from the competition once we are notified by that individual via email. Anyone nominated who does not want to participate should reach out to chuck@alignable.com and will be removed from the competition at once.

At the end of the contest, the top Local Business People Of The Year in each of our communities will be honored with a tailored badge on their Alignable profiles and will be promoted via social and traditional media locally, regionally, and nationally. Please note, Alignable reserves the right to change deadlines and other aspects of the contest, as necessary. 

TO ENTER: NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. Current Alignable members can participate through a link received in a contest email, via their local newsletter, social media posts, or Alignable posts/press releases.

For people new to Alignable who want to nominate current members, they can join for free at Alignable.com, and post their votes on member profiles. Only Alignable members are eligible to win. 

Participants can vote for up to five Alignable members during the voting period (January 6, 2021 at 6 a.m. Eastern Time to February 5, 2020 at midnight, Eastern Time).

All comments posted about contestants must meet community standards and refrain from any profanity or anything disparaging. Otherwise, they will be blocked or removed -- on the Alignable platform or on Alignable's social media accounts.

Additional Requirements/Suggestions:

1. Though not required as part of the process, written recommendations can go a long way in addition to votes in this competition. Any one who votes for a Local Business Person Of The Year will be prompted to explain why in a comment box. Votes and recommendations will be part of the home feed and recipients of votes and recommendations will be alerted via email and feed notifications, as well. So voters' efforts on behalf of their favorite peers will likely be noted, enhancing networking and relationship-building opportunities with those peers.  
2. Members cannot vote for themselves. However, if you want to be considered for the title of your community's Local Business Person Of The Year, we strongly encourage you to ask a friend to vote for you on your profile (& you can vote for him or her, as well).  
   
3. We also encourage members who have received votes to get the word out about the contest via their Alignable Groups, social media, press releases, websites/blog posts, email blasts, or other means, so that they can accumulate as many Alignable votes as possible. (Again, any member must have at least three Alignable votes to be in contention for the Local Business Person Of The Year title). 
   

VOTING & JUDGING: During the voting phase of the competition (January to 6, 2021 to February 5, 2021), 70 percent of all decisions will be based on votes, and 30 percent will be made by Alignable's judging panel. Alignable reserves the right to disqualify any nominee or winner at its discretion based on our community standards.

Please note: while "likes" in other social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and more) can attract attention for contestants, those "likes" will not have any bearing on the final decisions in this contest, as they are impossible for us to track.

PRIZING: All business leaders chosen as their community's 2021 Local Business Person Of The Year will be awarded a badge on their profiles celebrating this major achievement. This badge will designate winners for 2020-2021, since the company was compelled to put 2020's contest on hold given the COVID-driven situation at the time. 

Based on the popularity of earlier contests, the distinction of being elected as the Local Business Person Of The Year has translated into a major boost in visibility, credibility, and new business opportunities for many winners. 

In addition, winners have received media coverage, social media buzz, and recognition from their local Chambers of Commerce, as well. In 2019, Alignable members chose more than 2,400 winners and the company expects that number to increase substantially this year. 

Any questions or media inquiries about the contest should be directed to Chuck Casto at chuck@alignable.com.