Top 50 List Of 2024's Best Local Business People & Networkers

Editor's Note: This story has been updated from the original to include much more information about the Top 50 List. If you're seeking great networkers to add to your list of connections, start with them! 

This news is "hot off the presses," as all voting for Alignable's 2024 Local Business Person Of The Year Contest just ended around two hours ago.  

Votes were submitted right up until the last second of the contest, as members were connecting, praising each other, and helping each other in many close races. 

The final day of voting broke all records spanning at least the past five years, attracting over 16,100 votes in 24 hours. (That's a lot!). 

To see the results of your Local Business Person Of The Year Contest, click here on your Local Leaderboard.  The person at the top is your local winner, and then you can also see those who were the runners-up. 

All of the people on your leaderboard should be praised and congratulated, as there are many good reasons they are all there. (Some of those reasons can be seen in the recommendations under their names on the leaderboard). 

Thousands Of Local Superstars Have Emerged This Year

A total of 5,171 local winners were elected by their peers across our network of more than 8 million members.

Overall, this year's contest was the most active with the highest number of tight races we have ever seen.  Fortunately, most competitors remained supportive and friendly -- as that's the name of the game in our contests, which showcase all kinds of upbeat, and helpful small business owners. 

The contest continues to be more popular every year and it's often cited as the best and most fast-paced networking event most local business owners ever experience. 

It's a celebration of the most giving small business owners, while also serving as an uplifting networking frenzy, where new business relationships are born. In 2024, more than 309,000 votes were cast from January 8th to February 23rd. That's 83,000 more votes than in 2023! 

Peers Exchanged Praise & Gratitude Over 64,000 Times

Along with the votes, 64,000+ testimonials singing the praises of local business peers were submitted, which will be added as permanent recommendations on the recipients' Alignable profiles. 

That figure represents more than 13,000+ additional recommendations compared to last year's number of 51,000. Those recommendations will also list the person who wrote them, giving those kind souls extra recognition across the network, too.

Many who have participated in past contests tell us they look forward to this time as a reunion of sorts, where they reconnect with and honor their most-treasured peers -- the ones who have gone above and beyond for them or their small business communities. Many of those peers they met in earlier contests, which is a testament to this annual contest's ongoing charm.

Past participants also know the contest will kick off yet another fabulous year of building strong relationships via networking that often yields referrals, recommendations, partnerships, friendships, and new business. 

While the contest focuses on the top, most giving Local Business People Of The Year, many participants also love to see where individuals rank outside of their hometowns -- and across North America. 

The TOP 50 MOVERS AND SHAKERS 

That's why we also have created our list of Alignable's Top 50 Business Networkers of 2024. 

Here's the final list, along with the number of votes each of these incredible networkers and altruistic leaders received from their peers. 

This race also had many twists and turns over the several weeks we tracked it. 

As you can see, JB Beckett of W. Columbia, SC came out ahead (for the second year in a row). Congratulations, JB! (And to everyone else on this esteemed list). 

1. JB Beckett, Beckett Financial Group, W. Columbia, SC – 469 votes
2. Brian Gregory, The YES Test, Phoenix, AZ  – 312 votes
3. Kimberly Wallace, Southern Magnolia Media, Cornelius, NC – 270 votes
4. Michael Keller, Service Finance Company, Boca Raton, FL – 267 votes
5. Helena Smolock, Velocity Athletic Training, Blaine, WA – 258 votes
6. Jill Cone, AZ Metals, Mesa, AZ – 222 votes 
7. Shane Hicks, RebootVA, New Braunfels, TX – 219 votes
8. Paul L. Odendahl, Destination4Education, Port St. Lucie, FL & Tony Ransdell, GBE Packaging, Elgin, IL – 218 votes
9. Anton Burnette, Webive Digital Marketing, Cleveland, TN  – 209 votes
10. Steve Levinson, Better Business Web, Boynton Beach, FL  – 186 votes
11. LaToya Germaine, Germane Learning, New City, NY – 182 votes
12. Cherri Pedrioli, Cheri Pedrioli Relationship Marketing, Santa Rosa, CA & Dr. Mary Welsh, Susie Q’s Kids, Warren, MI –  168 votes
13. Dr. Karen Fiorillo, Modern Nature, Collegeville, PA – 162 votes 
14. Amberly Shreve, Business Communication Specialist, Clarksville, MD  – 157 votes
15. Paul Finkelstein, OMGTalk.com, Delray Beach, FL  – 150 votes
16. James Clemens, Mica Specialties, Panama Beach City, FL & Maria Wirth, Business Owners Trade Alliance, Allentown, PA – 145 votes
17. Jason Integrity, IntegrityGO, Charlotte, NC – 142 votes
18. Lesly Jean-Baptiste, Team Genius Marketing, Lawrenceville, GA – 141 votes
19. Dr. Thomas Hill, Thomas Mallory Hill & Associates, Naperville, IL – 131 votes
20. Sam Rafoss, Coach Engage, Calgary, AB – 126 votes (No. 1 in Canada)
21. Tracee T. Holloway, The Way Up Creative Group, Mansfield, TX – 124 votes 
22. Andrew Murkens, 828 Biz, Hendersonville, NC  – 123 votes
23. Susan M. Husa, Animate Life Coaching, Fall City, WA & Angie Carlson, Carlson Financial Coaching, Dubuque, IA – 120 votes
24. Paul Kirch, Boss Academy, Ft. Worth, TX – 116 votes
25. Kelsey Dunbar, Complete Health And Fitness, Oswego, IL – 112 votes 
26. Kat Sloan, KST Business Solutions, Abbortsford, BC – 111 votes (No. 2 in Canada)
27. Gunther Kramer, Gecko Websites, Waterloo, ON  – 109 votes (No. 3 in Canada)
28. Dr. Jamica Nadina Love, Higher Dimensions Consulting, Roanoke, VA – 106 votes
29. Colette Martin, Business In Pearls, Mansfield, TX (Second Place), Harold Bowser, Simple2Clean, Wichita, KS & Wanda Cooper Digital And 3 Free, Atlanta, GA (Buckhead) – 105 votes
30. Sheron Mingo Y (Book Writing & Publishing Coach), New York, NY (Arverne) & Angie Card, Edward Jones, Detroit, MI – 104 votes 
31. Todd Mitchell, Cybersecurity4biz, Alamogordo, NM – 103 votes
32. Mark Robbins, AllTexasMedia, Flower Mound, TX – 102 votes
33. Evan Raoof, Fit Living Academy, Canton, MI – 101 votes
34. Steve Kent, Financial Literacy Educator, Great Neck, NY – 100 votes
35. Amy Brandon, Texas Tax Chicks, Addison, TX & Yvette B. Eldridge, Legal Shield, North Conway, NH -– 99 votes
36. Yolanda Bennett, Yolanda’s Pet Sitting & Boarding, North Las Vegas, NV – 98 votes
37. Stacy Mueller, Certified Life Coach, Welland, ON (No. 4 in Canada) & Jannery Michelle, StrongFoundation Marketing, Tampa, FL – 96 votes
38. Diane Steen, Designz By Diane, Bloomington, TX – 95 votes
39. Karilie McDowall, Canadian Online Guitar Lessons, Nanaimo, BC (No. 5 in Canada), Lauren Doll, Dream Co. Weddings & Events, Santa Clarita, CA,  & Char Ross, iBrand and Design, Tucker, GA – 94 votes 
40. Jeannine Warrick, JL Administrative Services, Snellville, GA  – 91 votes
41. Clayton Ivey, XBS Express Business Solutions, Atlanta, GA (Buckhead – Second Place), Jeremie Watson, The Watson Agency, Scottsdale, AZ & Crystal Groves, Misfit Interactive, Gettysburg, PA – 90 votes
42. Phyllis Arnstein, Health To Wealth, Spring Hill, FL,  Tracey Lee Davis, ZingPop Social Media, San Jose, CA, Tom Kavanaugh, New Coaching Strategies, Ventura, CA, & Debbie Smith, Revive Ur Biz, Glenmoore, PA – 89 votes
43. Oleg Moskalensky, Productive Computer Systems, Redwood, WA & Dan Hughes, Send Out Text, Knoxville, TN – 88 votes
44. Paula Roberts, Aqua Community Relations Group, San Diego, CA & Kathy Lowrey, The Harbor Center, Slidewell, LA – 87 votes
45. Steve Liebroder, SEO727.COM, GEO727.COM, Palm Harbor, FL & Victor Felix, Award-Winning Brand Strategist, Lockhart, FL – 85 votes
46. Natalie DeLeo, Mortgage Resource Plus, Southfield, MI,  Joe Moore, DigitalCowboy.io, Aberdeen, SD, & Jill Cone, New Mexico Metals, Albuquerque, NM – 81 votes
47. Carol Witt, Young Entrepreneurs Alliance, St. Petersburg, FL – 84 votes
48. Justin Korn, Watchdog Studio, Oakland, CA, & Dr. Jo, TulaSoul, Plymouth, MN – 79 votes
49. Lindsay Pettinicchi, Lindsay Pettinicchi Photography, Hilton Head Island, SC  – 77 votes
50. Len Marshall, Quite City Design, Toronto, ON (No. 6 in Canada) & Victoria Toth, Clayton NC Web Design, Clayton, NC – 76 votes

I wanted to get these North American results to you as soon as possible, as this race has captured the attention of the entire network. 

But There's Much More To Come -- Stay Tuned

We will delve more into the contest results in updated versions of this article, as well as future stories, which will include the Top 50 Communities For Small Business Networking In 2024, as well as the lists of the Top 50 Local Business People for each country we represent -- the U.S. and Canada. 

Also, please keep your eyes out for your winner's badge if you are one of the thousands of Local Business People of 2024. 

After we send those badges out, we will distribute the coveted Community Supporter Badge to anyone who was kind enough to cast at least 10 votes for his or her peers. 

Both the Winner's Badges and the Community Supporter Badges have attracted referral partners, as well as new business for many who have won them. 

Thanks again for participating in this seven-week-long celebration of small businesses (and the resulting networking frenzy). 

We hope you enjoyed this contest as much as we did, as the team and I love bringing it to you every year. 

Kudos To The Team Making The Magic Happen

And speaking of the team, I want to take a moment and shout-out MAJOR PLAYERS behind this entire effort. Many of you know me, but I want you to know these great people, too. 

• Roger Graver, our extremely talented growth marketer, who has really helped this contest expand in terrific ways
• Ryan "Koko" Kokoszka, our main engineer, creating and fueling all of the technology necessary to operate the contest
• Nick Passaro, our product manager pushing hard to give us the internal team support we need
• Abby Whittingham, our terrific designer, responsible for all of the contest graphics
• Brittany Sandoval, who helped promote, co-host, and create our Smart Connect℠ events
• Randi Penfil, our very dedicated and talented Big E Event producer, and
• Customer Success stars including Amy Davala, Jake Nilson, Kathy Rodriguez, Antyon Davis, Ben Millerd, and so many other people at Alignable behind the scenes. 

In closing, I don't have words to describe exactly how gratifying it is to see thousands of members praise and recognize each other so publicly.  The never-ending support small business owners have for each other -- amplified by this contest -- is thrilling to witness. And I know all of my co-workers here at Alignable feel the same way. 

Thanks for reading and congratulations to everyone who was a part of this uplifting contest!