Time To Party! See Who Won Your Local Contest & The Top 10 In N. America, Too!

Alignable's 2022 Local Business Person Of The Year Contest -- the most popular campaign we've ever had -- just wrapped up and we wanted to celebrate all of the winners -- and all of the voters. 

Over 160,000 votes were cast and 32,000 testimonials were penned, extolling the virtues and accomplishments of local business superstars everywhere. 

In total, we had 2,539 Local Business Person of the Year winners across the U.S. and Canada. And they all had wonderful testimonials from their generous supporters declaring their countless contributions to their communities. 

What a very special group of giving, talented, strong, and empathetic entrepreneurs!

Your Local Business Person Of The Year: Found Here

To see who won in your community, follow this link to your local leaderboard: www.alignable.com/my_town/votes. 

If the person in the #1 spot on your leaderboard received at least 3 votes, then she/he was awarded a badge and is officially your town's Local Business Person Of The Year for 2022! 

Looking at the San Antonio, TX leaderboard as an example, you can see that Ginny Farrow of the Farrow Agency won in her hometown, which was the town that generated the highest number of votes during the 2022 contest.  

The badge mentioned above should look like this one, personalized with each winner's name, business name, and location. 

Please click on your local winner's profile link and convey your hearty congratulations. I'm sure she/he would love to hear from you, and that act of kindness will move your networking forward, too. 

But the folks with these badges aren't the only winners in this contest. Thousands of other dedicated members also received a Community Supporter badge on their profiles, if they used all 10 of their votes. 

And if you see this badge on any profile, please message that person, thanking her or him for supporting the community. 

Again, it's yet another way to network -- and it's a really nice thing to do. Hey, you might just get a new friend, referral partner or even a future client by reaching out. 

🚀 Now For Our Top 10 List! 🚀

Alignable's 2022 Local Business Person Of The Year Contest is all about honoring local peers who've gone above and beyond to help their contemporaries and communities. And we found 2,539 of these local superstars out of tens of thousands who were nominated, not to mention thousands of impressive runners-up, too. 

However, we also wanted to showcase the Top 10 vote earners across the network, who all have contributed a lot to local business people in their towns, as well as those in other states and provinces.

So we're raising a glass to honor the Top 10 Business People Across North America here and now. (Please introduce yourself to them if you haven't yet.)  

And here's what each of them had to say about the contest and how Alignable has worked best for them:

"It’s been a real honor winning Business Person of the Year for Mesa, AZ, in Alignable’s latest contest! Business is booming! I have grown my network substantially by receiving connection requests and have had several neighboring businesses stop in to meet us and tour our facility. I’ve had the opportunity to learn about more local businesses and share their information with my network through introductions. I’m very grateful to be a leader in the community & to help other businesses grow." --  Jill Cone of AZ Metals in Mesa, AZ: 1st in N. America & the U.S.

"Being a multi-year winner of Alignable's Local Business Person of the Year has added a tremendous amount of credibility to our gallery's reputation in our local community. I'm also really proud of the award. I include the badges in my email signature and my website bio. We share it on all social media platforms, too. Most importantly, the recognition from my peers who cast their votes -- and this year, took the time to make recommendations -- allowed me to read why people were voting for me, and that was major motivation to push myself even further in 2022!" -- Alex Trimper of  Isabella Garrucho Fine Art in Greenwich, CT: 2nd in N. America & the U.S

"No. 3 in North America? Wow! What an honor. I am humbled and thankful for all of the support from Alignable members across the country. These contests have enabled me to connect with great business leaders all across the United States and Canada, who I would never have had the opportunity to meet before. Many local leaders have supported me by sharing articles online and in several newspapers in South Carolina. I truly believe the greatest work is doing what I love, building relationships with people and the impact I have on my clients' future." -- JB Beckett of Beckett Financial Group in W. Columbia, SC: 3rd in N. America & the U.S.

"Being in the running for Alignable's Business Person of the Year for the second year in a row is truly rewarding on many levels! Connecting with professionals who have the same vision as your business is truly remarkable! During the past two years with the new ways of meeting others and lifting one another up, Velocity Athletic Training has reaped the rewards of building its brand on Alignable, as well as proposing health and wellness initiatives to corporations. Recognition as Alignable's Business Person of the Year in Blaine, WA, as well as testimonials from clients, will go a long way toward making 2022 a great year for our business. Thanks again to everyone!" -- Helena Smolock of  Velocity Athletic Training in Blaine, WA; 4th in N. America & the U.S.

"WOW! I set myself a goal to reach out to all of my connections and aimed for 25% of my connections in votes. I increased my connections and reached my goal! I was hoping for a result in the Top 25. I have really loved spending more time on Alignable as I have met wonderful people in every group. I love helping in whatever way I can and always with a smile!" -- Beth Hill Poulin of Socks on the Dock/Voxxlife in Port Colborne, ON: 5th in N. America & 1st in Canada

"What a surprise! It is such an honor to be involved and included in such a phenomenal group of community leaders: those with true passion for their businesses and helping the communities they live and work in. Alignable over the years has become my #1 networking tool. It is such a great place to ‘meet’ other engaged business leaders. No other place can I network as effectively, in my local market, on a schedule that is flexible to my busy days. Alignable acts as an introduction to community leaders, so that I can take the new contacts to the next level. Whether that means new networking partners or new business partners, both are so important to my business and to the greater community." -- Laurie Scott of Fossil Ridge Neighbors & Scott Publishing in Fort Collins, CO; 6th in N. America & 5th in the U.S. (tie)

“I appreciate receiving the acknowledgement of Alignable’s members through the various contests.  It means I’m providing value to members and customers, alike.  Building relationships through network connections creates referral resources for my customers. When they reach out to ask if I know someone, it’s a rare occasion that I don’t have someone in my network to refer to them.  Winning contests and placing in the Top 10 validates that I’m doing the right thing for the right people!” -- Al Wagner of  TruPayroll, LLC in Marco Island, FL; 6th in N. America & 5th in the U.S. (tie)

"Alignable is an amazing tool for immediate and long-term exposure for a business. I know that clients who have come to me from Alignable might be responding to my services because of a recent contest, or, if the user/member only logs in a couple of times a year, they still contact me for the services that I provide. A tip is -- when you see someone new join, send them a nice welcome note, and in a couple of lines, explain what you can offer them. No matter when they log in, they will see your message." -- Mark Robbins of AllTexasMedia in Flower Mound, TX; 7th in N. America & 6th in the U.S.

"This is fabulous news! As a social media expert, I spend a lot of time on social platforms. The time I spend on Alignable gets returned to me multiple times over in amazing connections that help me personally as a business owner and a human being, as well as connections that lead to direct business for ZingPop Social Media. Being a three-time winner of the Local Business Person of the Year for San Jose, as well as the Main St. Mentor contest, has been incredible for the visibility of my business. I now get more business from Alignable than all other social media platforms combined!" -- Tracey Lee Davis of ZingPop Social Media in San Jose, CA; 8th in N. America & 7th in the U.S.

"I have had many great conversations and collaborated with many business owners, entrepreneurs, and like-minded people on the Alignable platform in the last few years. Having these connections and my peers vote me in as #2 across Canada and #1 in Waterloo, ON in the Alignable Business Person of the Year competition is very rewarding and also humbling. Since winning several competitions so far, I also have connection requests coming in from all over North America! I have enjoyed having the opportunity to partner with many other business owners in the last several months after connecting with them on Alignable. I always say, "It is what you make it -- so put yourself out there, engage in conversations with others, build up your circle of businesses who you can refer business to, and let’s keep all of our businesses highly successful in 2022!” -- Gunther Kramer, CEO of Gecko Websites in Waterloo, ON; 9th in N. America & 2nd in Canada

Super Quotes, Words Of Wisdom & Good Vibrations 

What a wonderful collection of quotations from everyone -- replete with a lot of great advice and good, supportive vibes.

And Gunther, I have to say, "Right on, Man!" In your own words, once again, "Let's keep all of our businesses highly successful in 2022!"

Along those lines, please offer help to any and all businesses you see on Alignable -- purchasing their services, giving great advice in your favorite Groups, partnering on new projects, requesting connections, recommending those you know well, and making as many referrals as possible. 

On Alignable (as in life), the more you give, the more you get, and the more everyone benefits. 

And keep your eyes open for future contests, so that you can make the most of those, too.

Wishing you all the very best as 2022 rolls on!