Nominations for the Columbus Chamber’s Small Business Leader Award are Now Open

Finalists to be honored at Columbus Chamber Annual Meeting, Feb. 8

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Columbus Chamber of Commerce is now accepting nominations for our 2023 Small Business Leader Award. The Small Business Leader Award is well-known and respected in the Columbus community for recognizing a diverse range of qualities such as leadership, business excellence, and contributions to the community.

“For over thirty years, the Chamber has honored our region’s most prominent small business leaders for their innovation and strategic advances within their organizations,” said Don DePerro, president and CEO of the Columbus Chamber. “The Chamber’s Small Business Leader Award is our way of highlighting the impressive small business leaders who are paving the foundation for our Region’s success.”

Nominations can be made through the Chamber’s website and are accepted through October 21. Applications will be distributed to nominees on October 24 and will close on November 4. Finalists for the award will be announced in early December after an extensive vetting process by a committee of judges.

To be eligible for the Small Business Leader Award, the following criteria must be met:

• Must be a Columbus Chamber member in good standing.
• Must be the CEO, founder, president or managing partner of the company. Note: You may nominate up to four persons who jointly own and operate the business.
• Must have been in operation for at least three consecutive years.
• Must be a for-profit company.
• Small businesses are defined as those having 500 or fewer employees.

All award finalists will be recognized at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting on February 9 and the Small Business Leader Award recipient will accept their award on stage at the event.

Past recipients can be viewed in the Small Business Leader Award Hall of Fame and include Bill Balderaz, Greg Guy, Rachel Friedman, Lori Kaiser, and Greg Ubert.

Be sure to visit Columbus.org/events for updated information on the Chamber’s 2023 Annual Meeting – coming soon!

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 About the Columbus Chamber

The Columbus Chamber of Commerce is a mission-driven nonprofit organization serving over 2,200 organizations throughout Central Ohio. The Chamber, founded in 1884, is committed to advancing a thriving Columbus Region and provides support in the areas of research, government affairs, marketing, education and workforce development.

About the Annual Meeting

The Columbus Chamber’s Annual Meeting is our grandest event of the year – one of the largest gatherings of Columbus Region business and community leaders. The event will recognize the recipient of the prestigious Columbus Award, celebrate small business leaders with the presentation of the Small Business Leader Award and provide valuable insights on how the Columbus Chamber connects businesses to resources that help them flourish and thrive.