This past week, I was happy to see how well the “2020 Business Person of the Year” recognition was embraced in the communities we serve.
“We need more positive news, after the year we’ve gone through,” said one business owner. “Thank you for doing this.”
This was our first time ever coordinating a nomination process like this, and I think it went well. One thing we did, that wasn’t part of the original plan, was publish the write-ups for all of the nominees. While Todd Jones was recognized as the 2020 Business Person of the Year, there were so many other business owners who deserved recognition, as well.
What I appreciated about this process is that we started publishing the nomination form in the newspaper in December of 2020 and we received a great number of nominations by the deadline of December 31, 2020. Since this was completely new to our readers, I wasn’t sure what kind of response we would receive. If you think about it, the readers submitting nominations had nothing to gain by nominating someone for this recognition. They were doing so because they felt someone deserved to be recognized.
So, our readers who nominated people to be recognized as the 2020 Business Person of the Year deserve a pat on the back for thinking of others. They appreciate these local businesses and their employees enough to say something positive.
Did you notice that the nomination write-ups weren’t about how successful the person was? It was all about how they gave back to the community, supported their employees, and provided service with care and concern for their customers. In the eyes of most people, those are the qualities of a successful business person. Someone who is selfless. Someone who puts others above themselves.
Another thing that I found interesting about these nominations was the one thing that every business has 100% control over.
There’s a business in our area that uses a timeless slogan that has been relevant for centuries, “All we have to sell is service.”
As our local businesses face the Amazons of the world – as they battle online competitors – there is one thing they have over the faceless competition of the Internet.
People do business with people.
The reason we have so many successful businesses in our small communities is because these business leaders and their employees know the meaning of customer service. They stand behind their products and services. They take care of their customers.
I’m proud of our community for showing support for their local businesses, with their money and their words.
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