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2026 Business Person of the Year Application

Annual Business Person of the Year Awards Program

The Small Business Council, an affiliate of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, proudly hosts the annual Business Person of the Year Awards. This premier program honors exceptional business leaders who excel in growth, leadership, achievement, and community impact.

Nominated by peers and selected by an independent committee, finalists compete in two categories based on company size. The awards celebration has become one of Greater Rochester’s most prestigious business recognition and networking events—an honor that has propelled many past winners and their companies to new heights of success.

The 2026 BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR AWARD NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN!

The Criteria:

The Business Person of the Year Award celebrates outstanding for-profit business leaders who are driving growth, inspiring leadership, achieving meaningful results, and giving back to their community.

Eligible nominees must have served in a senior leadership role for at least three full fiscal years. Ownership is not required.

The Small Business Council affiliate champions small business success through four core pillars: Coaching, Celebrating, Connecting, and Caring. The Selection Committee will look closely at how applicants embody these values in both their business and community impact.

The Reward:

Finalists receive high-profile recognition, including a feature article in the Business Person of the Year Awards magazine. The top five finalists are also honored with a professionally produced video, premiered live at the awards celebration and available for ongoing promotional use. All finalists gain lasting visibility and recognition at the annual celebration event.

BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR APPLICATION  (Complete the brief form that follows and sign and date the attestation:)

Confidentiality statement
The Small Business Council of Rochester, an affiliate of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce, is sensitive to the potential concern for the confidentiality of the information shared with the SBC in this Application (the “Application”) for the Business Person of the Year Award (the “Award”). The Application is reviewed only by members of the SBC’s Selection Committee for the purpose of determining the Award finalists and winners and will be held confidential by those Selection Committee members.

Fields marked with an * are required.

Please verify that you have checked the “I'm not a robot” checkbox.

NOMINEE INFORMATION

Name * Company * Title * Email * Phone *

BUSINESS INFORMATION

Street * City * State * Zip *

General Phone Number * Website * Year Founded * Number of Employees - 9 county Rochester area *

LEADERSHIP/ PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENT

How do you define leadership, and how do you perceive your role as a leader? (500 words max)

What would you like your legacy to be with your company? (500 words max)

Describe what values you promote within your organization, and example(s) of how these values were used in decision(s) you have made over the past year? (500 words max)

Please list any of your company's proudest achievements and describe your contribution to these achievements. (For example, business and industry awards, direct impact on customer and employee satisfaction, etc.) (500 words max)

COMPANY PERFORMANCE - REVENUE INFORMATION

Name Title Company Email
CONNECTING AND CARING

Please describe your role in coaching, celebrating, connecting, and caring with and for your team by assisting others in reaching their full leadership potential as evidenced by:

  • Support of education, and/or encouraging career development/advancement of staff
  • Directly mentoring/coaching others (internal/external)
  • Directly influencing and/or encouraging career development/advancement of staff
  • Volunteering with organizations whose mission is or is related to the professional advancement of others

Please describe how you provide valuable service to improve the quality of life for others in their community as evidenced by:

  • Service to an organization outside the bounds of your normal professional responsibilities
  • Directly contribute to the revenue or financial condition of the organization
  • Directly contribute to the quality of services provided that have made a difference to the organization and/or community
  • Directly contributes to programs, policies, or initiatives that positively impact the status of a community issue/initiative

REFERENCE LETTERS
*Optional* Feel free to include up to three letters of reference. Appropriate reference sources could include (but aren’t limited to) professional advisors, employees, vendors, customers, and/or peers. Allowed file types: PDF, DOC, TXT)

20MB max

20MB max

20MB max
ATTESTATION

ATTESTATION

I do hereby attest that this information is true, accurate and complete to the best of my knowledge and I understand that any falsification, omission, or concealment of material fact may subject me to administrative, civil, or criminal liability

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