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2025 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, hosts their Business Person of the Year awards annually. Candidates are nominated by their peers, and an independent committee reviews applications and selects the finalists. The Business Person of the Year will be selected from two categories based on employee size. The Business Person of the Year awards program celebrates the ultimate recipients in each category; this event has evolved into one of the premier networking and business recognition events in the Greater Rochester region. For many past winners, this recognition has vaulted their companies to new levels of success!

The Criteria:

The Business Person of the Year Award recognizes for-profit business leaders who have demonstrated success in both civic and professional areas, specifically in the areas of growth, leadership, achievement, and community service.

To be eligible for the Award, the for-profit business leader must have held a senior leadership position in their company for at least three full fiscal years. The Business Person of the Year may be, but need not be, the owner of their for-profit business.

The Small Business Council affiliate is committed to providing Greater Rochester Chamber small business members with programs to help local business leaders and their businesses, grow and prosper – both personally and professionally. Inherent in our efforts is dedication to four critical areas of focus – Coaching, Celebrating, Connecting, and Caring. In evaluating applications, the Selection Committee will pay close attention to how the applicant demonstrates commitment to these values. 

The Rewards:
The top finalists in each category are announced in the Business Person of the Year Awards magazine with a feature article published about each. Additionally, a video is professionally compiled for each of the top five finalists, shown live at the Business Person of the Year celebration event and may be used by the recipient for promotional purposes. Past finalists are also recognized at the Business Person of the Year celebration event each year. In 2024, the SBC increased its donation to $2,500 for the charity of choice for the two Business Person of the Year winners.

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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