GO TOPEKA ANNOUNCES 25 FINALISTS FOR THE 42ND ANNUAL SMALL BUSINESS AWARDS

Topeka, KS — GO Topeka is excited to announce 25 local businesses have been named finalists for recognition at Topeka and Shawnee County’s 42^nd annual Small Business Awards.

The 2023 Small Business Awards, being put on by GO Topeka and the Greater Topeka Partnership, will be held downtown Tuesday, May 2 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Townsite Avenue Ballroom. At the awards ceremony and luncheon, attendees will hear from community leaders about the impact and successes of Topeka’s thriving small-business community.

They will also learn which of those 25 finalists were selected to receive awards in the following nine award categories: Small Business Exporter Award, Young Entrepreneur Award, Micro Enterprise Award, Emerging Innovation Venture Award, Women-Owned Small Business Award, Minority-Owned Small Business Award, Veteran-Owned Small Business Award, Small Business Manufacturer Award, and Top City Small Business of the Year.

“It is important to honor excellence in our local small businesses and entrepreneurs, because it is crucial for our community to be a place where they can thrive,” said Laurie Pieper, vice president of entrepreneurship and small business for GO Topeka. “The annual Small Business Awards luncheon is an uplifting event where we have the opportunity to recognize outstanding businesses and entrepreneurs across a number of categories. In addition to being eager to recognize the finalists and winners selected for this year’s awards, the selection committee was excited by the number of up-and-coming small businesses that are likely to be award winners in years to come.”

The following companies have been chosen as finalists for this year’s Small Business Awards:

• Amused Gallery, DeAna Morrison
• Axe and Ale, Chelsea Huston & Ashlee Spring
• Bimini Pet Health, Sam Al-Murrani
• Chavez Inc., Dan Chavez
• Chef LaMona, LaMona Schley
• Civium Architecture & Planning, David Heit
• Counter Craft LLC, Andrew & Kristy Richards
• Customskin Medspa at His and Her Salon & Day Spa, Trisha Williams
• Cut Right Lawn Care LLC, Matt Bleier
• Dialogue Coffee House, Caitlyn Halsey
• Distinqué Gentleman, Theodis Williams
• Giant Communications, Austin Taylor
• Inspire & Company Candles, Ebony White
• Linens by Marlen, Marlen Oliveros
• Miller Precision, Dustin Miller
• Onyx Salon & Wellness Spa, Heather Graves
• Owl’s Nest Topeka, Lyndsey McKinnon
• Phoenix Marketing Group, Seth Stevens
• Plains Craft Covered Wagons, Dennis Steinman
• Ricks Advanced Dermatology & Radiance Medical Spa, Matthew Ricks
• Senne & Company, Matthew McGivern
• South Wind Storm Shelters, Matt Cobb
• Supersonic Music/Tree House Drums, Derek Sharp
• Torgeson Electric, Jason Mack, Erin Duncan & Lance Dirk
• Yes! Athletics, Deb North

Tickets for the 42^nd annual Small Business Awards may be purchased here. To be eligible for an award, small businesses had to be located within Shawnee County and have 100 or fewer employees, including the owner(s). Evaluation included review of each business’ vision, staying power, growth, innovativeness, response to adversity and community engagement.