Mayor’s Small Business Awards event quickly approaches

The Maui News

KAHULUI–The Maui Chamber of Commerce is reminding the community that nominations are still being accepted for the Annual Mayor’s Small Business Awards in 2024 and are due on Thursday, August 15, 2024. All nominees and winners will be honored during an event on September 19, 2024.

The Mayor’s Small Business Awards recognizes outstanding businesses in our Maui County community that have 100 or fewer employees and have had a Hawaii General Excise Tax license for no fewer than two years. Other criteria include:

¯ Demonstrating business leadership in a changing economic environment

¯ Creating a quality work environment for their employees

¯ Exhibiting the Aloha Spirit and exemplary customer service

¯ Developing partnerships with other sectors of the community

¯ Utilizing innovative practices or pivoting in a unique way to sustain the operations throughout COVID-19 and the August 8 wildfires

¯ Demonstrating other exceptional qualities or traits

This year’s event includes the following six award categories:

¯ Exceptional Small Business of the Year (10 or fewer employees)

¯ Exceptional Small Business of the Year (11 to 39 employees)

¯ Exceptional Small Business of the Year (40 to 100 employees)

¯ Outstanding Non-Profit Business (100 or fewer employees)

¯ Young Small Business Person of the Year (under the age of 40 as of September 19, 2024)

¯ Lifetime Achievement Award (for any individual doing business in Maui County for more than 20 years, with up to 100 employees)

Nomination forms can be completed online and must be submitted with all required information on or before Thursday, August 15, 2024. Only those entries received on or before the deadline will be considered.

Anyone can nominate, but please no self-nominations. County of Maui or Maui Chamber of Commerce employee nominations will not be accepted. An individual or business can only be nominated in one category per year and any business who has won in a particular category in the past cannot be renominated in that same category but can be nominated for another category.

Submittals must include completing the online nomination form with an explanation as to how the business meets the award criteria, uploading a letter of recommendation for the business from a source other than the nominator, uploading a high resolution (minimum 300 dpi) digital photograph of the nominee, and an optional 30-second video of the nominee, their team or the business and/and their products and services in a .mp4 format.

Nomination forms are available online at www.mauichamber.com with an instructional video.

“We are very excited to hold the 2024 Mayor’s Small Business Awards this fall and encourage clients, friends, family, employees, and service providers of outstanding businesses to nominate them,” said Pamela Tumpap, President of the Maui Chamber of Commerce. “This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize and honor the incredible work of the small business community in Maui County and to show your strong support of small businesses.”

For more information about nominations, including an instructional video, please visit MauiChamber.com or contact the Maui Chamber of Commerce at (808)-244-0081 or office@mauichamber.com.