The Nomination Process

📣 NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN YEAR-ROUND!
We’re already planning the 2026 Best of Mississippi Awards, presented by Business Empowered Mississippi Chamber of Commerce—and you have the power to help us spotlight the next wave of Mississippi’s most impactful leaders!

🌟 Whether you know a business owner, entrepreneur, nonprofit, artist, educator, or changemaker making waves in Mississippi, now is the time to nominate them!

📌 Nomination Guidelines:

• 🔸 You can nominate year-round, but to be included in the current cycle, nominations must be submitted by July 4, 2025.
  🔸 Submit the name, valid phone number, and email address of your nominee, along with their category and a brief summary of why you’re nominating them.
  🔸 Nominees must live or operate in Mississippi. Nominations can be submitted by anyone, nationwide.
  🔸 Limit 2 categories per nominee. Submitting 3+ will void the nomination.
  🔸 If someone has won in a category twice, they can’t be nominated in that same category again—but they can be nominated in a new category.
  🔸 Nominees must be age 21+, except for “Kid Entrepreneur of the Year.”
  🔸 Top 5 nominees per category will appear on the voting ballot released July 15th.
  🔸 All nominees must be approved before voting.
  🔸 A valid email address is required for nominees, as they will receive official communication and must respond to proceed to the acceptance stage.

⭐ Sponsored Nominees:

Want to guarantee someone receives an award?
You can submit them as a Sponsored Nominee, and they will be automatically approved and honored. Sponsored nominees will receive their award during the ceremony. Sponsors may choose to be publicly recognized or remain anonymous.

📣 IMPORTANT: After submitting a nomination, notify your nominee to check their inbox and spam folder for an official email from us.

✨Let’s continue to honor those who are making Mississippi shine—one story at a time.