Criteria
The Standards of Excellence are the criteria that will be used in judging the nominees for the Outstanding Vermont Business of the Year Award. The following questions should be used as guidelines and examples for companies as they prepare their submissions for nomination. Please note, this award is designated to a for-profit business as the judging committee will take the growth of sales into consideration.
Demonstrated success by:
* Continued growth in number of employees
and/or sales.
Does the company have a clear mission statement that allows sustainable growth for itself and its employees? Does the company’s goals and objectives create incentive for sustained growth? Does the company’s marketing strategy keep up with a constantly changing market place?
* Commitment of company resources,
including employees to community projects.
Does the company have a community relations function at its corporate level? Does the company encourage employees to participate in community projects? Are company officers involved in community projects?
* Recognition of the environment as a natural
and economic resource for Vermont.
Does company policy incorporate Vermont’s natural environment in the production or marketing of its product(s)? Is the company actively involved in the development of local, regional or state natural and economic environmental policies?
* Creation of a positive work environment
for all employees.
Does the company involve its employees in operational policy creation? Does the company create incentives for employee participation in company and community projects? Does the company’s human resources policies provide for meaningful and continuing employee evaluation?
Eligibility
To be eligible the nominated business must have its corporate headquarters in Vermont for at least 10 years. Subsidiaries of international corporations may also be nominated if their U.S. headquarters are based in Vermont and if they operate largely autonomously. Please note, this award is designated to a for-profit business as the judging committee will take the growth of sales into consideration.
General Information
Anyone may nominate a business for the Outstanding Vermont Business of the Year Award. The nomination may be made by the business itself, a government agency, or interested individuals.
The screening committee may request additional information from nominators, references or the company itself for the judge’s consideration. All entries and supplementary materials will become the property of the VermontBiz and will not be returned. Decisions of the judging committee are final.
All entries for the 2025 Outstanding Vermont Business of the Year Award must be submitted online before 5pm, November 21, 2025.
Because the Outstanding Vermont Business of the Year Award is designed to recognize the total commitment of a company, nominations should describe the entire scope of the company’s mission.
For further details and instruction, please contact VermontBiz at 802-863-8038 or email ellen@vermontbiz.com