10/22/2023
To the community, a bit of clarification on this year's Best of the Best show. It is disappointing that some make assumptions without all the facts, so we thought it appropriate to address concerns a few people have expressed. In today's society we agree that many shady people and companies attempt to scam our fellow friends and neighbors. That certainly makes people skeptical. However, some details may help those who would think that the Best if the Best is just a profit center for the company or some sort of scam. First of all, the company does not make a profit from the event. After the cost of each dinner, facility costs, rentals, decorations, entertainment, staffing, and engraved plaques, (which are provided to every winner at no cost to them), the show will break even. Year after year local businesses are acknowledged and our local chambers sponsor the event to help offset costs. All this is hyper local including our company who is located here and employs local people.
As for this year's event: For the past several years we have been supporting and promoting our local businesses and individuals through the Best of the Best. The Richmond newspaper does the same thing. We sell roughly 135 tickets each year reserving 160 seats. We post ticket sales on our website, FB, email blasts in partnership with the chambers, and personally attempt to call finalists who we can not find email addresses for. Based on historical performance, we again reserved 160 seats and began notification the same way as in the past. The show has always taken two weeks to sell the 135 or so tickets. This year it took 48 hours to sell 160. We immediately worked with the facility to add 20 more seats, maxing out the space. This is an unprecedented response to the show. While we are extremely humbled that so many business people and individuals are excited to attend, we are also sorry that we could not accommodate everyone. The fact us that shows sell out - some much fastest than expected as with this year. We will continue to work to promote or fellow businesses and our communities and strive to improve the show every year. Thank you all for your continued support over the years.