Five companies were recognized with top honors last night at Springfield Business Journal's annual Economic Impact Awards.
SBJ recognized organizations for years in business during an event at Oasis Hotel & Convention Center. The Economic Impact Awards ceremony and special publication spotlights excellence in business, including employee and revenue volumes and impact on the community, with honorees and top honors chosen by an independent panel of judges.
Top honors went to the following:
• Smash My Trash for 1-10 years in business
• Toth and Associates Inc. for 11-20 years in business
• Oasis Hotel & Convention Center for 21-35 years in business
• Gold Mechanical Inc. for 36-74 years in business
• City Utilities of Springfield for 75+ years in business
Finalists were Next Level Solutions, 1-10 years in business; Phoenix Home Care & Hospice and Sun Solar LLC, 11-20 years in business; Ireland Architects Inc. and Little Sunshine's Enterprises Inc., 21-35 years in business; Arc of the Ozarks and The Kitchen Inc., 36-74 years in business; and CoxHealth and Crawford Murphy & Tilly Inc., 75 years or more in business.
Clif Smart, who recently retired as president of Missouri State University, received the 2024 Lifetime Achievement in Business award.
Smart, in part, used his acceptance speech to congratulate the night's other honorees.
"I've had associations with almost all of these businesses in my role as president of the university. They all do great work. We're lucky to have all of them in our community," he said. "They have at least one thing in common, and that's great leadership."
Read more about the honorees in SBJ's July 29 print edition.