Sometimes the best ideas aren’t necessarily new ones. In fact, if they are tried and true, that is all the better. Business Class, making its debut this year, falls in the category of tried-and-true ideas.
Ann Marie Baker, market president for UMB Bank in Springfield, approached me almost two years ago with a proposal to bring an event to Springfield – similar to one presented by UMB in other markets – recognizing area businesses for excellence in financial performance, innovation and community involvement.
According to Baker, UMB had a six-year track record of success partnering with Kansas City Business Journal to present an event called Champions of Business in that market. Likewise, 2012 marks the seventh year for Wichita Business Journal and UMB Bank to present an event called Best in Business.
Co-presenting an event with another local company isn’t a first for us, but neither is it our typical model. I was intrigued by Baker’s proposal and thought the idea worthy of a closer look. The SBJ management team had to ask and answer a handful of questions before proceeding much further. Would such an event and the related coverage bring value to our readership? Would it be different enough from our other events to avoid duplication? In terms of sponsorships, is there adequate financial support to make this event and special publication possible and sustainable? Would we be able to maintain the same level of integrity in the nomination and selection processes in a partnered event that we require of ourselves in the events that are entirely our own? Ultimately, the answers to all questions were yes.
Even before the criteria for this award were completely fleshed out, accounting firm BKD LLP and law firm Lathrop & Gage LLP stepped forward as sponsors based on the concept and its track record in other markets as well as their desires to work with SBJ and UMB to recognize profitable Springfield-area companies.
All agreed that Business Class had the potential to recognize local companies in a way that was not currently being done. Likewise, all expressed their interest in a hands-off approach to honoree selection, deferring to SBJ protocol of a five-person independent judging panel with an agreement of confidentiality.
Nominations were opened to all companies that operate within 50 miles of Springfield, have been in business for at least three years and posted annual revenues of at least $3 million. Nominees were sent applications and asked to provide local and national employee counts, revenue growth percentages and profit growth percentages for the most recent three-year period. Profitability and profit growth percentages differentiate Business Class criteria from SBJ’s Dynamic Dozen and Economic Impact Awards. The companies also were asked to respond in essay format regarding how they demonstrated industry leadership and innovation in the last 12 months as well as their contributions to the betterment of the Springfield area through philanthropy and community involvement. The judges used those applications to narrow the field to 10 finalists.
Mar’Ellen Felin, SBJ director of advertising and marketing, and I recently had the pleasure of attending the Champions of Business event in Kansas City as Baker’s guests. This experience helped us all to envision what Business Class could be in the Springfield market. It also clarified for me the enormity of this award and what it could mean for participating companies. In Springfield, just as in Kansas City and Wichita, the winning companies announced at the luncheon will be invited by UMB to take two representatives on an all-expenses-paid leadership retreat to California wine country in late October.
All 10 finalists are profiled in this booklet. As you will see, five companies have been chosen as top honorees and recipients of the wine country trip.
It is our hope that 2012 marks the beginning of an annual event and issue with a Business Class focus and that we will have plenty of stories of profitability, growth and philanthropy for years to come.
Jennifer Jackson is publisher of SBJ Publishing Inc., the parent company of Springfield Business Journal and Joplin Tri-State Business Journal. She may be reached at jjackson@sbj.net.
Click here for full coverage of the 2012 Business Class.
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