This year marks the Observer-Reporter’s eighth time hosting the Best Of The Best gala. The Observer-Reporter brings enthusiasm, excitement and encouragement to the people of Washington by showing what local businesses do for their community.
Best of the Best was originally created to honor and promote local businesses and it went from around 150 categories to 172 in 2024. What excites the Observer-Reporter is that each year the event grows and they support new and different businesses. On average, around 800 people attend the ceremony each year.
The ceremony was held on November 21, 2024, at Southpointe’s Hilton Garden Inn ballroom. The gala has been held at the same location since it began in 2016.
During nominations, there are three rounds. In the first round, which starts in June, anyone can be nominated as long as they work for or own a legitimate business that was founded for reasons other than winning Best of the Best. There are 172 categories, including healthcare, finance, home services, dining and many others. The Observer-Reporter promotes each category and allows community members to vote to determine the top five remaining nominees in each category.
The five remaining nominees are left in round two. In this round, people are allowed to vote again in September. Round two narrows it down to three nominees in each category.
In the third and final round, the remaining three people are announced and invited to the gala; the ceremony takes place to reveal the winners in each category. Nominees can bring family members with an additional ticket of $15, or businesses can buy extra tickets to support their employees. The 2025 gala is planned for November 20, and voting happens in the same months as 2024: June, September and November. The Observer-Reporter is responsible for planning the event in advance so that their spot is reserved for the same time span every year.
Every year the Observer-Reporter puts their hard work, time and effort into bringing together the community to show how much small businesses mean to Washington.
The Observer-Reporter’s director of advertising and events, Carole DeAngelo, said, “The whole goal of this contest is to celebrate local businesses and showcase all the different nuances of industries that we have in our community.”
DeAngelo sees the whole process of The Best Of The Best from behind the scenes and believes “one of the coolest parts is seeing how one, competitive it can be, and two, how celebratory it can be. There are categories where they are actually friends and they are cheering for each other, but they also want to win and it’s healthy competition.”
Along with DeAngelo, the Observer has around 22 staff members who handle the advertising and coordination of the event.
Around 40 Hilton Garden Inn staff members work alongside them to prepare the venue. They prepare close to 800 chairs, the stage, the DJ booth, sound equipment, food and entertainment. The Washington Symphony also joined them, playing music in between categories.
One thing that DeAngelo thinks is important for businesses to succeed and thrive is gratitude.
“Gratitude makes life’s ordinary moments extraordinary,” says DeAngelo.
So, when running a business becomes difficult, take gratitude in the amazing moments; this is something the Observer-Reporter hopes to spread through Best Of The Best.
