WAILUKU — The Maui Chamber of Commerce announced that nominations are now being accepted for the Annual Mayor’s Small Business Awards in 2021.

All nominees and winners will be honored during an event to be held on Thursday, Dec. 16.

The Mayor’s Small Business Awards recognize outstanding businesses in the Maui County community that have 100 or fewer employees and have had a Hawaii General Excise Tax license for no fewer than two years.

Other criteria include:

Demonstrating business leadership in a changing economic environment;

Creating a quality work environment for their employees;

Exhibiting the Aloha Spirit and exemplary customer service;

Developing partnerships with other sectors of the community;

Utilizing innovative practices or pivoting in a unique way to sustain the operations throughout COVID-19;

Demonstrating other exceptional qualities or traits.

This year’s event includes the following six award categories: Exceptional Small Business of the Year (ten or fewer employees); Exceptional Small Business of the Year (11 to 39 employees); Exceptional Small Business of the Year (40 to 100 employees); Outstanding Nonprofit Business (100 or fewer employees); Young Small Business Person of the Year (under the age of 40 as of Dec. 16, 2021); and the Lifetime Achievement Award for any individual doing business in Maui County for more than 20 years, with up to 100 employees.

Nomination forms can be completed online and must be submitted with all required information on or before Monday, Nov. 29, at 4 p.m. Only those entries received on or before the deadline will be considered.

Submittals must include completing the online nomination form with an explanation as to how the business meets the award criteria, uploading a letter of recommendation for the business from a source other than the nominator, uploading a high-resolution (minimum 300 dpi) digital photograph of the nominee, and an optional 30-second video of the nominee, their team or the business and/and their products and services in a .mp4 format.

No self-nominations or County of Maui or Maui Chamber of Commerce employee nominations will be accepted. An individual or business can only be nominated in one category per year, and any business that has won in a particular category in the past cannot be renominated in that same category but can be nominated for another category.

Nomination forms are available online at www.mauichamber.com.

“With many businesses recovering from the impacts of the pandemic and others still struggling, it is important to recognize those who have kept their doors open, were able to save jobs and bring employees back, who continue to provide outstanding products and services, and who contribute to our community,” said Pamela Tumpap, president of the Maui Chamber of Commerce.

“The pandemic has reinvigorated the need to shop Maui County first and support local companies. This awards ceremony is a wonderful way to share your favorite businesses, businesspeople and non-profits with the community and honor them for their vision, leadership, service during these very challenging times.”

For more information about nominations and available sponsorships, visit MauiChamber.com or contact the Maui Chamber of Commerce at 244-0081 or office@mauichamber.com.