Excellence is a way of life in Greater Omaha.
It’s earned not given – and it should be celebrated.

Each year, we recognize dozens of truly deserving businesses and nonprofits with our Business Excellence Awards. We ask the community to nominate those whose contributions elevate Greater Omaha and make it a better place to do business, work and live. From those nominations, our volunteer selection committee chooses the best-of-the-best as our award winners. In addition to honoring excellence, we also applaud businesses celebrating major milestone anniversaries. This is our way of putting the spotlight on those that have earned it.

Nominate

2023 AWARD WINNERS

Help us honor the innovators, community builders, and change-makers among us. Winning organizations ignore traditional models and forge new paths, promote teamwork and collaboration, and significantly impact the health and well-being of Greater Omaha. Creating jobs. Building community. Raising our quality of life and immersing ourselves in excellence.

Sustained Excellence

  • ACCESSbank
  • Carson Wealth
  • RTG Medical
  • Signature Performance

Philanthropy

  • Omaha Community Foundation
  • McGill Restoration
  • Baxter Auto Group
  • Velocity Clinical Research

Leadership

  • FNIC Trusted Insurance Advisors
  • FNTS
  • Fusion Medical Staffing
  • ICAN – Institute for Career Advancement Needs

2022 Small Business of the Year

  • Hometown Hero Appliance Repair

Innovation

  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Midlands
  • CyncHealth
  • Ronald McDonald House Charities in Omaha
  • Lutz

Milestones

25 Years

  • Advance Design & Construction, Inc.
  • Bluestone Development
  • BNI of the Heartland, LLC
  • CASA for Douglas County
  • CompLogix
  • Cox Business
  • Diversified Solutions Inc.
  • Evonik Corporation
  • GROW Nebraska
  • Hope Center For Kids
  • Ideal Images
  • InfiNet Solutions
  • Interstate Display Shelving, Inc
  • JM Online
  • Kahler-Dolce Mortuary
  • Keep Kids Alive Drive 25
  • Keywest Technology
  • Lamson Dugan & Murray LLP
  • Max I. Walker Dry Cleaners & Launderers
  • Millennium Homes / BW Framing
  • Nebraska Cultural Endowment
  • Nelson Contracting, LLC
  • Northwest Bank – La Vista
  • Northwest Bank – Omaha
  • Occasion Designed
  • Omaha Street School
  • PayPal
  • planitOmaha, Inc.
  • Platte River Concrete Co.
  • Scooter’s Coffee
  • Stinson LLP
  • Sunridge Village LLC
  • Westlawn-Hillcrest Funeral Home
  • World Class Office Installers, Inc.

50 Years

  • Behlen Technology & Manufacturing, LLC
  • CBRE
  • Engineering Technologies, Inc.
  • Godfather’s Pizza – Corporate Office
  • Jensen Tire & Auto Company
  • Jerry Ryan Clothing & Sportswear
  • Lukas Partners
  • M’s Pub, Inc.
  • Nebraska City Area Economic Development Corporation
  • New Cassel Retirement Center
  • TSA Manufacturing

75 Years

  • American Red Cross Blood Services Midwest Region
  • Children’s Hospital & Medical Center
  • Conductix-Wampfler
  • Elliott Equipment Company
  • Human Resource Association of the Midlands (HRAM)
  • Kidwell, Inc.
  • Kohll’s Rx
  • Millard Lumber Inc.
  • Nebraska Academy of Family Physicians
  • Robert Half International

100 Years

  • Christensen Lumber, Inc.
  • College of Saint Mary
  • The Seldin Firm
  • Standard Printing Company
  • United Way of the Midlands

125 Years

  • Alter Metal Recycling
  • Field Club of Omaha
  • Fraser Stryker PC LLO
  • I-Go Van and Storage Co.
  • Richelieu America Ltd.

150 Years

  • Baird Holm LLP

Past Winners

 

NOMINATIONS

We look to the business community to help us identify hardworking businesses and nonprofits. We want your nominations for those whose contributions elevate our region and make it a better place for everyone to do business, work and live.

Our volunteer selection committee will select the best-of-the-best to be recognized with a Business Excellence Award. We’ll recognize the winners for their superior work in the areas of innovation, leadership and philanthropy. Those who have won an excellence award two or more consecutive years will be eligible for a sustained excellence award.

Tell us who you think demonstrates Excellence.

Make a Nomination

2024 NOMINATION INFORMATION

2024 Business Excellence Award nominations are open. Check out the details below and nominate a worthy organization (even your own).

Award Details

  • Nominations are accepted online through Mar. 29, 2024. Late nominations will not be considered.
  • Companies and individuals may nominate themselves or be nominated by a third party.
  • Nominations are scored by the Business Excellence Awards selection committee. Individual scores are kept confidential.
  • Individuals (and their employers) serving on the Business Excellence Awards selection committee are not eligible to receive an award. Their nominations will not be considered.
  • If a company has won a Business Excellence Award (in any category – innovation, leadership and/or philanthropy) for two or more consecutive years, they may be eligible for a sustained excellence award. The award will be determined by the selection committee.
  • All nominated businesses or individuals must be Greater Omaha Chamber members based in the Greater Omaha metropolitan area: Cass, Dodge, Douglas, Otoe, Sarpy, and Washington counties in Nebraska and Pottawattamie and Mills counties in Iowa.
  • Final Business Excellence Award winners will be notified by a Greater Omaha Chamber staff member, announced publicly through a press release and recognized at a private VIP reception.

GENERAL NOMINATION QUESTIONS:

  1. The year your company was established.
  2. The number of employees in the Omaha metro area.
  3. Highlight important milestones in your company’s history.
  4. Highlight any important information about your employees and customers that showcases excellence in your company.

AWARD SPECIFIC QUESTIONS:

Excellence takes on many forms. Choose one or more of the characteristics below and describe how it applies to your business (or the business you are nominating).

If a company has won a business excellence award (in any category – innovation, leadership and/or philanthropy) for two or more consecutive years, they may be eligible for a sustained excellence award. The award will be determined by the selection committee.

You may choose to answer any, or all, of the following categories:

Changing the establishment by introducing something better is no easy process, but it’s what true innovators live for. Those recognized for Excellence in Innovation have made innovation part of their everyday ‘routine’ and provide tangible benefits through their work.

  1. Describe what innovation looks like in your organization, including any particular impacts on your business or customers.
  2. Cite specific examples from the last three years of when success or failure has nurtured innovation in your culture.
Excellence in Leadership recognizes those who have a strong vision for the future, a dedication to the betterment of their organizations and our community and a passion for developing others.

  1. Describe the leadership philosophy in your organization.
  2. Provide specific examples from the last three years of how leadership is cultivated and specific examples of where it has made a difference to your outcomes.

Organizations, small and large, with a philosophy of giving, make a significant impact on the Omaha metropolitan community’s health and well-being. Recognition goes to those who go above-and-beyond to foster an environment of community improvement and support.

  1. Describe how your business approaches community stewardship.
  2. Offer particular examples from the last three years of the impact your organization’s donation of time, talent or treasure has made to others in our community.
Experience comes with time, and every year an organization operates is a testament to its ability to serve, allowing it to uplift the community and contribute to the strength and growth of the region. Milestones matter, and anniversaries of 25, 50, 75, 100, 125 or 150 years in business mark the dedication of organizational stakeholders, as well as the commitment of customers to the business or nonprofit. Share the number of years your organization has been in operation.

SPONSORS

This event is made possible by the generous contributions of several organizations. We appreciate their support.
Interested in being a Business Excellence Awards Sponsor? Contact Anne Branigan for more information.

Small Business Awards Sponsor

Media Partner

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

QUESTIONS

For more information about the Business Excellence Awards, contact Morgan Frushour.

PHOTO AND VIDEO RELEASE
By registering and participating in this event, you consent to the recording of your likeness, image, and/or voice and authorize the Greater Omaha Chamber to use photographs, video, and audio recordings containing your likeness, image, and/or voice in any medium for any purpose.