In an effort to promote the city's many small businesses and the overall health and well-being of the local economy, the Largo Leader is hosting the "Best of Largo" contest which will recognize the city's favorite locally owned businesses in four different categories: offices, restaurants, service providers, and retail. The effort to promote this type of unique recognition within Largo began back in 2011 when the community development department decided to start promoting its own "Largo Small Business Week", which was cleverly synchronized with the nationally acknowledged "Small Business Saturday". 
Since that time, the city has expanded the program from a mere 7-day excursion to a month-long celebration of the city's hard-working and multi-talented entrepreneurs.
Anyone can vote, and any and all Largo-based businesses are eligible to win! Those who wish to participate can cast their vote as many times as they want either online or by mailing or dropping off their ballot found in this week's Largo Leader to Tampa Bay Newspapers, 9911 Seminole Blvd., Seminole, FL 33772. Even local business owners can throw their own hats into the ring by simply voting for their businesses. The contest will be in full swing until Wednesday, November 19th, at which point voting will end at 5:00 pm and ballots will be tallied. The winners in each category will be announced in the November 27th edition of the Largo Leader and interviewed for their very own featured stories in the upcoming December issue!
The governing body of Largo strongly believes that the efforts to recognize and reward the community's outstanding small businesses is crucial due to the fact that more than half of the revenue taken in by these restaurants and retailers is recirculated into the local economy. 
Meanwhile, the revenue generated from major chains contributes less than 16% by comparison (statistics from the Civic Economics’ 2013 Indie Impact Study Series). And according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, 55% of all jobs and 66% of all net new jobs have stemmed from small businesses since the 1970s. So it's no wonder that this triumphant celebration holds so much importance and intrinsic value!
The Largo Commission will declare this month as the city’s official Small Business Month during its upcoming meeting this Tuesday, November 5th. The motion clearly demonstrates the city’s commitment to the continued success of its thriving local economy and hopes to recognize more small businesses within the community for many Novembers to come! To cast your vote, visit the Largo Leader site and fill in your ballot!
Comments(0)