The KOSBE Awards

Apply for a 2025 KOSBE Award today!

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Official Rules

This contest is open to any small business that meets all of the following eligibility criteria:

• Business owner must be a legal resident of the United States and at least 18 years old at the time of entry.
• Business in question must be a legally established for-profit entity with an annual gross revenue of no greater than $10 Million, and with no more than 150 employees.
• Business in question must be either a corporation, LLC, partnership or sole proprietorship carrying on business for tax purposes within the City of Kingsport, Tennessee.
• Business in question must have been open for business for at least 12 months within theCity of Kingsport, Tennesseeat the time of entry.
• Payment of the non-refundable, one-time application fee of $50 + $2 processing fee must be made at the time of application.

Other rules:

• All fees are non-refundable.
• All judges must sign a conflict of interest/confidentiality agreement to ensure that all entries and details about entrants and their respective businesses will not be disclosed to anyone outside the judging process. All entries will be treated with the strictest confidence at all times.
• Mobile, home-based, agriculture and online businesses are eligible for entry.
• Previous applicants and past winners are eligible for entry.
• By entering, the business agrees to all contest rules as well as release of name and business name for winner notification purposes and for public winner disclosure, as required by law.
• All submitted entries become property of KOSBE.
• Small businesses must self-apply.

Save these dates:

• Finalist interviews will take place on October 29th and 30th at Your Kingsport Chamber. Finalists will be contacted to schedule their interview after the application deadline of August 31, 2025. Finalists must complete their interview to be eligible for an award.
• The awards celebration will take place on December 11th, 2025. The venue will be announced at a later date.

Judging criteria:

• Staying power- a substantiated history as an established business (open for at least one year); business plan and processes in place.
• Business results- number of employees and sales revenue; profitability; net worth.
• Community impact- contributions to community-oriented projects, partnerships or other support of entities within the community (i.e. businesses, non-profits, support organizations, individuals or groups).
• Response to adversity- examples of problems faced in the business and the methods used to solve the problem.

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