Steelville Area Chamber of Commerce is seeking nominations for awards to be presented March 24 during its 2026 Annual Awards Banquet.

Awards will be presented to the 2025 Citizen of the Year, Business of the Year, Nonprofit Organization of the Year and Outstanding Young Leader.

The Business of the Year and Nonprofit Organization of the Year awards are selected by Steelville Area Chamber of Commerce members based on six qualifications.

Qualifying businesses and nonprofits must demonstrate good employee/customer relations, contribute to the betterment of the community and the quality of life of its citizens and demonstrate staying power in the Steelville R-3 School District area.

They also must have operated as a business or nonprofit organization for a minimum of two years and be a Steelville Chamber Member in “good standing” for the qualifying year. Businesses cannot have been named Business of the Year within the past five years.

Business presented with the Business of the Year Award in the last five years include The Main Deck in 2024, Rich’s Famous Burgers in 2023, First Community National Bank in 2022, STE Communications in 2021 and the Steelville R-3 School District for 2020.

The Nonprofit Organization of the Year award was established in 2021, and has been presented to Eagle Flight Ministries and Meramec Music Theatre. Steelville First Assembly of God Church won in 2022, Crawford County 911 won in 2023 and Bargains for Missions won in 2024.

Chamber members will nominate businesses and organizations March 2-8 that they feel are deserving of these awards. They will then be provided with a list of those nominees and will place their votes to determine the top three nominations. 

For more information, contact Liz Bennett at brittonbennett@yahoo.com.

To qualify as a nominee for Outstanding Young Leader, the person must be a high school student residing in the Steelville R-3 School District who has displayed leadership abilities, dedication to the community and assistance to businesses and organizations for the betterment of the community during the 2025 calendar year.

The Chamber Award Committee will follow up with the individuals who have been nominated after March 3 and advise them of their nomination.

If the young person accepts the nomination and wishes to be considered for this award, the Chamber will ask them to provide responses to the following by March 11: Community, civic and school affiliations including leadership positions held; awards, recognitions and applicable honors received; motivating factors to make Steelville a beautiful place to live, work and visit.

Following the March 11 deadline, the Award Committee will narrow the nominations down to three individuals, who will then be notified that they are a finalist for the award. The nominees and their families will be invited to attend the Chamber Annual Banquet and Awards Ceremony.

For more information, contact Peggy Alexander at palexander@fcnb.com or Becky Simpson at bsimpson@fcnb.com.

The Citizen of the Year award is presented to an individual or group of people that have shown exceptional service by volunteering and significantly contributing to the Steelville community.

Nominees must live within the Steelville R-3 School District, and must demonstrate leadership, creativity, cooperation and hard work, have made outstanding voluntary contributions toward the benefit of the Steelville community, and have had a positive impact on their employer/business, profession or community through their unique skills and efforts.

Recipients of the award in the past five years are not eligible. Those are: 2024 Becky Simpson, 2023 Virginia Halbert, 2022 Beth and the late Adam Yount, 2021 Shirley Stulce and 2020 Kent and Betty Ann Howald and Honor Evans.

The Chamber’s Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet will be held at the Steelville Community Center. There is a 6 p.m. social hour and silent auction and at 6:30 p.m., an Italian dinner catered by Becker Road Baking Company. 

Tickets are currently available at the Steelville branches of FCNB Bank and Peoples Bank.