Nomination Form for the AAAB Asian-Owned Business Award
To advance a more diverse and inclusive business environment in Arkansas, the Arkansas Association of Asian Businesses (AAAB) is launching the first-ever Asian-Owned Business Award (AOBA) to recognize the outstanding achievements and success of an Asian-owned business in Arkansas. 

The deadline for nominations is midnight on Friday, November 22. Contact teresa@arkasianbiz.com if you have any questions.

Estimated completion time for the nomination form is 20-25 minutes. Responses can be edited after they have been submitted up until midnight on November 22.

Eligibility criteria
● Nomination: Businesses can nominate themselves or be nominated by another person.
● Good standing status: Businesses must operate and be registered in Arkansas, as well as be in good standing with the Arkansas Secretary of State. Status can be checked here.
● 50% Asian-owned: Businesses must be at least 50% owned by an Asian (having origin or descent from the continent of Asia).
● Relationship with the AAAB: All eligible businesses with the above criteria, regardless of AAAB membership or not, are invited to submit applications. However, please note that only AAAB members at the small enterprise or large corporation levels will be eligible for consideration as finalists. The AAAB will contact the award candidates and invite them to become AAAB members. Please check Membership page for more information on how to join!

Areas of judging
1. Business growth and innovation
2. Customer satisfaction
3. Employee relations
4. Honoring Asian heritage/roots in business
5. Community impact

The judging committee
A committee of business owners and professionals from across Arkansas will consider the nominations, shortlist five finalists, and make a recommendation for the winner for the AAAB board of directors' final approval. Our distinguished line-up of judges include Marie Bruno of North Little Rock, retired Executive Director, Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation/Arkansas Capital Corporation, and Co-Owner, Bruno’s Little Italy; Nhiem Cao of Fayetteville, Founder, C12XL LLC; Esperanza Massana Crane of Little Rock, Director of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Development, Arkansas Economic Development Commission; and Dr. Bao Hoang of Magnolia, Assistant Professor of Management, Southern Arkansas University, and Founder and CEO, SPACE ASEAN.

AOBA recognition
Five finalists will be recognized at AAAB's annual East Meets West Lunar New Year Luncheon on February 6, 2025, in Little Rock, Arkansas (stay tuned for more event details!). The winner, as well as first and second runner-ups, will also receive an awards package that will help boost their businesses' visibility and networking opportunities.


Please note that the nominator’s email will be automatically collected upon submitting the entry.
Email *
Cannot pre-fill email
Section 1: Business Information
1. Please indicate the nomination type: *
2. Business name *
Your answer
3. Name of business owner *
If you don't know the name of the business owner, please indicate so below.
Your answer
4. Business address *
Your answer
5. Business zip code
 *
Your answer
6. Business phone or business contact’s cell phone
 *
Your answer
7. Business email *
Your answer
8. Business website
Your answer
9. Business social media
Your answer
10. Is the business Asian-owned? (at least 50% ownership by a person having origin or descent from the continent of Asia)
 *
11. If you answered "yes" to the above, please indicate the business owner's ethnicity:
Your answer
12. Is this business in good standing with the Arkansas Secretary of State? *
To verify a business's good standing status, please check the registration website at https://www.ark.org/corp-search/index.php and take a screenshot of the business's status. Please see the example below.

Tip: Sometimes a business's registration name can be different than the name they do business as (DBA). If you are having trouble finding a business's good standing status, please check both.
Captionless Image
Section 2: Nominator Information
If you are nominating another person's business, please enter your information for questions 14-16 below. Otherwise, please indicate N/A for these questions.
13. Name of person nominating *
Your answer
14. The best email or phone number for us to contact you as the nominator *
Your answer
15. Nominator zip code *
Your answer
Section 3: Business’s Background and Track Record of Excellence
Please highlight the business's achievements with as many examples (quantitative and qualitative) as possible. These will help the judging committee better understand the business's accomplishments.
16. Tell us about this business! *
When was it started? What products/services does it offer? What are its mission and values? How many people are employed? What future plans does the business have?
Your answer
17. How does this business demonstrate excellence in business growth and innovation? *
For example: How has the business achieved outstanding levels of sales and employee growth? How quickly has the business grown since it started? What new and out-of-the-box ideas and solutions have been applied to drive business growth?
Your answer
18. How does this business demonstrate excellence in customer satisfaction? *
For example: How has the business exceeded customer expectations? How has the business developed
customer loyalty/retention?

Can you refer us to the best platform where we might find customer reviews?
Your answer
19. How does the business demonstrate excellence in employee relations? (if the business is run by one person, please indicate N/A) *
For example: How does the business create a positive business environment? How does the business retain and recruit talent/support professional development of its employees?
Your answer
20. How does this business demonstrate excellence in honoring Asian roots/heritage? *
For example: What has the business done to connect Asia and Arkansas in business? 
Your answer
21. How does this business demonstrate excellence in community impact? *
For example: How has the business positively impacted the community?
Your answer
Section 4: AAAB Membership
22. AAAB membership is not required for a business to be nominated. However, to be considered as a finalist, AAAB membership is required. Can the AAAB use the business’s contact info (email and phone) you provided, for further communication regarding its membership confirmation and receiving the award? *
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