The Besties is quickly becoming one of the largest business events in the tristate area!

VerStandig Media was proud to recognize 218 businesses of all sizes and industries in the 2024 Best of the Tristate contest. Award winners from Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia were invited to The Besties on Friday, March 29 for a mixer-style event to receive their certificates and enjoy hors d’oeuvres from Green Grove Gardens and beer and wine from Hidden Key Brewing and Jan Zell Wines.

More than 300 business representatives celebrated being voted the Best of the Tristate at the event. Certificates and commemorative decals were distributed to winners in each of the 218 subcategories. Additional awards were presented to the top three overall vote-receivers as well as the top vote-receivers in each of the 10 major categories: Automotive, Health, Beauty, Shopping, Arts & Entertainment, Community, People, Food & Drink, Services, and Pet Care. The top 3 businesses with the highest votes were Shear Radiance (1st), Warehouse Cinemas Leitersburg (2nd), and Smoking Gunz Tattoo (3rd and now rebranded as Illustrative Ink Tattoo).

Winners also had an opportunity to create promotional content for their business with a revolving 360-degree camera, audio recording equipment, and red carpet with professional photographer. BJ’s Custom
Creations in Hagerstown set up an online store for winners to order plaques and shirts for their staff members. Attendees also were able to get the first sneak peak at the inaugural Best of the Tristate magazine cover for 2024.

“Seeing businesses from one-person shops to employers of hundreds be able to interact and celebrate together was really fulfilling,” according to Jordan Hayes, sales manager for VerStandig Media.

Now in its sixth year, the Best of the Tristate awards program is presented by VerStandig Media. The Besties event was added in 2023 to provide an opportunity for winners to meet each other and be recognized for their contribution to the local business community. The event is completely free for winners and has quickly become a big attraction. In just its second year, VerStandig Media saw a major increase in attendance as well as social media interaction after the event.

“We started this program to recognize local businesses and appreciate them for the part they play in helping our community thrive,” said Blake Truman, General Manager at VerStandig Media. “2024 was a
record-breaking year for Best of the Tristate; we’re thrilled to see how far it has come, and excited for what the future holds.”

Best of the Tristate was launched in 2018 and over the first six years has seen exponential growth. 2024 saw over 227,000 votes cast for well over 1,000 different businesses as well as the first
edition of this magazine. The contest was promoted across all four VerStandig Media radio
stations and their respective social media platforms. After four weeks of open nominations in January online at BestOfTheTristate.com, votes were cast from February 19th through March 10 in hundreds of industries. Voters could vote online and via text message for their favorite businesses. Many businesses got creative with soliciting votes! Business cards with links, in-store signage, social media videos, even product promotions in the store – all were methods used to remind patrons to vote in the contest.

VerStandig Media also awarded random voters gift card packages worth $250 during the voting phase to encourage participation. Winners of each subcategory were notified after voting closed and results were made public on April 1.

For a full list of winners, visit BestOfTheTristate.com or check the lists in each section of this magazine. Nominations for 2025 will open in January. Start planning now how your business could win Best of the Tristate 2025!