How to Nominate and Vote for Stuart Businesses in the 2026 Best of Southwest Iowa
Nominations for the 2026 Best of Southwest Iowa close September 30. If a Stuart business takes care of you, this is the month to say so where it counts.
Here’s how it works, in two steps.
Step one: nominate, now through September 30
Go to bestofsouthwestiowa.com and click Nominate. Pick a category, type in the business, and submit. You can nominate in as many categories as you like. Businesses can’t nominate themselves, so this part is on the customers.
Step two: vote, October 8 through 30
Nominees move to a ballot. Voting opens October 8 and closes October 30. Winners are announced November 16. A nomination in September is what gets a Stuart name onto that October ballot, so don’t wait for the vote.
The categories
Agriculture, Automotive, Beauty and Wellness, Education, Entertainment, Food and Dining, Healthcare Services, Healthcare Professionals, Home Services, Living Services, and Shopping. Between those eleven, nearly every Chamber member fits somewhere. The full member roster is at stuartia.com/chamber/about-us/ if you want to jog your memory.
Why I care about this one
I’ll be honest, most “best of” contests are a popularity vote and everybody knows it. This one still matters, and here’s why.
For the business, a nomination is a customer saying “these people did right by me” in a place other people will look. That’s the review you can’t ask for. A win goes on the door, on the website, and in every conversation with someone who’s deciding between you and a shop in Adel or Winterset.
For the Chamber, every Stuart nominee is a Stuart name on a regional ballot. People from across Southwest Iowa scroll that list in October. Some of them have never had a reason to drive to Stuart. A dozen of our businesses sitting in those categories is a dozen reasons.
For the town, this is how a place gets a reputation. Nobody decides Stuart is worth the trip because of one thing. They decide because they keep hearing our name in a good way, and a contest like this is one of the few places that happens all at once, in public, with a date on it.
For business owners: the free listing is the real prize
Whether you get nominated or not, any business in Southwest Iowa can claim a free listing in the Best of Southwest Iowa directory. Take the few minutes. Here’s my reasoning.
Search engines pay attention to where your business name, address, and phone show up. A directory that’s specific to your region, run by a real organization, and linked to a contest people actually visit is exactly the kind of place they trust. It’s one more consistent mention of who you are and where you are, and those add up in how you show up when someone searches “near me.”
There’s a human side too. When a stranger finds you in a list next to businesses they already know, you borrow a little of that trust. If you win or place, the badge is proof somebody other than you says you’re good. You can’t buy that, and you can’t fake it.
So claim the listing, check that the name and address match what’s on your Google profile and your website, and then ask your regulars to nominate you before the 30th. That’s the whole play.
Let’s make sure Stuart is well represented.
-Nate
