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The 2023 Sign Biz Gala Dinner was a night to celebrate the success of entrepreneurs, makers and salespeople alike. The event was held at the refreshing Tropicana Resort Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, in a ballroom decorated with disco balloons, feathers, and glitz to match the 80s theme. The night included the ever-popular team events. Many guests arrived in themed attire and the atmosphere was electric with excitement!

The evening began with a cocktail reception, where guests mingled and enjoyed drinks and appetizers. Dinner followed with a choice of entrees, and a variety of other delicious dishes. The Tropicana staff were very attentive, and even donned some festive gear!

After dinner, it was time for the awards ceremony!

The gala dinner awards ceremony was held to celebrate the achievements of entrepreneurs, makers and salespeople.

First up were the astonishing SCOYAs, Sales Consultant of the Year Awards. The awards were presented by Sign Biz president, Teresa M. Young in the following sales achievement categories:

• New Rising Star went to Brent Sexton of the Sign Brothers (Athens, GA), for an average monthly sales volume of $65,746!
• Stellar Sales Star was awarded to Alex Akins from the Sign Brothers, for average monthly sales volume of $90,010 and a top month of $407,169 in October last year.
• Top Sales Consultant of the Year was bestowed upon Phillip Henry, also from the Sign Brothers, for his remarkable average monthly sales of $217,100 and a peak month of $990,370 in August last year!

The Gala attendees were astounded and delighted to hear of these remarkable achievements- everyone wants some of the Sign Brothers secret sauce! Beautiful, framed awards were a testament to their hard work and dedication.

Following the SCOYAs were the iMAK awards! These prestigious awards are for all “back of the shop” employees in the Sign Biz Network. Awards are designed to honor individuals in the following three categories: Rock Star Installer, Pro Print Artist and Sharpest Fabricator. For 2023, one Rock Star Installer was honored, and two individuals were tied for Sharpest Fabricator.

The Winners, from L to R:
ROCK STAR INSTALLER: This award went to Julio Pedrueza, Lead Installer at GrandMark Signs LLC (Lenexa, KS). Of the 300 installations he completed by the time the honorees were selected, only two necessitated a follow-up trip!

SHARPEST FABRICATOR: This distinguished award went to Mandee Vittetoe, Production Supervisor at Kentucky Sign Center (London, KY). She more than doubled the throughput of orders and manages the finishing staff in the production department.
SHARPEST FABRICATOR (In a tie): Also honored in this category was Osvaldo “Os” Cortes, Lead Fabricator at GrandMark Signs. His employer, Joe Tindall, commended Os as being the best of the best, with an upbeat attitude and hard worker. “He has been a game-changer for GrandMark Signs, and everyone loves working with him.”

The Sign Biz Convention evening Gala is an opportunity to recognize noteworthy achievement of all types. The next portion of the program presents awards to those who have achieved new sales milestones. The revenue per capita continues to exceed that of all sign franchises, with one in eight shops achieving $1Million in annual sales or greater.

The first category is for the Century Club award, for those achieving $100,000 in a single month for the first time. Honors went to Sholom Hochman, owner of Sign Here in New Jersey.

The new inductees into the Half-Million-Dollar Milestone Club were Greg and Mary Bullock, owners of Sign & Design Depot (North Fort Myers, Florida). This award was highlighted by Young as being especially hard-earned and rewarding to bestow: The Bullocks had survived more than their share of hurricanes, Covid battles, cancer and surgeries. And still they were able to achieve a new sales milestone for 2022, with over $500K in sales last year.

The next award was for the $750K Club for those achieving $750,000 in annual sales for the first time. This year, Jim Bianco, Sign Pro (Edina, MN) took the honors!

Young introduced the Million-Dollar-Milestone Club awards by first presenting the list of 36 past honorees. The first 2023 inductee for annual sales of $1Million were Jay and Claudia Nolan, Kentucky Sign Center (London, KY), pictured right.

Also receiving the Million Dollar Milestone Award was Sholom Hochman, on the heels of his Century Club award earlier in the evening!

Guests were treated to some more Milestone Awards, lofty goals achieved by Sign Biz Members over the past year. First, Cory McKnight, owner of The Sign Center (Boise, ID), was honored for achieving $1.5Million in annual sales for the first time!

And there were two more very exciting Milestone inductees: Lauran Wang, Mustang Signs (Kennewick, WA) achieved $4Million in annual sales in 2022! And not to be outdone, The Sign Brothers, Justin & Michael Seibert also achieved the $4Million in annual sales!

The gala dinner, fully hosted bar, and stellar awards had Members in high spirits. They were ready to let loose and have some fun! The annual Gala winds up the night with “the games” and this year was no exception. Teams were created and found the content of prop bags aligned with the 80s theme. Each team had costumes, a team “dance” and a lip-sync performance.

Pat and Stefanie Dacy (pictured) showed up with their own “costumes” – the clothes they actually wore in 1980s! Some convention sponsors became judges, enjoying their role and receiving lighthearted bribes. They were laughing and cheering as the contestants performed.

The competition was fierce, and the contestants gave it their all. There were mullets, leg warmers, and neon spandex galore.

The dance moves were over-the-top, and the lip-syncing was spot-on. Video coming soon to YouTube.com/signbiznetwork!

In the end, there could only be one winning team, but all of the contestants were winners in their own way.

The party contest was a great way to end the gala dinner. It was a chance for entrepreneurs and employees to let loose and have some fun. It was also a chance for them to bond with each other and make some new friends.

The event and awards were hosted by Sign Biz, Inc. The organization’s mission is to help entrepreneurs achieve their dreams and build successful businesses.
Everyone is already looking forward to next year’s convention!