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Best of the Illinois Valley recognized in La Salle · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Best of the Illinois Valley recognized in La Salle.
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  Written by Matthias Werner. This article is being read by an automated
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  voice, brought to you by Everlett. Businesses
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  and service organizations from across the region were recognized with Best of
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  the Illinois Valley Awards Thursday evening at the Auditorium Ballroom in La
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  Salle. It's nice to see that so many places in the area
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  are doing such a good job across so many different disciplines, Garzanelli's
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  owner Dave Hillier said. More than 600 unique businesses and organizations were
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  nominated for an award in 160 available categories. Categories
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  ranged from dining and retail to auto service and leisure, but service
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  excellence united they more than 300 people from awarded organizations who attended
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  the celebration. While the awards themselves have existed longer, 2026 is the
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  third year that these winners were formally invited to the ballroom to
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  recognize their success in the region. It's good to know that the
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  community recognizes and supports small businesses. Jalapeno's co-owner Enrique Delgado said.
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  Not just because they go, but because the vote for something like
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  this. In total, there were 144,334 votes cast
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  for this year's awards. Those votes were spread across 23,055 nominations,
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  awarding 351 local organizations. We know we work hard and do a
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  good job, but getting something like this just reminds us why it's
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  important that we do that for people, Delgado said. In March, Shaw
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  Media posted a nomination ballot for the awards. The top five nominees
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  in each category moved to the three-week voting phase in May. Thursday
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  evening celebration honored the best of Illinois Valley winners that placed in
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  the top three of the 160 categories. It's all about the consumer.
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  Without them we wouldn't be what we are, Hillier said. These awards
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  boost morale considerably. We really appreciate them. They make us work harder
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  and work better for the people that come in every day. For
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  the full list of recognized organizations, visit Bestuffedillanois Valley dot com.