More than 100 people gathered at Ruth's Chris Steak House Monday to hear the announcement of the Best of Central Valley Business winners. Photo by Ram Reyes

Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Fresno was hopping Monday night as more than 100 of the leading local business owners and representatives gathered to hear the winners of the 2019 Best of Central Valley Business awards. 

In its sixth year, the competition invites online readers of The Business Journal to vote for their favorite people, businesses and organizations in the Central Valley in 35 different categories. 

From a humble start of 22,000 votes in the first year of competition, this year the program garnered nearly 160,000 votes from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31. 

The top three vote-getting finalists from each category were invited to the event. 

Be sure to thumb through this Friday’s issue of The Business Journal to read about the winners. 

 

Best Politician on Business Issues:

Winner: Rep. Devin Nunes

1st Finalist: Assemblymember Jim Patterson

2nd Finalist: Rep. Jim Costa

 

Best Business Supporting Local Charities 

Winner: Granville Homes

1st Finalist: De Young Properties

2nd Finalist: Tale Mountain Casino

 

Best Nonprofit 

Winner: Marjaree Mason Center

1st Finalist: Hinds Hospice

2nd Finalist: Poverello House

 

Best Commercial Real Estate Company 

Winner: Colliers International

1st Finalist: Fortune Associates

2nd Finalist: Stumpf and Co.

 

Best Residential Real Estate Company 

Winner: London Properties

1st Finalist: Guarantee Real Estate

2nd Finalist: Realty Concepts

 

Best Real Estate Property Management Co. 

Winner: Granville Homes, Inc.

1st Finalist: Manco Abbott

2nd Finalist: Regency Property Management

 

Best Architectural Firm 

Winner: Darden Architects

1st Finalist: TETER

2nd Finalist: The Taylor Group

 

Best Engineering Firm:  

Winner: Blair, Church, & Flynn

1st Finalist: Precision Civil Engineering, Inc.

2nd Finalist: Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group

 

Best Homebuilder 

Winner: Granville Homes

1st Finalist: DeYoung Properties

2nd Finalist: Wathen Castanos

 

Best Business Bank 

Winner: Central Valley Community Bank

1st Finalist: Wells Fargo

2nd Finalist: Chase Bank 

 

Best Employment Service  

Winner: PrideStaff

1st Finalist: Denham Resources

2nd Finalist: Hire Up Staffing

 

Best Property/Casualty Insurance Co. 

Winner: DiBuduo & DeFendis

1st Finalist: Der Manouel Insurance Group

2nd Finalist: Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.

 

Best Credit Union 

Winner: Educational Employees Credit Union

1st Finalist: Noble Credit Union

2nd Finalist: Golden 1 Credit Union

 

Best Auto Dealership 

Winner: Selma Auto Mall

1st Finalist: Hedrick’s Chevrolet

2nd Finalist: Haron Jaguar Land Rover Volvo

 

Best Accounting Firm 

Winner: The Garabedian Group

1st Finalist: Moss Addams LLP

2nd Finalist: Moore Grider & Company

 

Best Law Firm 

Winner: McCormick Barstow LLP

1st Finalist: Dowling, Aaron, Inc.

2nd Finalist: Baker Manock & Jensen

 

Best Advertising Agency 

Winner: JP Marketing

1st Finalist: Jeffrey Scott Agency

2nd Finalist: Catalyst Marketing

Best Bar To Entertain Clients

Winner: Elbow Room

1st Finalist: Pismo’s Coastal Grill

2nd Finalist: Annex Kitchen

 

Best Hospital

Winner: Clovis Community Medical Center

1st Finalist: Valley Children’s Hospital

2nd Finalist: Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center

 

Best Technology Company

Winner: PC Solutions

1st Finalist: BCT Consulting

2nd Finalist: M Cubed Technologies

 

Best Shopping Center

Winner: River Park Shopping Center

1st Finalist: Fig Garden Village

2nd Finalist: Fashion Fair

 

Best Chamber of Commerce

Winner: Fresno Area Chamber of Commerce

1st Finalist: Clovis Chamber of Commerce

2nd Finalist: Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

 

Best Woman Owned Business

Winner: Casa de Tamales

1st Finalist: LaTapatia Tortilleria Inc.

2nd Finalist: JP Marketing

 

Best Office Equipment Company

Winner: California Business Machines

1st Finalist: Caltronics Business Systems

2nd Finalist: Ray Morgan Company

 

Best Commercial Printing Company

Winner: FastSigns

1st Finalist: Dumont Printing

2nd Finalist: AlphaGraphics

 

Best Catering Company

Winner: Pardini’s Catering

1st Finalist: The Painted Table

2nd Finalist: Meat Market

 

Best Security Company

Winner: Matson Alarm

1st Finalist: Turner Security Systems, Inc.

2nd Finalist: AmeriGuard Security Service

 

Best Golf Course to take a Client

Winner: Copper River Country Club

1st Finalist: Fort Washington Country Club

2nd Finalist: San Joaquin Country Club

 

Best Interior Design Firm

Winner: Darden Architects

1st Finalist: Facility Designs

2nd Finalist: CORE Business Interiors

 

Best Local Morning Drive Radio Show

Winner: KMJ 580

1st Finalist: Kiss Country 93.7

2nd Finalist: K-Love 91.1

 

Best Local Lunch Spot to eat during the workweek

Winner: Pismo’s Coastal Grill

1st Finalist: Sam’s Italian Deli

2nd Finalist: Butterfish

 

Best Family Owned Business

Winner: Wawona Frozen Foods – The Smittcamp Family

1st Finalist: London Properties – The Conner Family

2nd Finalist: Valley Wide Beverage – The Amendola Family

 

Best Title Company

Winner: Chicago Title Co.

1st Finalist: First American Title

2nd Finalist: Old Republic Title Co.

 

Best Local Annual Events to Attend

Winner: The Big Fresno Fair, Fresno Fairgrounds

1st Finalist: Clovis Rodeo, Clovis Rodeo Grounds

2nd Finalist: Big Hat Days, Clovis

 

Best Company To Work For:

Winner: London Properties

1st Finalist: Saint Agnes Medical Center

2nd Finalist: Granville Homes