Publisher Gordie Webster announces the 2021 winners of the Best of Central Valley Business Readers Choice Awards Tuesday at the Elbow Room in Fresno. Photo by Gabriel Dillard

It was a congratulatory environment Tuesday evening at Fresno’s Elbow Room as The Business Journal honored the companies emerging as winners of our annual reader voting contest.

An invite-only crowd of just under 100 people representing winners and finalists gathered to find out who our readers crowned the cream of the crop in our eighth-annual event.

From a humble start of 22,000 votes in the first year of competition, nearly 151,000 individual votes were cast at thebusinessjournal.com from Sept. 1 to Oct. 31 for the 2021 Best of Central Valley Business Readers Choice Awards. That also represents an increase of 16% from last year.

Website visitors chose their favorite local businesses in 35 categories. While voters were required to vote in a minimum of 25 categories for a ballot to count, no categories were skipped in the 4,313 ballots cast.

Be sure to read the Dec. 12 print edition of The Business Journal to learn more about the winners. To offer feedback on the contest or suggestions for new categories, contact Ashley Webster-Rudolph.

Best Company to Work For
London Properties
1st finalist: Community Medical Centers
2nd finalist: Central Valley Community Bank

Best Politician on Business Issues
Rep. Devin Nunes
1st finalist: Assemblyman Jim Patterson
2nd finalist: Rep. Jim Costa

Best Business Supporting Local Charities
Granville Homes
1st finalist: Table Mountain Casino
2nd finalist: Central Valley Community Bank

Best Nonprofit
Marjaree Mason Center
1st finalist: Ronald McDonald House Charities
2nd finalist: Hinds Hospice

Best Commercial Real Estate Company
Colliers
1st finalist: Fortune Associates
2nd finalist: Stumpf and Co.

Best Residential Real Estate Company
London Properties
1st finalist: Guarantee Real Estate
2nd finalist: Realty Concepts

Best Real Estate Property Management Company
Granville Homes
1st finalist: Manco Abbott
2nd finalist: Dana Butcher & Associates

Best Architectural Firm
Darden Architects
1st finalist: The Taylor Group
2nd finalist: Teter

Best Engineering Firm
Blair Church & Flynn
1st finalist: Precision Civil Engineering
2nd finalist: Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group

Best Home Builder
Granville Homes
1st finalist: Wathen Castanos
2nd finalist: De Young properties

Best Business Bank
Central Valley Community Bank
1st finalists: Chase Bank, Fresno First Bank (tie)
2nd finalist: Wells Fargo

Best Employment Service
PrideStaff
1st finalist: Denham
2nd finalist: Hire up Staffing Services

Best Property/Casualty Insurance Company
DiBuduo & DeFendis Insurance Brokers
1st finalist: Alliant Insurance Services, Inc.
2nd finalist: Der Manouel Insurance Group

Best Credit Union
Educational Employees Credit Union
1st finalist: Golden 1 Credit Union
2nd finalist: Noble Credit Union

Best Auto Dealership
Selma Auto Mall
1st finalist: Hedrick’s Chevrolet
2nd finalist: Fresno Lexus

Best Accounting Firm
Nunes & Nunes CPA Inc.
1st finalist: The Garabedian Group
2nd finalist: Moss Adams LLP

Best Law Firm
McCormick Barstow LLP
1st finalist: Baker Manock & Jensen
2nd finalist: Wild Carter & Tipton

Best Marketing Agency
JP Marketing
1st finalist: Jeffrey Scott Agency
2nd finalist: Five Creative Group

Best Bar to Entertain Clients
Elbow Room
1st finalist: Pismo’s Coastal Grill
2nd finalist: The Annex Kitchen

Best Hospital
Clovis Community Medical Center
1st finalist: Valley Children’s Hospital
2nd finalist: Kaiser Permanente

Best Technology Company
PC Solutions
1st finalist: Agrian Inc.
2nd finalist: BCT Consulting

Best Shopping Center
River Park Shopping Center
1st finalist: Fig Garden Village
2nd finalist: Marketplace at El Paseo

Best Chamber of Commerce
Fresno Chamber of Commerce
1st finalist: Clovis Chamber of Commerce
2nd finalist: Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Best Woman-Owned Business
La Tapatia Tortilleria
1st finalist: Casa de Tamales
2nd finalist: Alert-O-Lite

Best Office Equipment Company
California Business Machines
1st finalist: Caltronics Business Systems
2nd finalist: Ray Morgan Co.

Best Commercial Printing Company
Fastsigns
1st finalist: Dumont
2nd finalist: Alpha Graphics

Best Catering Company
Pardini’s Catering
1st finalist: The Painted Table
2nd finalist: Meat Market

Best Security Company
Matson Alarm
1st finalist: Turner Security Systems
2nd finalist: AmeriGuard Security

Best Golf Course to Take a Client
Copper River Country Club
1st finalist: Fort Washington Country Club
2nd finalist: San Joaquin Country Club

Best Interior Design Firm
Darden Architects
1st finalist: Facility Designs
2nd finalist: Classic Interior Designs, Inc.

Best Local Morning Drive Radio Show
KMJ 580 AM
1st finalist: K-Love 91.1
2nd finalist: Kiss Country 93.7

Best Local Lunch Spot
Dog House Grill
1st finalist: Pismo’s Coastal Grill
2nd finalist: Sam’s Italian Deli

Best Family-Owned Business
Wawona Frozen Foods – The Smittcamp Family
1st finalist: London Properties – The Conner Family
2nd finalist: Selma Auto Mall – The Nelson Family

Best Title Company
Chicago Title Co.
1st finalist: First American Title
2nd finalist: Old Republic Title Co.

Best Local Annual Event to Attend
The Big Fresno Fair
1st finalist: Big Hat Days
2nd finalist: Clovis Rodeo