10/18/2026
🏆 Well, apparently we are award-winning… and possibly a little confused about how awards work these days! 😂
It's been an interesting week at OBJ Design!
We received notification that OBJ Design was ranked #1 Event Planner in Evansville for 2026, based on Google reviews through BusinessRate.
And we learned we received Bronze in the Best of Evansville awards! 🥉
So apparently, we are both first AND third. We will take it! 😂
But all joking aside, these awards have gotten us thinking.
When did celebrating great local businesses become such a big business itself?
We're seeing more and more awards, rankings, voting campaigns, and opportunities to purchase promotional upgrades. Want a custom voting page? There's a fee. Want your logo featured on the ballot? Another fee. Want to display your award badge? That'll cost you, too.
At some point, you have to wonder… are we celebrating excellence, or are we creating another way to market to small businesses?
Don't get me wrong. Recognition is wonderful. And I am genuinely grateful to every person who has supported, recommended, reviewed, or voted for OBJ Design.
But here's what I really want to say.
There is room for ALL of us to succeed.
Our local wedding and event industry is filled with incredibly talented, hardworking people. People who pour their hearts, creativity, time, and often their last ounce of energy into making someone else's special day unforgettable.
A gold, silver, or bronze badge doesn't tell that whole story.
Neither does a #1 ranking.
And neither does how much a business is willing or able to spend promoting itself.
What matters is the experience we give our clients, the relationships we build, the integrity we bring to our work, and the way we treat one another.
I'd much rather see our industry celebrate each other's accomplishments, refer clients to one another, and lift up the businesses working beside us than compete over who gets the shiniest badge.
So congratulations to EVERY local business that was nominated, recognized, or won! You deserve to be celebrated. And to the wonderful businesses whose names never made a ballot? You deserve to be celebrated, too.
As for us, we'll proudly accept our first-place ranking, our bronze recognition, and the occasional reminder that apparently we need a separate budget just for awards. 😂
But the recognition that will always mean the most?
A happy client, a heartfelt thank-you, and another local business willing to recommend our work.
That's the kind of award you can't buy. ❤️
Here's to supporting local, celebrating each other, and remembering that our success isn't measured by a medal.
It's measured by the difference we make.
So, take a badge on us, it is free, not $195 extra and celebrate Evansville!!!
