2026 Small Business of the Year Award recipients named

The Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce has announced the recipients of the 2026 Small Business of the Year Awards. The Awards were presented at the Chamber’s Business EXPO on the morning of Thursday, April 16 at the Central Wisconsin Convention + Expo Center in Rothschild. Ten businesses and organizations were named earlier this year as finalists for the awards.

The Small Business of the Year Award recognizes business growth, community involvement and innovative efforts in the Wausau region. Dylan Eckhart and Kyle Pozorski of WAOW Newsline 9 were the emcees for this livestreamed event.

The 2026 Small Business of the Year Award recipients were NorthStar Restoration Services in the Business category and Bridge Street Mission in the Charitable Non-Profit category.

“This is unreal and we never expected this,” said Jay Cricks, Co-Owner of NorthStar Restoration Services. “We never could have done any of this without our staff and our families who have supported us. This isn’t just our (award), this is for our entire team.”

“Truly, I think (the award) is a testament to our community’s need and how (they) have stepped up to support the unhoused community,” said Craig Vincent, Executive Director of Bridge Street Mission. “We’re privileged to be right in the middle of that and, hopefully, we can see some significant change for the people we serve.”

The Business award finalists also included:

The Charitable Non-Profit award finalists also included:

A replay of the awards program can be viewed above. Each of this year’s finalists were recently interviewed, with the videos available below and on the Chamber’s Facebook page and YouTube channel.

The 2025 Small Business of the Year Award recipients were In The Lite Electric in the Business category and Habitat for Humanity of Wausau - Restore in the Charitable Non-Profit category.

The presenting sponsor for the Small Business of the Year Awards and Business EXPO was M3 Insurance. The EXPO was sponsored at the platinum level by The Dirks Group and SDS Painting Company, at the silver level by Health In Motion, Ho-Chunk Gaming – Wittenberg, In The Lite Electric, Jim Kryshak Jewelers, Lakeland Care, Vitality Bar, Weston Memory Care and Yach’s Body & Custom. The print media sponsor was The Business News. The television sponsor was WAOW/WYOW Television Inc. The radio sponsor was Midwest Communications. The printed map sponsor was RotoGraphic Printing Inc and the Best In Show Awards sponsor was New Pulse Marketing.