Top Women Winners from 2015: Sandi Vizner, Susan Tillis, Michelle Riley, Jennifer Parsley, Margi Kyle, Sheri Bistreich, Jan Beatty, Angie Brown, April Cook, Pam Dubois, Colleen Lloyd-Roberts

Nominations for Business Today’s 13th Annual Top Women leadership awards are officially open. The prestigious awards honor the Golden Crescent’s most dynamic women in business, community service, education and politics.

To be eligible for this awards program, women leaders should be based in Cabarrus County, Lake Norman or University City—a business region we started calling the “Golden Crescent” in 2002. Business Today’s own Gail Williams, the advertising and marketing director, will emcee the event.

Prior winners include Cyndie Mynatt, owner of the Concord-based Ben Mynatt auto dealerships, Abigail Jennings, president of Lake Norman Realty, based in Cornelius; Dianne Snyder, chancellor of Cabarrus College of Health Sciences; Robin Salzman, co-owner of Lake Norman Chrysler Dodge Jeep; and ​Diane Honeycutt, the Cabarrus County Commissioner and Realtor.

The awards have a long tradition of recognizing career achievement, community service and impact. Nominations close Aug. 31.

Judges include Uwharrie Bank executive Pat Horton; ​Cheryl Kane, ​a business instructor at UNC-Charlotte, and long-time Business Today columnist; Donna Moffett, CEO of an accounting firm based in Cornelius; and Cornelius Realtor Karen Tovar and auto dealership owner Robin Smith. All the judges are former Top Women winners. There are no advertising quid pro quos.

The awards have a tradition of recognizing career achievement, community service and impact.

2017 essay question: What is the best piece of advice you would give a young professional woman just starting in the business world?

Click here for the online nomination form.

Nominations close Aug. 31.

Each year there is a Champagne Reception in honor of the winners, all of whom will be notified prior to this year’s event.

The reception and a mini business expo for women will be 6-9 pm Thursday Oct. 19 at River Run Country Club. To RSVP, please call 704-895-1335

This year’s presenting sponsor is Duke Energy. Southlake Women’s Healthcare and Novant Health are the platinum sponsors, Dobi Financial is the Gold sponsor, Rose Associates and Uwharrie Bank are the silver sponsors, and the champagne reception is sponsored by Aquesta Bank.