2021 Best In Business Award Winners

The following are the winners and finalists for the 2021 Best In Business Awards, SBM’s annual reader survey of the BEST Businesses in the area. More than 20,000 individuals voted and the best companies were chosen in 19 categories. The winning businesses and top finalists will be featured in the 2021-2022 Business Owners’ Guide, SBM’s Book of Lists that contains all BEST Lists from the past 12 months.

Winners and finalists will also be honored at a special luncheon on October 26 (11am-1pm) at the St. Charles Convention Center.


BEST SMALL BANK
Enterprise Bank & Trust
(Finalists)
Midwest BankCentre
Royal Banks of Missouri
Saint Louis Bank
Commerce Bank

BEST LARGE BANK
Busey Bank
(Finalists)
BMO Harris
Bank of America
U.S. Bank

BEST ACCOUNTING FIRM
Brown Smith Wallace
(Finalists)
Anders CPAs + Advisors
Wipfli (Mueller Prost)
Conner Ash P.C.
Mortland & Company, LLC

BEST LAW FIRM
Danna McKitrick, P.C.
(Finalists)
Lashly & Baer, P.C.
Capes Sokol
Affinity Law Group
Lewis Rice, LLC

BEST PR FIRM
The Vandiver Group
(Finalists)
Timmermann Group
Drive Social Media
Abstrakt Marketing Group
Think Tank PR & Marketing

BEST CONSULTING FIRM
Valley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA)
(Finalists)
Sapper Consulting
M.A. Birsinger & Company, LLC
MDD Forensic Accountants
Swink, Smith, Coplen & Company

BEST IN VALUE
Evans & Dixon
(Finalists)
Cole & Company, P.C.
The Simon Law Firm
Citizens National Bank
Rickhoff & Associates

BEST MARKETING FIRM
Atomicdust
(Finalists)
Timmermann Group
Leverage
Black Twig Marketing + Communications, LLC
Think Tank PR & Marketing

BEST IT FIRM
ThrottleNet
(Finalists)
Acropolis Technology Group
Winning Technologies
MB Technology Solutions
NWO IT

BEST CYBERSECURITY FIRM
TechGuard Security
(Finalists)
ThrottleNet
Network Technology Partners
TeamLogic IT
SpearTip

BEST IN CUSTOMER SERVICE
Delta Dental of Missouri
(Finalists)
Electro Savings Credit Union
Butcher Joseph & Co.
Scott Credit Union
Burds & Kuntz

BEST ATTORNEYS
John Nations, SmithAmundsen
(Finalists)
Dave Spewak, Berger, Cohen & Brandt, L.C.
Steven Drapekin, Lewis Rice
Heidi Dodd, Harter, Larson & Dodd
Emily Cantwell, Lathrop GPM

BEST M&A PROVIDERS
Tracy Ring, Greensfelder
(Finalists)
Howard Kaplan, Stinson LLP
Brad Crandall, Affinity Law Group
Adam Herman, Wipfli (Mueller Prost)
Dave Driscoll, Metro Business Advisors

BEST IN RELIABILITY
Acropolis Technology Group
(Finalists)
Bent Law
Spellman Brady & Company
Pearl Solutions Group
Cummings, Ristau & Associates

MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES
Tech Electronics
(Finalists)
ATB Technologies
Atomicdust

BEST IP ATTORNEYS
Don Kelly, University of Missouri System
(Finalists)
Kirk Damman, Lewis Rice
Jacob Mueller, Armstrong Teasdale
Michael Annis, Husch Blackwell, LLP

BEST WEALTH ADVISORS
Carol Rogers, High Tower Advisors
(Finalists)
Tim Schulze, Pioneer Wealth Management
Brian Skrobonja, Skrobonja Financial Group
Dae Walther, Purk & Associates
Bret Sinak, Endeavor Wealth Management

BEST ACCOUNTANTS
Doug Mueller, Wipfli (Mueller Prost)
(Finalists)
Chris Murphy, Purk & Associates
Polly Stover, Diel & Forguson Financial Group
Pam Aman, Sikich, LLP
Michael Arendes, Schowalter & Jabouri, P.C.

BEST PAYROLL PROVIDERS
HireLevel
(Finalists)
Intergrated Payroll Services (IPS)
Biermann Accounting Services, LLC
Eckelkamp & Associates CPAs P.C.