EDGE.30 – 30 Small Businesses to Watch

Official Rules and Nomination Terms

1. Sponsor

The EDGE.30 awards program (the "Program") is sponsored and administered by Montague Jetson, LLC d/b/a Chattanooga Times Free Press via its EDGE magazine ("Sponsor," "we," "us"), 405 Cherry Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402. By submitting a nomination you accept these Official Rules. The Program, including all nominations and payments, is also subject to Sponsor's Terms and Conditions located at https://www.timesfreepress.com/terms-and-conditions/, which are incorporated into these Official Rules by reference. If these Official Rules conflict with the Terms and Conditions, these Official Rules control.

2. Program Description and Key Dates

The Program recognizes small businesses in the Chattanooga region. Thirty (30) finalists, three per category, will be selected across ten (10) categories, and one winner per category will be selected from among the finalists. All dates are in Eastern Time and may be changed by Sponsor as described in Section 13.

Nominations open: October 14, 2026, and close November 2, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
Finalists notified: on or about November 9, 2026, and featured in the December 2026 issue of EDGE magazine.
Winners announced: January 21, 2027, at The Signal, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and featured in the February 2027 issue of EDGE magazine.

3. Eligibility

To be eligible, a business (a "Nominee") must, as of the nomination close date:

be independently owned, meaning not a franchise location, a subsidiary, or majority-owned by a larger company;
have fewer than 100 employees, counting full-time and part-time employees, including the owner(s), as of the date of nomination;
be headquartered in one of the following 16 counties: Bledsoe, Bradley, Hamilton, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Polk, Rhea and Sequatchie counties in Tennessee; Catoosa, Dade, Murray, Walker and Whitfield counties in Georgia; and DeKalb and Jackson counties in Alabama; and
be in good standing and lawfully operating.

Individuals, companies and employees of Sponsor, its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates, Program judges, and members of their immediate families or households are not eligible to be nominated or to nominate. Sponsors and advertisers of the Program may be nominated but receive no preference. Each Nominee may enter up to three (3) categories and may be named a winner in one category. Category-specific criteria (for example, business age or size) are listed on the Program website and are part of these Rules. A Nominee must remain eligible through the awards event. Sponsor may withdraw finalist or winner status if a Nominee closes, is acquired, relocates its headquarters outside the eligible counties, or otherwise ceases to meet these criteria before that date.

4. Categories and Ownership Criteria

The ten categories are: Startup to Watch; Comeback of the Year; Legacy Business of the Year; Micro-Business of the Year; Community Impact Award; Small Business Innovator; Founder of the Year; Employer of the Year; Woman-Owned Business of the Year; and Groundbreaker Award.

For the Woman-Owned Business of the Year category, a Nominee must be at least 51% owned and operated by one or more women. Nominees must certify ownership in the nomination and agree to provide supporting documentation on request. Sponsor may disqualify any nomination that cannot be verified.

5. How to Nominate; Fees

Nominations must be submitted through the official online form at https://edge30.timesfreepress.com/nominate. Any person (a "Nominator") may nominate an eligible business, including the owner of that business. A nomination is received only when the online form is successfully submitted and payment is processed before the close date. Sponsor is not responsible for lost, late, incomplete or misdirected nominations or payments, or for technical, network or website failures. Nomination fees are: $75 for the first category, $125 for two categories, and $175 for three categories, plus applicable taxes. Fees cover administration and judging. If the same business is nominated in the same category more than once, Sponsor will combine the nominations into a single entry for judging. Each fee paid remains subject to the no-refund policy below.

ALL NOMINATION FEES ARE FINAL AND NON-REFUNDABLE. No refund, credit or transfer will be issued for any reason, including if a nomination is withdrawn, rejected, found ineligible or disqualified; if a Nominee declines to participate or does not respond; if a Nominee is not selected as a finalist or winner; if Sponsor cancels, combines or modifies any category, or declines to name a finalist or winner in any category; if an award is revoked; or if any date changes. By submitting payment, the Nominator acknowledges and agrees to this no-refund policy. Fees are paid by the Nominator unless the nominated business agrees to pay. Payment of a fee, sponsorship, advertising or other purchase has no effect on whether a Nominee is selected as a finalist or winner.

6. Nominator Representations and Nominee Consent

By submitting a nomination, the Nominator represents that (a) all information is accurate and not misleading; (b) the Nominator has authority to submit it, or, if not the owner, has made reasonable efforts to inform the Nominee; (c) the content does not infringe third-party rights or contain defamatory or confidential information; and (d) the Nominator has permission to provide any photos, logos or text. Nominators who are not owners must not submit non-public financial, legal or personal information about a Nominee without consent.

Each Nominator, and each Nominee that accepts finalist status, agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Sponsor, its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, sponsors and judges, and their respective officers, employees and agents, from any third-party claims, losses and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from the information or materials it submits, its breach of these Official Rules, or its use of any Program title or badge.

Sponsor will contact Nominees using the email address and phone number provided in the nomination and is not responsible for messages that are undeliverable, filtered as spam, or not received. Before a Nominee is publicly named as a finalist, Sponsor will request that the Nominee confirm acceptance and sign the Finalist Release in Section 8. A Nominee that declines, or does not respond within 3 business days, the selection as a finalist may be withdrawn and will not be publicly identified. Sponsor may rely on the Nominee's submissions in preparing finalist and winner coverage but is not obligated to publish any particular information, including negative or sensitive information. Sponsor may share nomination materials with its staff, judges and service providers to administer and judge the Program. Nomination materials are not treated as confidential except as described in Section 11, and Nominators should not submit trade secrets. Sponsor will not publish a Nominee's non-public financial information without the Nominee's consent.

7. Judging

Entries are reviewed by one or more independent judging panels selected by Sponsor. A judge is independent if the judge is not an employee of Sponsor and has no ownership, employment or other financial interest in any Nominee in the category judged; judges must disclose and recuse from any conflicts. Judges score entries against the criteria published for each category. Finalists are the three highest-scoring Nominees in each category. Ties will be resolved by the panel chair / additional scoring round. Sponsors and advertisers do not judge. No selection is made by random drawing or public vote. Judges' decisions are final. Sponsor may decline to name a finalist or winner in any category in which no Nominee meets the criteria. Sponsor will keep scoring records for one year.

7A. No Prize; Recognition Only

Winners and finalists receive recognition only, including publication in EDGE magazine and acknowledgment at the awards event. No cash or merchandise prize is awarded. Any trophy or plaque offered for purchase is optional and has no bearing on selection. Sponsor reserves the right to award a tangible award at its sole discretion.

8. Finalist Release; License; Use of Name and Likeness

Each finalist and winner grants Sponsor and its affiliates a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license to use the business's name, logos, trademarks, photographs, video, quotes, and the names, titles and likenesses of its owners and representatives, and the content of the nomination, in connection with the Program, EDGE magazine and related print, digital, social and video publications, the awards event, and promotion of the Program, without further compensation or approval, except that Sponsor will not state or imply that a business endorses a third-party product. The Nominee represents that it has the right to grant this license and agrees to provide high-resolution logos and photographs on request. Sponsor retains editorial control over all coverage.

9. Use of the Award by Winners and Finalists

Winners and finalists may describe themselves as "2027 EDGE.30 Winner/Finalist" for the stated category, using badge artwork and guidelines provided by Sponsor, and may not use Program marks to imply endorsement of any product or service or after Sponsor revokes permission. Titles must be used truthfully and with the correct year and category. Sponsor may revoke an award for misrepresentation or conduct that harms the Program. Recognition in the Program is not an endorsement by Sponsor or EDGE magazine of any business, product or service. The Program is separate from Sponsor's news operations, and nomination or selection does not affect, and is not affected by, Sponsor's news coverage of any business.

10. Awards Event

The awards event will be held January 21, 2027, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET, at The Signal in Chattanooga. Event details, tickets and any ticket allotment for finalists will be published separately and are subject to separate terms. By attending, guests consent to being photographed and recorded for use by Sponsor in all media. Persons needing accommodation may contact TFP Events, 405 Cherry Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402 at least 10 days before the event. Speakers and programming are subject to change.

11. Privacy

Sponsor collects information in nominations (including contact details of Nominators, Nominees and owners, and ownership information for the Woman-Owned Business of the Year category) to administer the Program, verify eligibility, and publish results. Information about owners' gender is collected only for the Woman-Owned Business of the Year category, only with consent, and only to verify category eligibility. Information is handled under our Privacy Policy, located at https://www.timesfreepress.com/privacy-policy/. Nominators and Nominees will not receive marketing email or text messages unless they opt in separately.

12. Release, Disclaimer and Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, participants release and hold harmless Sponsor, its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, sponsors, judges, venue, and their respective officers, employees and agents from any claims arising from participation in the Program, selection decisions, the use of any submitted content as permitted here, or the awards event. The Program is provided "as is." Sponsor's total liability for any claim will not exceed the nomination fee paid. Nothing here limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

13. General

Sponsor may modify these Rules, change dates, add, merge or cancel categories, disqualify any nomination, or cancel, suspend or modify the Program if fraud, technical failure, insufficient entries or other circumstances beyond its control affect its integrity, with notice posted on the Program website. No such action entitles any Nominator or Nominee to a refund of any fee (see Section 5). These Rules are governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee without regard to conflict-of-laws principles, and any dispute will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Hamilton County, Tennessee. To the extent permitted by law, each participant waives any right to a jury trial and agrees that any claim will be brought individually and not as part of a class or representative action. If any provision is unenforceable, the remainder stays in effect. Questions: contact circulationcs@timesfreepress.com. Sponsor's decisions on all matters relating to the Program are final.