Two Tuscaloosa businesses were honored Friday at the annual statewide Small Business of the Year Awards for outstanding service to the Tuscaloosa community during 2020.

Both Chuck's Fish/Five and JNJ Apparel achieved top honors in the ceremony, which was held virtually by the Business Council of Alabama and the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama.

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Chuck's Fish/Five, sister businesses owned and operated by Charles Morgan III, took home the titular prize in the ceremony's largest category, consisting of businesses with more than 50 but less than 100 employees.

In the ceremony, the businesses were recognized for excelling in civic and professional goals.

In a press release by the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama, Chuck's Fish/Five were recognized for their dedication to the community, citing the recent annual Thanksgiving feast free to the community, and the several organizations they support including Habitat for Humanity, and American Lunch, a mobile soup kitchen.

Similarly, JNJ Apparel was recognized for its owners' contributions to the community, taking home a silver medal in the 11 to 50 employee category for the conversion of its online website into a platform to help local businesses during mandatory shutdowns necessitated by COVID-19 earlier this year.

Owners Michael and Nick Wright implemented a "Shop Local" campaign that designed T-shirts for small businesses and gave a portion of each shirt sale back to those establishments, including several bars that were forced to close again later in the year.

"We were thrilled to see businesses from our are honored at the Small Business Awards this year," said Jim Page, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama. "This competition represents the best of the best from across the state, and we are fortunate to have companies like these serving our community."

Two additional West Alabama businesses were recognized as finalists -- Eat My Beats for the 1 to 10 employee category, and Session Bar in the Emerging retailer Category. You can watch the entire ceremony here.

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