Celebrating Success
Business owners get down at Best of Tallahassee 2023
Videography by Live in Tallahassee/Silver Productions
Representatives of Tallahassee’s finest businesses gathered at The Moon on Nov. 16 to dance, boogie and “celebrate good times, come on!” at the 2023 Best of Tallahassee event — a soirée honoring winners in Tallahassee Magazine’s annual reader’s poll.
Guests donned sequined pants, headscarves and go-go boots in recognition of this year’s theme, ’70s disco, which was reflected by a giant disco ball hanging over the dance floor. Ology Brewing Company served fruity gin cocktails in disco ball cups, and VIPs lit up the night with the LED glasses they received in their swag bags.
Photo by Gabriel Hanway
Anna Wescoat, this year’s Best of Tallahassee winner in the band category, got the party started. A one-woman show, she sang and played keyboard, guitar and harmonica while covering classic and contemporary hits ranging from Fleetwood Mac’s “Rhiannon” to Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey.”
“[‘Rhiannon’] was a song my fans insisted on,” Wescoat told me. “I do that one a lot at my shows, and everybody loves my version, so all my fans were like, ‘You have to play that one to close out.’”
Wescoat, who gigs throughout Tallahassee, the panhandle and even in Nashville, said her “jaw went to the floor” when she received the call that she’d won this year’s band category.
“I consider myself a one-woman band, but I posted about [the poll] saying, ‘Hey, maybe they’ll add a solo artist category if enough [people] vote for me,’” she said. But “I never anticipated enough of my fans voting in it and actually winning, so it was kind of neat that they voted for me, and I ended up beating out obviously other fantastic bands.”
Photo by Gabriel Hanway
Rowland Publishing’s McKenzie Burleigh and Renee Johnson thanked presenting sponsor Ox Bottom Animal Hospital and supporting sponsors The Moon, John Gandy Events, Florida Blue, Metronet, Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, Crafty Crab Tallahassee, Narcissus, Target Print & Mail, Drip Drop Fitness, LIVE! in Tallahassee, Adams Radio Group, 93.3 Real Talk with Greg Tish, MillCreek Financial Consultants, Social Catering, Catering Capers, Ology Brewing Company, Smile in Style Events and Anna Wescoat Music.
Joel Silver with Live in Tallahassee announced this year’s Best of Tallahassee winners, drawing excited cheers from the crowd. For a complete list of honorees, consult the November/December edition of Tallahassee Magazine or click here.
Photo by Gabriel Hanway
Millcreek Financial’s William Green raised a toast to the winners and introduced Atlanta-based electro-funk band MonoChrome.
The band played an array of ’70s disco hits, and the dance floor got busy. Confetti fell from the ceiling as MonoChrome frontman Dain Harris belted the chorus of Kool & The Gang’s “Celebration.” Throughout the evening, he reiterated how happy he was to sing for “the Best of Tallahassee.” And Drip Drop Fitness led a flash mob, which moved to the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing.”
“We’ve never done a flash mob before,” Summer Griffith, owner of Drip Drop Fitness, said. “I’ve never thought I would be in one. It made me nervous, but all my staff was like, ‘We have to do it, it’s so fun,’ So I was like, ‘Okay.’ […] It was fun.”
Photo by Gabriel Hanway
They modified a dance they frequently use in the studio so that if “people wanted to jump in, they could catch on.” And boy, did they. From the edge of the dance floor, I watched as people handed their drinks and purses off so they could learn the steps and join the fun. To borrow Griffith’s words, it was “a blast.”
Perhaps the most touching part of the evening occurred when Hang Tough Foundation board member George Smith accepted a check on behalf of the organization. Reader’s poll participants named it this year’s best nonprofit.
Hang Tough supports families with children who have chronic illnesses or special needs. It provides comprehensive care to entire families via support groups, family fun events and more.
Photo by Gabriel Hanway
“As part of the overall positive vibe of the night, that just topped it off,” Ox Bottom Animal Hospital’s Lauren DiMartino-Combs told me. She introduced Smith to audiences before helping present the check. “It was cool to hear Smith’s statements about the foundation and share that with Tallahassee.”
Smith and DiMartino-Combs thanked Rowland Publishing, event attendees and sponsors. The crowd cheered, and then, they re-joined the dance floor, where many partied until the band stopped and the lights went up. But for some, the night was only just beginning.
One woman stopped me on her way out to ask if I planned on keeping the neon cowboy hat atop my VIP table.
“No,” I told her. “All yours.”
She nodded, grabbed the hat and walked off. Oh, what a night!
To view, download and share photos from the event, please click here for photos from Gabriel Hanway.*
*Photos are available to download for personal use only (please feel free to share on social media). Photos are not approved for reproduction or use in publication or professional settings without permission from Rowland Publishing, Inc.
