★ A National Recognition Movement
Celebrating America's Local Business Legends
Recognizing the businesses, owners, and employees whose products, service, grit, leadership, and community impact make life better for the people they serve.
Filmed in person, in your community. Featured through video, podcast, and the web.
The Reason We Exist
Local businesses keep America running. Most never get recognized for it.
National brands dominate the attention. Meanwhile the businesses and people who actually hold communities together stay largely invisible. We're changing that — one legend at a time.
Create Jobs
Employing neighbors and building local economies.
Support Families
Sponsoring teams, schools, and youth programs.
Serve Communities
Backing charities, events, and the people who need them.
Show Up Daily
Delivering grit, service, and excellence without applause.
This is not a popularity contest. Not paid recognition. Not advertising. It's earned.
Three Ways to Be a Legend
Who we recognize
Recognition isn't reserved for the name on the door. We celebrate the whole organization — and the people who are its true heart.
Local Legend Business™
A business recognized for excellence in product, service, and community impact — from home services to healthcare, retail to manufacturing.
The OrganizationLocal Legend Owner™
The founder, entrepreneur, or executive whose leadership, grit, and commitment to customers and community sets the standard.
The LeaderLocal Legend Employee™
The technician, manager, server, teacher, or coach who consistently goes above and beyond — often the true heart of an organization.
The HeartFrom Nomination to Recognition
How it works
Nominate
Tell us about a business, owner, or employee who deserves recognition.
Review
Our team reviews every nomination that comes in.
Interview
Selected legends are filmed in person, right in their community.
Feature
Their story goes out through video, podcast, web, and social.
Recognize
Outstanding legends receive official Local Legend recognition.
The Founder
"Every community is held together by people who show up, serve, and rarely hear thank you. This movement exists to make sure they're seen."
Dr. Shena Dixon Mason, Esq.
Founder — Local Legend Live
Dr. Shena Dixon Mason, Esq., has built her work around one conviction: America's small and medium-sized businesses are the backbone of every community, and helping them succeed is some of the most important work there is.
She created Local Legend Live to turn that conviction into recognition — a national platform where the owners, employees, and businesses whose grit and service keep communities running finally get the spotlight they've earned.
The Nomination
Know a Local Legend? Put them forward.
It takes two minutes. The story you tell is what brings their excellence into the light — and into their community's view.
- ★ Free to nominate — recognition is never bought.
- ★ Anyone can nominate: customer, coworker, neighbor, or yourself.
- ★ Every nomination is read by a real person.
Be Part of the Movement
More ways to get involved
Share Your Story
Are you a local business owner with a story worth telling? Raise your hand to be considered for a feature.
Raise Your HandBecome a Sponsor
Support the platform and events that celebrate the backbone of America's economy. Sponsorship funds the movement — never recognition.
Talk SponsorshipBring It to Your City
Want Local Legend Live in your community? We're expanding city by city across America.
Start a ConversationThese Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Local Legend Live website and services (the "Service"), operated by [Legal Entity Name] ("Local Legend Live," "we," "us," or "our"). By accessing or using the Service, you agree to these Terms.
1. Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old, or have the consent of a parent or guardian, to use the Service or submit a nomination.
2. The Service
Local Legend Live is a recognition platform that invites the public to nominate small and medium-sized businesses, owners, and employees. Submitting a nomination does not guarantee that any person or business will be contacted, interviewed, recognized, or featured. All recognition decisions are made at our sole discretion.
3. Nominations and Submissions
When you submit a nomination or other content, you represent that the information is accurate to the best of your knowledge, that you have the right to submit it, and that you have a reasonable basis to share information about any third party you nominate. You agree not to submit false, misleading, defamatory, or infringing content.
4. License to Submitted Content and Interviews
By submitting a nomination, story, photo, or other materials, or by participating in a recorded interview, you grant Local Legend Live a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, and sublicensable license to use, reproduce, edit, adapt, publish, distribute, and display the submitted content and any recorded interview — including names, voices, likeness, statements, and business information — across video, audio, web, social, and other media in connection with the Service. Recorded interviews are conducted only with the participant's consent, and participants may be asked to sign a separate media release.
5. Intellectual Property
The Service, including the "Local Legend Live," "Local Legend Business," "Local Legend Owner," and "Local Legend Employee" marks, and all related content and design, is owned by or licensed to Local Legend Live and is protected by applicable law. You may not use our marks without prior written permission.
6. Acceptable Use
Your use of the Service is also governed by our Acceptable Use Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.
7. Disclaimers
The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure. Nothing on the Service constitutes legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by your use of the Service or by any communication through it.
8. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Local Legend Live and its affiliates will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits or data, arising out of or related to your use of the Service.
9. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Local Legend Live from any claims, damages, or expenses arising from your content, your use of the Service, or your violation of these Terms.
10. Governing Law
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in [County/City], Virginia.
11. Changes
We may update these Terms from time to time. Continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.
12. Contact
Questions about these Terms may be directed to [contact email] or [mailing address].
This Privacy Policy explains how [Legal Entity Name] ("Local Legend Live," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, and shares personal information through the Local Legend Live website at [domain].
1. Information We Collect
Information you provide. When you submit a nomination, we collect your name and email address; the nominee's name, business, location, and industry; the story you write; and any other information you choose to share with us.
Information collected automatically. We may collect device, browser, IP address, and usage information through cookies and similar technologies.
2. How We Use Information
We use personal information to review and process nominations; to contact you and, where appropriate, nominees; to produce and publish recognition content across video, audio, web, and social media; to operate, secure, and improve the Service; to send messages or updates where you have opted in; and to comply with legal obligations.
3. How We Share Information
We share information with service providers who process data on our behalf, including our customer-relationship and messaging provider, website hosting, and analytics providers. When a nomination is selected, related stories may be published publicly. We may also disclose information to comply with law, protect rights and safety, or in connection with a business transfer. We do not sell personal information.
4. Cookies
You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect how the Service functions.
5. Your Rights and Choices
Depending on where you live, you may have rights to access, correct, delete, or restrict the use of your personal information, and to opt out of marketing or text messages. California residents (CCPA/CPRA) and individuals in the EEA/UK (GDPR) may have additional rights. To exercise any right, contact us at [contact email].
6. Data Retention
We retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described here, unless a longer period is required or permitted by law.
7. Children's Privacy
The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information.
8. Security
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information, though no method of transmission or storage is completely secure.
9. Changes
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time and will post the revised version with a new effective date.
10. Contact
Questions about this Privacy Policy may be directed to [contact email] or [mailing address].
This Acceptable Use Policy applies to all users of the Local Legend Live Service. By using the Service, you agree not to:
- Use the Service for any unlawful, fraudulent, or harmful purpose.
- Submit nominations or content that is false, misleading, defamatory, harassing, or that you do not have the right to share.
- Infringe the intellectual property, privacy, or publicity rights of any person or business.
- Impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or business.
- Upload viruses, malware, or any code designed to disrupt or damage the Service.
- Use automated tools to scrape, harvest, or collect data from the Service without our written permission.
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to the Service, its systems, or other users' information.
- Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service.
Enforcement
We may remove content, suspend or terminate access, and report activity to law enforcement where we believe this Policy has been violated. Contact us at [contact email] to report misuse.
Local Legend Live is committed to making its website accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of ability or technology.
Our Commitment
We aim to conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA. We work to maintain sufficient color contrast, keyboard navigability, descriptive text alternatives for images, and support for assistive technologies, and we honor reduced-motion preferences.
Ongoing Effort
Accessibility is an ongoing effort. We regularly review the site and welcome feedback that helps us improve.
Need Help or Want to Report a Barrier?
If you encounter any difficulty accessing content on this site, or need information provided in an alternative format, please contact us at [contact email] and we will work to assist you promptly.
These SMS / Messaging Terms describe the text-messaging program operated by [Legal Entity Name] ("Local Legend Live").
Consent
By providing your mobile number and opting in — for example, by checking the messaging consent box or replying to confirm — you agree to receive recurring text messages from Local Legend Live relating to nominations, updates, events, and program information. Consent is not a condition of any purchase or of being recognized.
Message Frequency and Rates
Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply according to your mobile carrier plan.
Opting Out and Help
You can opt out at any time by replying STOP to any message. For help, reply HELP or contact us at [contact email]. After you opt out, you may receive a single confirmation message.
Carriers
Mobile carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
Privacy
Information collected through the messaging program is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy. We do not sell your mobile information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing.
Contact
Questions may be directed to [contact email].
This Data Processing Agreement ("DPA") forms part of the agreement between [Legal Entity Name] ("Local Legend Live") and any customer, partner, or sponsor ("Counterparty") for whom Local Legend Live processes personal data, or governs Local Legend Live's engagement of sub-processors. Where the parties' roles are reversed, the same obligations apply to the party acting as processor.
1. Definitions
"Controller," "Processor," "Data Subject," "Personal Data," and "Processing" have the meanings given under applicable data protection law, including the GDPR and the CCPA/CPRA where relevant.
2. Scope and Roles
The party that determines the purposes and means of processing acts as Controller; the party that processes Personal Data on the other's behalf acts as Processor. This DPA applies only to Processing carried out on documented instructions.
3. Subject Matter and Details
Subject matter: provision of the relevant services. Duration: the term of the underlying agreement. Nature and purpose: as described in the underlying agreement. Types of data: contact details and submission content. Categories of Data Subjects: nominators, nominees, and program participants.
4. Processor Obligations
- Process Personal Data only on the Controller's documented instructions.
- Ensure persons authorized to process data are bound by confidentiality.
- Implement appropriate technical and organizational security measures.
- Assist the Controller in responding to Data Subject requests.
- Notify the Controller without undue delay after becoming aware of a personal data breach.
- Delete or return Personal Data at the end of the engagement, unless retention is required by law.
- Make available information necessary to demonstrate compliance and allow for reasonable audits.
5. Sub-Processors
The Controller authorizes the use of sub-processors that are bound by data protection terms no less protective than this DPA. A current list is available on request.
6. International Transfers
Where Personal Data is transferred across borders, the parties will rely on a lawful transfer mechanism, such as the applicable Standard Contractual Clauses.
7. Contact
Data protection inquiries may be directed to [contact email].
Local Legend Live respects the intellectual property of others and responds to notices of alleged copyright infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA"), 17 U.S.C. § 512.
Filing a Notice of Infringement
If you believe content on the Service infringes your copyright, send a written notice to our Designated Agent that includes:
- A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or authorized agent.
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed.
- Identification of the infringing material and its location (such as a URL) sufficient for us to locate it.
- Your contact information, including address, telephone number, and email.
- A statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized by the owner, its agent, or the law.
- A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notice is accurate and that you are the owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf.
Designated Agent
[DMCA Agent Name]
[Legal Entity Name]
[Mailing Address]
[contact email]
Counter-Notification
If you believe your content was removed in error, you may submit a counter-notification containing the information required under 17 U.S.C. § 512(g). We will forward valid counter-notifications to the original complainant.
Repeat Infringers
We will, in appropriate circumstances, disable or terminate access for users who are repeat infringers.
Contact
DMCA inquiries may be directed to [contact email].