Inside the Best Business Awards Ceremony & Gala, Miss California International, and a growing collaboration connecting business, media and leadership from California to Florida
A ballroom can look effortless once the lights come on. Guests arrive dressed for the evening. Cameras turn toward the red carpet. Business leaders recognize familiar faces across the room. Finalists prepare backstage. Awards wait to be presented. Somewhere between introductions, photographs and dinner, conversations begin that were never written into the program. What the audience sees is one evening. What it does not see are the months of work required to put the right people in that room. The 23rd Annual Best Business Awards Ceremony & Gala, featuring the Miss California International Grand Finale, brings together two platforms that may appear very different at first. One recognizes entrepreneurs, professionals and community leaders who have already established themselves. The other introduces ambitious young women who are still shaping the public roles they may occupy in the years ahead. Yet both depend on something remarkably similar: being prepared when visibility arrives. That idea is also at the center of a growing relationship between California and Florida.
For this New Times Magazine conversation, Alexander Serebriakoff, President of AMA South Florida, part of the American Marketing Association, speaks with Sergey Ivannikov, Producer of the Best Business Awards Ceremony & Gala, and Alisa Yurchenko, President of the Council For Cross Cultural Affairs and organizer of Miss California International.
Serebriakoff’s interest in the event is not simply that of an interviewer looking in from the outside. His support reflects a broader collaboration among professionals who see value in connecting business, marketing, media and community leadership beyond their immediate markets. The conversation begins with the Gala. It quickly becomes about something larger. What actually happens when accomplished people are deliberately brought together? Why does personal reputation matter even more in a digital economy? What can an award do for a business after the applause ends? And on the other side of the same evening, what does it really mean to prepare a young woman to step onto a public stage where appearance may get attention, but character determines what happens next?
The answers begin long before anyone walks the red carpet.
THE BUSINESS OF BEING IN THE ROOM
Sergey, you have spent 29+ years bringing business owners, professionals, media leaders and community figures together. When you look at the Best Business Awards Ceremony & Gala today, what is its real purpose? What did you want to create beyond another evening where awards are presented?
From the beginning, I never wanted to create an event where people simply come, receive an award, take a photograph and go home. An award should be the beginning of something, not the end. For more than 29 years, I have watched businesses grow because somebody introduced them to the right person at the right moment. I have seen entrepreneurs find clients, partners, mentors and friends through relationships that started with one conversation. Sometimes you know immediately that an introduction matters. Other times nothing happens that night. Six months later, you discover that two people who met at your event are now working together. That is why the Gala is really about creating an environment where accomplished and ambitious people can discover each other. Of course, recognition matters. People work for years building companies, developing their professions and contributing to their communities, often without anybody publicly acknowledging what they have done. There should be a moment when that work is recognized.
But I am always interested in what happens around that moment. Who did you meet before receiving the award? Who heard your story? Who sat beside you at dinner? What conversation continued the following week?
That is where an event can become much more valuable than one evening.
That sounds less like event production and more like business development.
In many ways, it is. People sometimes separate these things too much. They put marketing in one box, networking in another, media in another, community involvement somewhere else. In reality, reputation is built through all of them. Business is still about people. One of the most valuable pieces of advice I received many years ago came from one of my greatest mentors, C.C. Yin. His family owns more than 32 McDonald’s restaurants, and he built APAPA (Asian Pacific American Public Affairs) into one of the nation’s largest civic education nonprofits. His advice was very simple: “Get out of your office.” I never forgot it. You can spend your entire day answering emails, working on operations and solving problems. All of that is necessary. But if nobody outside your existing circle knows you, if you are never entering new rooms and if you are not developing relationships before you need them, you are limiting your own business. Technology has made communication faster. It has not eliminated the importance of trust. Sometimes a ten minute conversation over dinner tells you more about somebody than months of emails.
This is something that resonates strongly in marketing as well. A company can be excellent and still remain almost invisible. Why do you think so many capable entrepreneurs struggle with that?
Because many business owners believe excellence will automatically produce visibility. Unfortunately, the market does not promise that. You can have the best product in your category and still lose business to a competitor who communicates better, develops stronger relationships and understands how to position the company.
I think about business development in three very simple terms. Be good. Be visible. Be connected. All three matter. If you are visible but you are not good, eventually people discover that. Marketing cannot permanently protect a weak product or poor service.
If you are excellent but invisible, the market may never discover you. And if you are good and visible but you never develop relationships, you are still limiting how far your reputation can travel. Networking, media involvement and community engagement should not be treated as activities you do when you have extra time. Done correctly, they are part of building the business.
WHEN PUBLICITY BECOMES REPUTATION
You operate at the intersection of media, business and community engagement, so let me stay with visibility for a moment. There is a difference between getting attention and building credibility. How should entrepreneurs think about media if they want the second rather than simply the first?
The biggest mistake is approaching media only when you want to sell something. People can feel that immediately. Good media positioning helps people understand who you are before you ever ask them to buy from you. Your expertise matters. Your story matters. Your achievements matter. Your community involvement matters. Even the way you communicate your values contributes to how people perceive your business. An advertisement can tell people what you sell. A strong interview or a professional profile can help them understand why they should trust you. But one article does not create a brand. One photograph does not create a reputation. Credibility is cumulative. People need to encounter you consistently in credible environments. Over time, those impressions begin to connect. So I tell business owners not to begin with the question, “How can I get publicity?” Ask instead, “What do I want people to understand about me and my business?” That changes the strategy completely.
Recognition is another form of credibility. Once a business owner receives an award, what should happen next?
SI: Use it. It sounds obvious, but many people do not. They receive recognition, put the award on a shelf, post one photograph and move on. I think that wastes part of the opportunity. Recognition should become part of your professional story. Share it with clients. Include it in media materials. Explain what the recognition represents. Thank the employees, customers and partners who helped you earn it. At the same time, an award creates an expectation. If somebody calls you one of the best, people will expect you to perform at that level. So recognition is not only an opportunity. It is a responsibility.
The award may open a door. Your reputation determines whether that door remains open.
Have you actually seen a single introduction at an event turn into something substantial later?
Many times. That is one reason I remain committed to live events. The interesting part is that the most important outcome is often invisible during the event itself. Two people exchange information. Maybe they speak for five minutes. Later they meet for coffee. Months after that, they are doing business together, supporting a nonprofit project or introducing each other to someone else. My role is often simply to create the environment and make the introduction. What they build afterward belongs to them. That is also why I tell people not to walk into a room asking only, “What can I get tonight?” That is a very narrow way to network. Ask who you can meet. Ask what you can learn. Ask whether there is someone you should know even if neither of you needs anything from the other today. Relationships built only when you need something usually feel transactional. Strong relationships often begin much earlier.
FROM THE BOARDROOM TO THE STAGE
The conversation about visibility changes when attention moves from established business leaders to the young women preparing for Miss California International.
The setting is different. The stakes are different. So is the stage of life.
But the question of what happens once people begin paying attention remains.
For Alisa Yurchenko, that is precisely where the work becomes interesting.
Alisa, somebody attending the Gala for the first time might wonder why a business awards ceremony and Miss California International belong in the same evening. You work directly with the finalists. What is the connection from your perspective?
For me, the connection is leadership, but we are seeing it at different stages. The business honorees have already built something. They have taken risks, created companies, developed careers and contributed to their communities. Many have spent years becoming the people they are when they walk into that ballroom. Our finalists are at another point in the journey. Some of them are still discovering how powerful their voices can be. They are learning how to communicate, how to handle pressure and how to walk into professional environments with confidence. That is why I like bringing these two worlds together. The finalists are not performing inside an isolated pageant environment where everyone around them comes from the same world. They are standing in a room with entrepreneurs, executives, community leaders, media professionals and people who have built real careers. They can look around and see what achievement looks like in many different forms. At the same time, those established leaders see another generation developing in front of them. A crown can be beautiful. Of course it can. But what a woman does with the opportunity behind that crown is much more important to me.
Alisa, let’s talk about that directly. People still hear the word pageant and assume appearance is the central qualification. What are you actually looking for when you evaluate a finalist?
Beauty matters in a beauty competition, and there is no reason to pretend otherwise.
But beauty alone is not enough. We look for intelligence, confidence, discipline, kindness, communication skills and a genuine desire to contribute. And we pay attention when nobody thinks we are paying attention. How does she treat another contestant? How does she speak to the team? Does she respect people’s time? Can she accept feedback without becoming defensive? Does she arrive prepared? Those things tell you much more about a person than a rehearsed answer can. A titleholder represents more than herself. She will appear in front of businesses, community organizations, young people and public leaders. People will associate her behavior with Miss California International and with the organizations she represents. So yes, image matters. Presentation matters. There also has to be substance behind the image.
What happens when a finalist walks onto a live stage? There is no editing, no second take, and no way to control every reaction in the room.
That is exactly why the experience is valuable. Confidence cannot be developed only in front of a mirror or a camera.
When you walk onto a live stage, the moment belongs to you whether it goes perfectly or not. There is an audience watching. Judges are evaluating you. There are lights, cameras and pressure. You have to remain composed, listen, respond and still be yourself. That teaches much more than stage presence. It teaches emotional control. Communication. Preparation. Resilience. I tell our finalists that the goal is not to become somebody else for one evening. I do not want ten women trying to reproduce the same idea of what a titleholder is supposed to look and sound like. The goal is to discover the strongest version of yourself and learn how to present that woman confidently. Those skills have value long after the competition is finished.
BEING SEEN IS ONLY THE FIRST TEST
Sergey talked about the difference between visibility and credibility in business. For your finalists, visibility arrives very quickly. How do you teach a young woman to be seen without making attention itself the goal?
Getting attention is easy. Being remembered for the right reason is much harder. A beautiful dress may make someone notice you for a moment. But your character, intelligence, communication and the way you treat people determine what they remember later. We encourage finalists to understand their own story. What do you believe in? What do you care about? What can you contribute? What makes somebody remember your name after meeting ten other impressive women? Real presence begins when you stop trying to copy somebody else. That matters offline, and it matters even more online. There is enormous pressure on young women to look perfect all the time on social media. The problem is that when everyone is trying to present the same polished image, people can actually become less interesting. Authenticity does not mean putting every private thought online. It means knowing what you stand for and allowing people to see your personality, your interests, your work and your growth.
A titleholder has to understand that public visibility carries responsibility. Before posting something, I think one simple question helps: “Does this represent the woman and leader I want people to know?” That is not about pretending to be perfect. It is about being intentional.
Does that responsibility change once the crown is actually placed on someone’s head?
Absolutely. The crown is when the real work begins. Suddenly, more people are paying attention to what you say, where you appear and how you represent yourself. That visibility should be used for something meaningful. We expect our titleholder to participate in community activities, support worthy causes, serve as a positive example for young people and represent Miss California International professionally.
Leadership is not about having people look at you. Leadership is about what you do once people are looking. That distinction is extremely important to me.
CONNECTIONS THAT OUTLAST THE COMPETITION
Earlier, Sergey described relationships that begin at an event and develop months later. Does something similar happen with the finalists through the mentors, coaches and professionals they meet?
Definitely. Sometimes a finalist enters the program thinking only about the competition and leaves with a completely different vision for her future. She may meet a mentor who sees potential she has not recognized in herself. A photographer may help her understand professional presentation differently. A coach may change the way she communicates. A businessperson she meets through the program may later become an employer, a client or another important professional connection. That is why I do not measure the success of Miss California International only by who wins. Of course the title matters. There is one crown and one titleholder.
But if a woman becomes more confident, builds meaningful relationships, learns professional skills and leaves with a larger vision of what she can do next, the experience has produced something valuable regardless of the final result.
This is also where support from experienced business, marketing and media professionals makes a real difference. The Council For Cross-Cultural Affairs has always been about connecting people across cultures, generations and professional communities. Miss California International gives young women a platform, but the platform becomes much more useful when accomplished professionals are willing to share knowledge, relationships and experience. Through those connections, finalists begin to see a world beyond the pageant stage. They meet entrepreneurs. They meet media professionals. They meet community leaders and mentors. They begin to understand that the skills they are developing can translate into education, careers, entrepreneurship and community leadership. We are not preparing a young woman simply to wear a crown. We want her to understand what she can do with the visibility and relationships that come with it.
CALIFORNIA, FLORIDA AND A MUCH LARGER ROOM
For Alexander Serebriakoff, the conversation carries another dimension. As President of AMA South Florida, he works in one of the country’s most active and diverse business markets. Sergey Ivannikov has spent decades building media, business and community relationships from California’s capital. The distance between Sacramento and South Florida is significant on a map.
Professionally, it is becoming much less important.
Sergey, our own conversation is taking place across two very different markets. What should entrepreneurs understand about building relationships beyond their city or state?
Geography should not define the size of your thinking. A company may be physically located in Sacramento, Miami or another city, but its relationships, customers, partnerships and media presence can extend throughout the country. That does not happen automatically. Entrepreneurs have to deliberately build networks outside their familiar circles. Attend conferences. Join professional organizations. Collaborate with media. Visit other markets. Meet people before you need something from them.
Our relationship is an example. You are in Florida. We are talking about an event in California. AMA South Florida brings a different professional network and a different perspective into this conversation. We bring our experience from California.
That exchange creates a bridge. The point is not simply to say, “Now we have a connection in Florida.” The interesting question is what can grow from that connection. Can professionals meet who otherwise would never have met? Can ideas travel between markets? Can organizations discover opportunities to collaborate? Can media introduce audiences to people and projects outside their usual geography?
That is much more interesting to me.
The strongest entrepreneurs increasingly think in terms of networks, not ZIP codes.
That is also one reason I personally support the mission of the event. Marketing organizations cannot exist only inside their own professional circles. There is value in creating places where business, media and community leadership intersect. What does this kind of collaboration mean to you as the Gala continues to develop?
It means a great deal because strong platforms grow when people are willing to build meaningful relationships beyond the circles they already know. Russian American Media has always believed that business and community development become more powerful when leaders from different markets exchange ideas, share experiences and create opportunities together.
Your support represents that kind of relationship. It brings a Florida perspective into a California conversation, but I do not see it as something that should exist only around one event. I am interested in what happens afterward. Maybe there are future conversations. Introductions. Projects. Opportunities for people from both markets to learn from each other. California and Florida can be two points in a much larger professional network connecting media, marketing, business and community leaders who are doing meaningful work. That is how I look at collaboration. It should create another door, not another logo.
WHAT TECHNOLOGY CANNOT REPLACE
We cannot talk seriously about marketing today without talking about AI. Digital platforms are changing almost monthly. Does that make the kind of personal relationship we have been discussing less important?
I think it makes it more valuable.
AI can write faster, analyze faster and automate many things that used to consume enormous amounts of time. That is powerful.
Businesses that ignore these tools are going to have difficulty competing. But something else is happening at the same time. As content becomes easier to produce and communication becomes easier to automate, genuine human trust becomes more valuable. AI can help you prepare for a meeting. It cannot build the relationship for you. It can help create a marketing campaign. It cannot shake someone’s hand, read the room or build years of trust between two people. That does not make technology the enemy. Quite the opposite.
The future belongs to entrepreneurs who understand both worlds. Use technology aggressively where it makes you better, but never outsource your humanity.
WHAT REMAINS AFTER THE ROOM EMPTIES
By the end of the conversation, business development, marketing, pageantry, media and community leadership no longer seem like separate subjects. They keep returning to the same practical question. What happens after someone has been given access to a room, a platform, an audience or an opportunity? For Sergey, the answer can take months to reveal itself. For Alisa, sometimes it can be seen in the way a finalist walks off the stage.
Sergey, when the red carpet is gone, the awards have been presented and the final guest leaves, what tells you the Gala was actually successful?
Not the number of photographs. Not the decorations. Not even the number of people in the room. I know an event was successful when people leave with something they did not have when they arrived. Maybe it is a new relationship. Maybe somebody finally received recognition for years of work. Maybe a young entrepreneur met a mentor. Maybe two companies discovered an opportunity to work together. Sometimes you do not know that night. The best result may happen months later when somebody calls and says, “Sergey, remember the person you introduced me to at the Gala? Look what happened.” That is success to me. I do not want people leaving only saying, “That was a great event.” I want them asking, “What can happen next?”
Alisa, you see the same evening from backstage and from the stage. What is your version of that moment?
I watch all the finalists. Of course, one woman receives the crown. That moment is emotional and beautiful, and it should be. But I am watching the other women too.
I want to see how they stand at the end compared with how they arrived at the beginning of the program. I want them to recognize how much they have learned, how many people they have met and what they now know about themselves. There can only be one titleholder. But I do not believe there should be only one woman who gained something important from the experience.
If the finalists leave more confident, better connected and more prepared for whatever comes next, then the Grand Finale has done its job.
THE NEXT CONVERSATION
Perhaps that is the clearest connection between the two platforms sharing this evening. The Best Business Awards Ceremony & Gala recognizes people whose work has already created a record worth noticing. Miss California International places young women at a different threshold, where visibility is arriving before the rest of the story has been written. One celebrates what has been built. The other asks what will be built next. The growing collaboration among Russian American Media, New Times Magazine, the Council For Cross-Cultural Affairs and professionals such as Alexander Serebriakoff, President of AMA South Florida, adds another layer to that idea. It extends the room itself. California meets Florida. Business meets media. Established leaders meet people who are only beginning to discover what leadership may mean for them. None of those introductions guarantees an outcome. That is precisely why they matter. The most valuable professional relationships rarely announce their importance at the moment they begin. Sometimes they start with a formal introduction. Sometimes with a seat at the same table. Sometimes with an interview between people working on opposite sides of the country who realize there is more to discuss. The lights eventually go down. The photographs are filed away. The crown leaves the stage and the awards go home with their recipients. Then comes the part that cannot be staged.
What happens next?
