For the sixth year in a row, Mike Conner, executive director of PESI, and Brandon Riechers, president/CEO of Royal Credit Union, have earned No. 1 and No. 2 rankings as Best Local Business Advocate. Both are authentic and trustworthy spokespersons. Erin Klaus, recently announced as a 2025 Chippewa Valley Vanguard Award winner who is both co-owner of Tangled Up in Hue and executive director of Downtown Eau Claire Inc., came in third for the second year in a row. —Barbara Arnold