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Owners Shine at the 2026 SALON TODAY 200 Awards
A personalized song from Easihair Pro's Lance Courtney, a certificate ceremony, and the presentation of six special awards, were just a handful of the fun activities that celebrated the 2026 SALON TODAY 200 honorees during Data-Driven Salon Summit in Austin, Texas. Relive the magic and access a photo album of official pictures.
July 2, 2026
SALON TODAY 200 Honorees pose for the 360-degree camera at the Award Dinner.
Credit:
Nick Minton
1/9
3 min to read
- A certificate ceremony and the presentation of six special awards were highlights of SALON TODAY 200 Award Dinner as part of Data-Driven Salon Summit in Austin, Texas, in May 2026. Emcee Lance Courtney surprised attendees with a song about the SALON TODAY 200.
- Attendees could relive the event's highlights by watching videos that captured the magic of the evening and accessing an official photo album.
*Summarized by AI
More than 500 owners, team members and industry leaders gathered at the 2026 SALON TODAY 200 Award Dinner as part of the Data-Driven Salon Summit in Austin, Texas, in May. With the theme of "Your Time to Shine," attendees donned their sequins, rhinestones and sparkles for the elegant sit-down dinner and certificate ceremony.
The SALON TODAY 200 is landmark salon business competition recognizing growth and best business practices in salons, spas and barbershops across North America. Celebrating its 29th year, the SALON TODAY 200 selects the honorees from applications submitted, judging them on their growth in gross sales and best practice essays in 10 different topics.
Bobit Business Media's CEO Colin Sutherland and SALON TODAY's Stacey Soble kicked off the evening by toasting the honorees' success, before introducing the evening's Emcee, Lance Courtney of Easihair pro. Before taking the stage, Courtney took a seat at a baby grand piano, and surprised the delighted honorees with a song he wrote that shared the challenges of salon ownership and the significance of the SALON TODAY 200 in rising above those challenges to lead their teams. The attendees responded by whipping our their phones, turning on their flashlights and swaying to the music while laughing along with the lyrics.
Each salon team in attendance was called on stage to accept their certificate and to take a celebratory photo. These photos can be accessed by clicking into this Facebook Photo Album.
In between groups of owners and teams collecting certificates, SALON TODAY surprised the honorees by giving out six special awards to best practices that caught the judges' attention.
- Courtney presented the Retail and Merchandising Innovation Award to Lisa Musgrove-Kibler, owner of LoneStar Salon & Spa in Tumwater, Washingtong, for her four-week virtual Retail Bootcamp that helped team members embrace retailing strategies and feel more comfortable educating guests.
- Kerastase's Gretchen Orr presented the Technology Innovation to Rowena Yeager, owner of Studio Wish Salon Spa in Twinsburg, Ohio, for embracing AI to help plan the salon's Sweeney Todd-themed anniversary party.
- Courtney presented the Community Builder Award to Jacqueline Pierce, owner of Lillian James Salon in Turnersville, New Jersey, for designing new services including a festival braiding and encouraging new talent to participate in community events, all of which attracted new clients to the salon.
- Soble presented the Excellence in Client Experience Award to Victoria Marino, owner of Salon Blond in Dunedin, Florida, for embracing the lessons in the bestselling book Unreasonable Hospitality and elevating the client experience in her salon.
- Phorest Software's Veronica Ballard presented the Business Builder Award to Rachel Harned, owner of Bombshell Salon & Spa in Holland, Michigan, for implementing business practices and a salon expansion that helped her team sell more than $182,000 in bridal services in 2025.
- And, Soble presented the Visionary Leadership Award to Michaella Blissett-Williams, owner of [salon] 718 in Brooklyn, New York, for reinvesting the savings her business realized through tech implementation to develop scholarships to encourage interested front desk team members to attend cosmetology schools and help new mothers on the staff with daycare costs.
Applications for the 2027 SALON TODAY 200 will open in August 2026.
Quick Answers
The SALON TODAY 200 Awards is an annual event that recognizes excellence and innovation among salon owners and businesses across the United States.
*Summarized by AI
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