The deadline is Friday to join Washtenaw County’s largest business awards gala, the 6th annual “Deals of the Year” event sponsored by AnnArbor.com’s Business Review.

The black-tie event is Friday, Nov. 5, at the Eastern Michigan University Student Center in Ypsilanti.

The venue was chosen in part due to the size of crowd it could accommodate: Deals of the Year has attracted at least 350 key local and state business leaders during each of the past 5 years.

This year’s event promises to deliver the same type of gala that attendees have come to expect, said Matt Kraner, president of AnnArbor.com.

“The entire purpose of Deals of the Year is to celebrate the business success that companies continue to generate in Washtenaw County,” Kraner said. “The Ann Arbor area is a statewide business leader, and we believe Deals of the Year lets all of us recognize the significance of that.”

Deals of the Year does that by announcing the winners of awards in 7 sectors, each of which has three finalists that already have been announced.

Also awarded that night are the top 2 awards: Company of the Year and Executive of the Year.

Winners will learn of their awards during the event, as they’re unveiled by guest presenters. This year the presenter lineup includes David Canter, Roger Newton, Gretchen Driskell, David Parsigian, Ann Marie Sastry, Susan Martin, Mike Finney, and Richard Devore, regional president for PNC Bank.

Also a part of the event are the FastTrack awards, presented to growing businesses in Washtenaw County since 1998.

Ann Arbor SPARK now runs the awards, which are based on specific criteria: First-time winners this year will have revenue of at least $100,000 in 2006, then three years of at least 20 percent revenue growth.

There will be 9 FastTrack awards announced and presented at “Deals of the Year,” said Susanna Thomashefski, marketing and events coordinator for SPARK.

She said the winners represent many business sectors in the region, with an emphasis on technology.

“We’re pleased and excited that we have 9 companies that qualify this year,” she said. “Several of them are multi-year winners.

“It’s a great demonstration of the vibrant business community and the growth that we’re seeing in Washtenaw County.”

The event will be hosted by Paula Gardner, editor of AnnArbor.com’s Business Review. Emcees will be Nathan Bomey, Business Review reporter, and Lucy Ann Lance, host of “Ann Arbor Business Insider” on WLBY-AM and the event’s emcee from its beginning.

The deadline to purchase tickets is Friday, Oct. 29. Tickets are $95, or $850 for a table of 10. Ticket sales are available online here.

Click here to read a list of 2009 nominees and winners.