From the Virginia Chamber of Commerce website:

The Virginia Chamber of Commerce and its Small Business Committee, with the support of its signature sponsors, created the FANTASTIC 50 AWARDS program in 1996. “The purpose was to generate more recognition for small, entrepreneurial companies throughout the Commonwealth for the contribution they were making to the economy by creating new jobs and capital investment,” said Hugh Keogh, president of the Virginia Chamber. It is the only awards program that highlights 50 of Virginia’s fastest-growing companies on a statewide basis.