The Chamber of Commerce hosted the city's annual Business Excellence Awards on Saturday night. The gala event brought out a sold-out audience of the region's business and social leaders, and the year's best went home with an array of trophies and recognition for a job well done.
Prince George Chamber of Commerce CEO Jennifer Brandle-McCall celebrated the success of this year's Business Excellence Awards - the 430 tickets sold broke the event's attendance record - by stating, "We have never received so many nominations, we have never had so many people attend the Business Excellence Awards, and we have never had more reason to celebrate the successes of our business community. It goes to show that Prince George is a great place to do business and our community is eager to recognize and celebrate that fact in a big way."
Fifteen trophies were handed out and while some businesses in the winners' circle are practically household names in this area, it was also a chance for some rising stars to be recognized.
"It will hopefully be a good boost for the business," said Bailey Tobin, proprietor of Design Logic Interiors Ltd. which won the Home Based Business Award. "Because we are a home based business, it will get our name out there now, but we are pretty well known already. I have worked at two other design firms (Versa and Ambiance) so people were aware of me and what I do. I have had my business up for two years and it keeps growing each year. I have a full-time employee now, and I'm doing a lot of work outside of Prince George as well all over the province. I haven't had any real slow time, or down time, and it is really nice to work for yourself."
Spruce Capital Feeds might not seem like the kind of business in keeping with black-tie affairs, but the garden/livestock/western store took home top honours in the Customer Service category. Owner Greg Parker said it was one of those awards that really applies to the staff.
"I am very proud of my staff," he told The Citizen. (He has eight now, and up to 16 during the spring rush.) "We are very fortunate to find a group of people who really care. And we try to keep it fun and treat it like a family business. You have to spend a lot of time at work, so you might as well enjoy it. We have always had a good crew, but the last couple of years they have been shining stars. This was a very good year for us in sales, and I think that has a lot to do with doing your research to know what products people will want, and then having the staff in place to look after people when they come in for those products."
The complete list of winners is:
- Community Booster (Business) - UNIGLOBE Sunburst Travel & Cruises
- Community Booster (Non-Profit Association) - Salvation Army
- Customer Service - Spruce Capital Feeds Ltd.
- The Green Award - P & R Organics
- Home Based Business Award - Design Logic Interiors Ltd.
- Manufacturer of the Year - Pacific Western Brewing Co.
- Newsmaker of the Year - 2015 Canada Winter Games Bid Committee
- Retailer of the Year - Central Builders' Supply PG Ltd.
- Technology Innovator Award - Terra Cognita Software Systems Inc.
- Tourism Excellence Award - CN Centre
- Welcoming & Inclusive Workplace Award - AiMHi
- Employer of the Year - Spruce Credit Union
- Corporate Citizen of the Year (1-49 employees) - UNIGLOBE Sunburst Travel & Cruises
- Corporate Citizen of the Year (50-plus employees) - Jim Pattison Broadcast Group
- Business Person of the Year Award - David Fehr & Brian Fehr
Within the evening's program was a tribute honouring Sherry Sethen, who recently retired from the Prince George Chamber of Commerce after 17 years of service as Executive Director. The tribute included a video montage of recognition and thanks, greetings from the Chair of the BC Chamber of Commerce Mike Watson, as well as a presentation from the Prince George Chamber of Commerce Past Presidents who together stood on stage to present Sherry Sethen with an Honorary Lifetime Membership to the Prince George Chamber of Commerce.
