Denise Blashko (Photo supplied)
The South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce (SOCC) has received an excellent response to its request for nominations for the Business Excellence Awards later this month.
Denise Blashko, SOCC executive director, said the chamber received 35 nominations for local businesses. Because some businesses were nominated under more than one category, the actual number of businesses nominated was slightly less, she said.
The awards will be presented at the Business Excellence Awards night on Jan. 29 at Frank Venables Theatre in Oliver following SOCC’s annual general meeting. The meeting is from 6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and a cocktail reception and awards presentation follows at 6:30 p.m.
Blashko attributes the high number of nominations from the public to more marketing of the event this year.
She said that she and a board member “pounded the pavement in Osoyoos and Oliver and handed out nomination cards.”
Social media was also used to reach more people.
“We just got that energy and momentum going in the social media and probably the physical walking the blocks to tell people about it,” she said.
Many people who nominated businesses wrote a paragraph or two telling about their experiences with those businesses and why they were nominating them, she said. The chamber then followed up with the businesses to let them know they had been nominated and to request additional information about highlights of their businesses.
Those highlights will be presented at the awards night for the four finalists.
There are four award categories: Entrepreneur of the Year, Small Business of the Year, Large Business of the Year, and the new category of Customer Service Excellence. The latter category can by awarded to a business or an individual.
A selection committee has been reviewing the nominations and will choose the final winners. That committee, Blashko said, includes representatives from each of Osoyoos, Oliver and Okanagan Falls, as well as one board member.
The deadline for the public to submit nominations was Dec. 31, 2015. Nominated businesses did not need to be SOCC members.
A new SOCC board will also be announced at the AGM, with executive positions chosen at the board’s first meeting, Blashko said.
Nominees for the awards are:
Entrepreneur of the Year:
• Bill Reid – Gecko’s Grill;
• Joanne Muirhead – JoJo’s Café;
• Chris Van Hooydonk – Backyard Farms/Artisan Culinary Concepts;
• Kelsey and Aaron Hoy – Tickleberrys;
• Corinne Inman – Morpheus Graphics/Explore & Save;
• Tracy Lydiatt – Great Bear Paleo Bites.
Small Business of the Year:
• Interior Savings Insurance Oliver;
• Diamonds & Champagne Wedding Co-ordinators;
• Medici’s Gelateria;
• Jane Long, Chartered Professional Accountant;
• Wine Country Doors;
• Convivia Bistro Cuisine;
• Oliver’s Bakery & Deli;
• Backyard Farms/Artisan Culinary Concepts;
• 3D Moving;
• Great Bear Paleo Bites
• Morpheus Graphics/Explore & Save;
• Visual Telecom Solutions.
Large Business of the Year:
• Super Valu Oliver;
• Buy-Low Foods Osoyoos;
• Ellcar Construction;
• Watermark Beach Resort;
• Phamasave Osoyoos;
• South Okanagan Physiotherapy and Active Wellness Centre;
• Expert Hearing Solutions;
• Osoyoos Credit Union.
Customer Service Excellence:
• Remedy’s Rx Oliver;
• Home Hardware Osoyoos;
• OK Tire Oliver;
• CIBC Oliver;
• Luna del Sol Osoyoos;
• 3D Moving Osoyoos;
• Courtney Thiessen/Guest Services, Watermark Beach Resort;
• Expert Hearing Solutions;
• T2 Recycling.
Tickets for the cocktail reception and awards are $29 plus GST and are available from the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce at 6237 Main Street, Oliver, 250-498-6321 or online at www.sochamber.ca.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
