Peace River & District Chamber of Commerce is gearing up to host its annual Davis Awards on Feb. 7 to recognize outstanding businesses in the region.
“Small businesses are the backbone of small communities like ours, so it is important to recognize both their achievements and the role that those businesses play in shaping our region,” says chamber manager Reilly Bassendowski.
The chamber strives to recognize the efforts of local businesses through the Davis Awards night. The nomination period has now been closed, with dozens of businesses nominated in multiple categories.
For Business-of-the-Year, nominees include Aspen Grove Spa, The Bodhi Tree Vintage Eco Boutique, Chapel of Memories, Charmed and Co. Salon and Boutique, Fountain Tire, Ironclad Coatings, Lucky Strike Lakes, Northern Metallic Sales, Pawsitively Posh Pet Spa, Peace Country Co-op, Peace River Adventures, Pink Rose Day Spa, Points West Living, Regenesis Physiotherapy, Peace Thrift and Donations, and Tommensense Financial.
Business Leader-of- the-Year include Mathieu Hyrniuk LLP’s Connor Fitchie, Fitness on the Go’s Carmen Gauvreau, Quality Hotel and Conference Centre’s Tanya Chandna, Heart and Soul Photography’s Amy Plocica, Invision Chartered Professional Accountant’s Gayle Walton.
Under the Marketer-of-the-Year category, Charmed and Co. Salon and Boutique, Lemon Social, ND Nails and Spa, Peace River Rotaract, and Stewart Burnett of the Town of Peace River were all nominated.
Young Entrepreneur nominees include Aspen Grove Spa’s Meagan Borger, Lemonology’s Tayler and Rylyn Cottrell, Needle Therapy Tattoo’s Theresa Haggett, and Advance Group Ltd.’s Danny Van Oort.
Community Impact nominations were given to Heart & Soul Photography, Invision Chartered Professional Accountants, KFC Peace River, Peace Playland, Peace River Art Club, Peace Valley Inns/Smitty’s and Sole Solutions.
Finally, in the Outstanding Customer Service category, Chateau Nova, Enchanted Florist, Great Canadian Dollar Store, KFC Peace River, Maximum Powersports Ltd. Modern Paint and Décor, ND Nails and Spa, Pet Valu, Pink Rose Day Spa, Peace Valley Inns/Smitty’s, Quality Hotel and Conference Centre, Sole Solutions, St. Isidore Co-op Ltd. Sweetpea Express, Touch of Class Autobody, Trucktex HD, Peace River Value Drug Mart, and Wow Grill were all nominated.
“Businesses are initially nominated by the public,” explains Bassendowski.
“Nominated businesses can choose to move forward in the nomination process by filling out a questionnaire that is then graded by a panel of anonymous (non-chamber affiliated) judges. The judges’ scores determine who the finalists and the winners are.”
She says there is a lot of behind the scenes work businesses do, including hiring staff, trying to overcome staff shortages, dealing with equipment upgrades or failures, expenses, the bottom line and keeping the lights on and the doors open.
The businesses who exemplify these traits well deserve to be recognized.
“Recognizing businesses through the Davis Awards provides public recognition for not only the winners but the finalists and nominees achievements as well,” she says.
“If we can recognize and boost awareness of local businesses, we can in turn promote more people to shop local which is advantageous for our region as a whole.”
The Davis Awards Gala will be held at the Quality Hotel and Conference Centre starting at 5:30 p.m.
If you would like more information about the Peace River and District Chamber of Commerce or if you’re interested in joining, please contact Reilly at (780) 624-4166, email manager@peaceriverchamber.com or check out the website www.peaceriverchamber.com
Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter