Businesses recognized for contributions to community
If strong and supported local businesses are any indication, the City of Selkirk, and the RMs of St. Andrews, St. Clements, and West St. Paul are thriving communities. That was abundantly evident at the Selkirk Biz Awards Dinner which highlighted eleven of our local businesses and organizations who are not only doing well for themselves but passing forward that positivity in their own unique ways.
“There’re some great businesses who have been nominated tonight. Congratulations to all the nominees. If someone takes the time to nominate a business, obviously, that business is doing some great things. We’re so lucky to have these businesses in our community that give back work together, donate, volunteer and do all the things that helped make this place that we live a better place,” said Selkirk Biz President Brett Mitchell to open the event.
The list of attendees packing the Selkirk Golf and Country Club last week included 27 businesses and organizations that were nominated for recognition. These businesses were all in the running for ten awards recognizing them as having improved upon, excelled in or given back to our community.
After dinner was served and guests were fed the official winners were announced by Mitchell and Shawn Trudeau Scotiabank small business advisor and Selkirk Biz board member.
The winners of the night were:
Shawna Petofalvi of The Vine Tattoos and Apparel took home the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
The Farm Family of the Year Award went to Van Dorp Dairy.
The Branding & Marketing Award was taken home by Keystone Source for Sports.
The Visual Improvement Award was granted to Royal Canadian Legion Branch 42 which is the local Selkirk Legion.
The Business Philanthropist of the Year Award ended up in the hands of Selkirk Home Hardware Building Centre.
The New Business of the Year Award went to Dr. Anthony Anozie who brought the region Easton Place Medical Centre.
The Community Spirit Award was presented to Aaron’s NOFRILLS Selkirk.
The Customer Service Award rolled its way home to Styling’s RV LTD.
The Inclusive Business Award was presented to Safeway Selkirk.
The Business of the Year Award was bestowed upon Iron Image Barbell Club.
The first ten awards went off without a hitch but the board members of the Selkirk Biz had one last trick up their sleeves. In 2012 when the Biz Awards started, the awards ceremony only recognized four local businesses and as Mitchell said in his opening, the Biz is always looking to add more recognition where it feels it’s needed. This year the Biz decided that a Community Impact Award of Distinction needed to be added to the roster.
“At the end of [the Selkirk Biz board making the tough decisions about who will take home these awards], we said that there really needs to be one more award that acknowledges an organization that really impacts our community in a big way. We live in a community where we’ve got the Selkirk Mental Health Center, we’ve got CMHA (the Canadian Mental Health Association), we’ve got Turning Leaf, we’ve got Inclusion Selkirk and we’ve got Hearthstone. It’s just a real melting pot of help for people’s mental health. And so, there was a decision made to make another award. The Community Impact Award of Distinction is a special recognition given to individuals and organizations that have made an extraordinary difference in their communities. It highlights their exceptional dedication to social responsibility and their efforts to create a positive lasting impact. The recipient of this award is chosen based on the outstanding contributions to the betterment of our community through initiatives such as charitable work, volunteerism, and philanthropy or initiative programs that address pressing social issues. This award is a testament to their commitment to making the world a better place and we’re the benefactors of that. They inspire others to follow in their footsteps by engaging actively in the community and building a better place on behalf of Selkirk Biz and the committee that works so hard to make sure that the choices that were made were the correct choices. This special award is going to Inclusion Selkirk,” said Mitchell.
This award seems especially apt as October is Disability Employment Awareness Month and Inclusion Selkirk does a great deal of work connecting businesses and employees in our community.
This Biz Awards evening was an engaging community event, but if you missed out on attending, there is still more coming from the Selkirk Biz this year. Catfish Den takes place this evening at 6 p.m. at Lord Selkirk Regional Comprehensive Secondary School. There is also an entire weekend of fun with the Black Friday Weekend event which will take place on Nov. 24 to 26. Check out their website at https://selkirkbiz.ca/ or social media to keep up with all upcoming Biz events.
Record Photos by Katelyn Boulanger
