Briana Gant of Manatee Holdings was named the winner of a Gold Stevie Award in the Maverick of the Year category, Aug. 9 at the 15th annual International Business Awards.
Gant came to work for Manatee from a background as a paramedic and member of the Whitewater Ski Resort Rescue Team. Last fishing season, she was the only female diver working in the urchin and sea cucumber fisheries on the West Coast of Canada. This work demands a highly trained, experienced, warrior mentality, well grounded in the reality of the ocean’s surroundings, just to survive, let alone to do well. Here are some of the judges’ comments: A true maverick in a very positive sense; Very courageous, unique in every way, very few can achieve what Briana has achieved. Well done!; Dealing with the dangers to create such a marvelous ecological output. Incredibly good!
Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word for ‘crowned,’ the awards will be presented to winners at a gala banquet Oct. 20 in London, England.
More than 3,900 nominations from organizations of all sizes and from every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a range of categories. Gant won in the maverick category for the aquaculture and fishing industries.
Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 270 judges worldwide who participated on 12 panels.
“This year’s Stevie Award winners in the IBAs are the most distinguished group of winners we’ve had yet,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevies.