After the final flurry of nominations poured in during the first week of January, the Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce wound up with close to 50 nominations for their Annual Community Awards.
2012 Community Award Nominees and Sponsors
Agricultural Business of the Year - sponsored by MNP LLP
• Coastal Black Estate Winery & Meadery
• Dee Kay Tee Ranch & Farm Market
• Glen Alwin Farm
• McClintok Farm
• South Country Feed & Supply
Business of the Year - sponsored by Thrifty Foods
• ABC Printing
• Beltone Hearing
• Finneron Hyundai
Citizen of the Year - sponsored by Canadian Tire
• Pamela Crowe
• Robert Mulrooney
• Linda Oprica
• Ron Webber
Customer Service - sponsored by Downtown Comox Valley
• Amanda Ferguson - Pacific Mist Spa at the Kingfisher Resort
• Sherry Howell - Pacific Mist Spa at Kingfisher Resort
• David Keating - Ohh So Yummy Café
• Roxanne Kirby - The Breakwater Restaurant at Kingfisher Resort
• Mare Mitchell - WesternOne Rentals & Sales
• Christine Morgan - McKinnon Photography
• Eric Toneff - Toneff Funeral Services
• Kyla Trottier - Kingfisher Oceanside Resort Guest Services
• Bryan Wiley - ABC Printing
Environmental Leadership - sponsored by Comox Strathcona Waste Management
• Hornby Island Recycling Depot
• School District 71
• Woodland Flooring
Heritage Recognition - sponsored by Vancouver Island InsuranceCentres
• Chinook Forest Products
• Courtenay Elks Lodge
• McElhanney Consulting
• Whyte's Framing
New Business of the Year - sponsored by Presley & Partners
• Comox Valley Business Gazette
• Daryl Robbins, CGA, Notary Public
• Keystone Eldercare Solutions
• Primetek IT Solutions
• Toneff Funeral Services
• Weinberg's Good Food
Professional Merit - sponsored by First Insurance
• Elevate the Arts Consortium
• Lourdes Gant - Manatee Holdings Ltd.
• Guy Larkin - John Howard Society
• Dr. Jan Lindsay - North Island College
• Ann Scott - Presley & Partners
• Bob Wells - My Tech Guys
Small Business of the Year - sponsored by Glacierview Financial
• Ambassador Shuttle Service
• Grape Expectations
• Manatee Holdings Ltd.
• South Country Feed & Supply
• Two Eagles Lodge
Young Entrepreneur - sponsored by Wedler Engineering
Chris Ketch - BodyNetix Professional Fitness Training
• Scott DiGuistini & Merissa Myles - Tree Island Gourmet Yogurt
• Kory Wagstaff - Prime Chophouse & Wine Bar
Youth Leadership - sponsored by WCG International
• Des Larson
• Joey Clarkson
• Keisja Cox
President's Merit Award- sponsored by North Island College
Nominations are not accepted for this award.
"We extend sincere thanks to everyone who took the time to submit nominations and to the nominees who worked hard to provide supplemental information to ensure that the judges had sufficient information to work with," said Dianne Hawkins, Chamber president and CEO.
"We are also grateful to the five volunteer judges who spent much of a weekend pouring over the nomination packages in order to make their final selections," adds Hawkins.
The judges were:
• Susan Auchterlonie, North Island College Foundation
• Fred Bigelow, CEO Comox Valley Airport Commission
• McKenzie Gartside, Top 40 Award recipient and Verico Select Mortgages
• Bob Scales, Chair, CV Chamber of Commerce
• Joe Smith, Artist and former Chamber Chair.
There will be three finalists in each of the 11 award categories and, in the days leading up to the gala awards celebration, videographer Daniel Kooman will visit all 33 of the finalists to film an Academy Awards-style video presentation to showcase each business, organization and/or individual.
The video will be shown on awards night and later posted on the Chamber website.
The awards will be presented Jan. 26 from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Florence Filberg Centre in Courtenay.
Tickets to the Royal Affair Gala Awards Celebration cost $75 each (+HST) and includes a champagne reception sponsored by the Kingfisher Oceanside Resort and Spa, a four-course gourmet meal catered by Custom Gourmet Catering, plus live and silent auctions, with 50 per cent of the proceeds going to charity.
Donations of live and live auction items are welcome. Please contact the Chamber in advance of the event if you wish to donate something. The event is already more than 50 per cent sold out.
For more information, visit ww.comoxvalleychamber.com or call 250-334-3234.
— Comox Valley Chamber of Commerce