Small business award nominees announced

The nominations for the 2016 Olds & District Chamber of Commerce Business Awards have been announced.

They were unveiled during the chamber's annual Business Beer and Blue Jeans (BBBJ) social, held Sept. 22 at the Grouchy Events Centre.

This year's theme is progress through perseverance.

“I think in 2016 in Alberta that's very apt,” said Murray Elliott, chair of the Business Awards Banquet organizing committee.

This year's banquet will take place Thursday, Oct. 13 at the Pomeroy Inn & Suites, starting at 5:30 p.m.

Following are the nominees:

Business of the Year (15 or fewer employees)

* New China Restaurant

* Stevenson Homes

* Webb's Excavating

* Mayfair Cinema (Olds Ltd.).

Business of the Year (16+ employees)

* Shoppers Drug Mart

* Olds Fertilizers & Agri Services Ltd.

Community Spirit (for-profit businesses/organizations)

* 961885 Alberta Ltd., operating as Tim Hortons

* Canadian Tire Olds.

Community Spirit (non-profit organizations)

* Chinook Arch Victim's Services Society

* Olds Golf Club

* Olds Splash Park Association

Youth Employee of the Year

* Hunter Hutchings, employed by Westview Co-operative Association Ltd.

* Kyle Boulton, employed by ThinkTank Products Inc.

* Noah Iversen, employed by Moody's Equipment, Olds.

2016 Business Ethics Award

* CAB-K Broadcasting

* Pomeroy Inn & Suites at Olds College

* Mountain View Publishing

* Westview Co-operative Association Limited

* Olds Electric & Lighting Ltd.

* Hildebrand Motors Ltd.

People's Choice Awards (business)

* The Tire Shop

* Preferred Rx Pharmacy

* Olds Rexall Drug Store

* Advanced Telecommunications (Olds) Ltd.

* Little House of Wireless

* Fountain Tire

* Rundlestone Salon and Spa

* Rip's Audio Video

* Western Financial Group

* Tasty Thai

* Chinook Country Veterinary Clinic Ltd.

* NAPA Auto Parts

* Auto Parts Plus

* EB Games.

Exceptional Customer Service Employees

Monthly winners 2015-2016

* David Ruan, December 2015, Preferred Rx Pharmacy

* Terry Stevenson, January 2016, Fountain Tire Olds

* David Ruan, February 2016, Preferred Rx Pharmacy

* David Ruan, March 2016, Preferred Rx Pharmacy

* Velma Dirks, April 2016, Mountain View Publishing

* Cheyanne Hobbs, May 2016, Rundlestone Salon and Spa

* Cheyanne Hobbs, June 2016, Rundlestone Salon and Spa

* Avigale Alba, August 2016, Preferred Rx Pharmacy.

A total of 86 exceptional customer service nominations were received in 2016, down from 97 in 2015.

Fifty People's Choice nominations were received for businesses in 2016, compared to 66 in 2015.

This year, the chamber received 156 nominations for business awards, down from 184 in 2015.

“Keep in mind a number of businesses closed in the later part of 2015 and for 2016,” chamber executive director Barb Babiak said later.

Elliott said the exceptional service awards are now in their third year.

“It's gone over really well and it keeps building. We can't believe the number of nominations every month and there are some nail-biters about who we pick,” Elliott said.

Elliott and chamber president Stephen Dodwell thanked all those who sponsored various aspects of the Business Awards Banquet and the BBBJ event.

Elliott noted that Dean Owen cut his trip down in the U.S. short to return to Olds and handle the audiovisual requirements for BBBJ.

“We're very grateful for all the sponsors, wherever you came from, for providing the hard-earned dollars (to put these events on) especially in this climate at the moment,” Dodwell said.

“Running a business in town too I know how many requests we all get: ‘can you help me here? Can you sponsor me there?' Can you do whatever it is? It's much appreciated,” he said.

Dodwell thanked Babiak for all her efforts, noting she's retiring this year.

“She's going to be a hard act to follow,” he said. “We are going through the process of trying to find somebody at the moment (to replace her). It's going to be a tough job, too.”

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