The Nelson and District Chamber of Commerce will be handing out its top awards on Thursday.
The Chamber AGM-Business Excellence Awards begin at 5 p.m. at the Hume Hotel and Spa, said the chamber’s executive director Tom Thomson.
“Bring along a friend from work. $10 gets you a complimentary glass of wine or beverage of your choice and some nice appies from the Hume kitchen,” said Thomson.
The AGM and election of directors begins at 5:45 with Selkirk College’s Bob Hall, Rebeckah Hornung from Whitewater and Sheyla Kallas from CIBC joining the board.
At about 6:15 p.m. the an expanded list of Business Excellence Awards will be presented.
The categories are now: Business of the Year, Hospitality-Food and Beverage Excellence, Tourism Excellence, Retail Excellence, Non Profit-Community Service Organization Excellence, Rising Star-Start Up-New Business-Entrepreneur Excellence, Professional Service Excellence and Technology-Innovation Excellence.
Thomson said there were 266 unique businesses nominated for the awards this year, with more than 800 total nominations. He said the judges, Barry Auliffe and Garry Kalinski, have gone through all of the nominations and narrowed it down to the finalists in each category.
“These awards recognize businesses and business leaders in Nelson and area that have achieved excellence in the community through their initiatives. The business community is an integral part of our region and helps to make our area – a great place to live, learn and work,” said Thomson, adding, “We are fortunate to have a strong entrepreneurial mentality and a number of economic drivers that help support our residents with shopping, restaurants, outdoor adventure, and entertainment opportunities, not to mention employment procurement and of course taxation.”
Last year’s winners were the Savoy Hotel (Business of the Year), Georama Growers (Retail Excellence) and the Adventure Hotel (Hospitality Tourism).