Evaluating excellence

The Cranbrook business community looks forward to its annual gala evening of recognition and appreciation

David Hull, executive director of the Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce, welcomed (L to R) Leona LIm, Key City Gymnastics; Brandy Adams, Blue Lake Forest Education Society; Maureen Frank, Sam Steele Society) representatives of groups nominated for the chamber's annual Business Excellence Awards. — Marie Milner photo

The gala for the annual Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards will be held on Saturday, April 11, and in the meantime the chamber is being careful not to reveal the names of the award recipients.

There are 11 Business Excellence Award categories in the lineup, including for the first time the category of non-profit organizations. The category has 10 nominees and is sponsored by the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

The other 10 categories are: Business Person of the Year; Business of the Year - 1 to 15 employees; Business of the Year - 16 or more employees; Business Newsmaker of the Year; Hospitality & Tourism; Young Entrepreneur of the Year; Business Services Excellence; Professional Services Excellence; New Business of the Year; Retailer Excellence.

The Chamber of Commerce has a well-organized selection process that takes place after the closing date for nominations. For each award category, a team of three volunteers has a 30-minute interview with a representative of each of the nominated groups or companies, learning more about each of them in the context of guidelines set down by the chamber of commerce.

After the interviews, the jurists confer and compare assessments and agree on an award recipient. The people who head up these businesses and organizations always impress the teams with their responses to the questions posed, and all of the organizations certainly fit the criteria for excellence in their field. Members of the interview team often have a difficult time selecting just one nominee as the award recipient

Kootenay Business appreciates and applauds all of the nominees for their exemplary dedication, vision and achievements. Congratulations.