On Saturday night, the Prince George Chamber of Commerce hosted the 2011 Business Excellence Awards at the Ramada Hotel with just under 300 in attendance.
This year's theme was celebrate, which was apt as the chamber is celebrating their centennial year.
For this year's event, the Chamber of Commerce embraced social media for the first time.
"Our chamber embraced modern technology this year with a live twitter auction during the gala with a streaming auction feed on screen throughout the night. In addition, we encouraged members to vote using an online ballot and to nominate their favourite businesses with an electronic nomination form," said Jennifer Brandle-McCall, CEO of the Prince George Chamber of Commerce.
Fifteen awards were given out to various businesses and business people in categories ranging from Business Person of the year to the coveted Customer Service award.
The Business Person of the year awards went to Ray Gerow. He has worked with businesses in Prince George for more than 14 years and during that time has worked directly to help more than 1,400 prospective entrepreneurs to start businesses.
Up until his recent departure from Prince George, he was the president and CEO of the Aboriginal Business and Community Development Centre, was the chair of the CBC Board and sat on the Initiatives Prince George advisory committee, the 2015 Canada Winter Games committee and the Aboriginal Education Board for School District 57.
The Customer Service award went to Homesteader Meats 2010 Ltd. Ben Klassen and his original team returned to Homesteader and have continued to build on their reputation for selling quality products with outstanding customer service.
It was been an award winning weekend for Darrell Hubbell, he was named Prince George's citizen of the year on Friday night by the Prince George Community Foundation. On Saturday night, Hubbell Designer Goldsmiths took home the prize of Retailer of the year.
Other winners included:Integris Credit Union won the Community Booster (business) award, for their strong commitment to the well being of the five communities they operate in.
Spirit of the North Healthcare Foundation was awarded the Community Booster (non-profit association). The foundation is a fundraising organization in the area for healthcare.
The Green award went to the University of Northern B.C, for their commitment to being Canada's green university for renewable energy and carbon neutrality on a large scale.
Blake Productions took home the Home Based business award. Brent Blake runs his business in audio visual services with the goal of providing a custom experience that will impress any audience.
Manufacturer of the year was awarded to the Mary Kordyban Foundation, a major capital project for the northern region of the Canadian Cancer Society.
The Kordyban Lodge is being built as a home away from home for residents in the region who are referred to the BC Cancer Agency for the North.
The Technology Innovator award went to UNBC Biomass Gasification Facility.
The new facility provides heat to all core campus buildings and boasts offsets of 85 per cent of previous natural gas consumption for space heating.
Two Rivers Business Centre was awarded the Welcoming and Inclusive Workplace award.
The centre introduced the idea of co-working among independent professionals to Prince George in an inclusive way.
Employer of the year went to Telus, the company has grown in Prince George in the last three years, especially in 2011 with the hiring of 130 new employees. Telus spent $1.5 million to improve and modernize workplace facilities.
The Prince George Cougars took home the Corporate Citizen (1-49 employees) award, for providing entertainment on the ice and their donations back into the community.
CIBC run for the Cure won the Corporate Citizen (50+ employees) award. They have been the title sponsor for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Run for the Cure for 15 years and on the local level, have held a run in Prince George for the last decade.
For more information on the Chamber of Commerce visit www.pgchamber.bc.ca
