SONJA NAGEL
COWICHAN VALLEY – The Chamber is excited to announce the 27 Finalists for the 23rd Black Tie Awards, which are presented in partnership with Island Savings.
The Duncan Cowichan Chamber has hosted the Black Tie Awards since 1996. The event is Cowichan’s premiere awards celebration, recognizing excellence in business and volunteerism. Founded on the Customer Service Award, Black Tie now features nine award categories, including Customer Service, Volunteer of the Year, Non-Profit Organization, Art in Business, Green Business and Young Entrepreneur, and three Business Achievement categories.
This year, the Chamber received 142 nominations from the public. We would like to give kudos to all the Nominees! We were overwhelmed by the number of wonderful nominations that were submitted. It was difficult to select the Finalists as everyone was deserving of recognition for their hard work and unique contributions to the community. With different categories come different criteria, and Black Tie tradition was honoured throughout to help make the hard selections for the short list of Finalists. Congratulations to all the Finalists!
Each of the nine award categories has three Finalists. All 27 Finalists and the 2022 Lifetime Achiever will be celebrated in an Academy Awards style event at the Chemainus Theatre on Tuesday, May 9th. Tickets for the Black Tie Awards 2023 are selling fast.
Finalists include:
Customer Service sponsored by Island Savings: Mark Paetz, Mark’s Instant Sign Shop, Melissa Cottam, Moo’s Pizza, Melissa Manson, Floral, Expressions & Wine Kitz
Volunteer of the Year sponsored by Peninsula Co-op: Brenda Burch, Toys Toiletries and Toques, Gregg Perry, Cowichan Musical Society, Tony Owen, Cowichan Bay Maritime Centre
Non-Profit Organization sponsored by Cowichan Green Community: Clements Centre for Families, Nourish Cowichan, Providence Farm
Art in Business sponsored by Live Edge Design: Duncan Cowichan Festival Society, Little Bird, Pauline Dueck – Artist
Green Business sponsored by Economic Development Cowichan: Duncan Paving Co., plentiFILL Refillery & Sustainable Living Store, The Tube Shack
Young Entrepreneur sponsored by Coastal Community Credit Union: Tiffany Shanahan, Foxy Box Duncan, Travis Berthiaume, OodyOos Pet Store, Jake Humphrey, Pacifica Woodwork and Design
Business Achievement 1-5 Employees sponsored by Westland Insurance: Fabrications, NTL Excavating Ltd., Vancouver Island Yoga School
Business Achievement 6-19 Employees Sponsored by Nanaimo Airport: Nexus Modular Solutions Inc., Sheer Essentials Lingerie & Swimwear, Yeshi Foods Inc.
Business Achievement 20+ Employees Sponsored by Grant Thornton: Craig Street Brewing Company, Duncan Home Hardware Building Centre, Ethos Career Management Group Ltd.
Sonja Nagel is Executive Director of the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce. She can be reached at 250-748-1111 or manager@duncancc.bc.ca
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