Six businesses have been nominated for Business of the Year for firms with 15 or fewer employees and one has been named in the category for those with more than 16 employees.
The nominations were unveiled during the annual Olds & District Chamber of Commerce Business, Beer and Blue Jeans event, held at the golf course clubhouse this past Thursday (Sept. 21).
The awards will be presented during the Business Awards Recognition and Celebration banquet, which takes place Oct. 12, 5:30 p.m. at the Pomeroy Inn & Suites.
Canadian Tire is the lone nominee in the 16-or-more category. Tasty Thai, Perry Appraisals Associates Ltd., Jensen's Men's Wear, Olds Dry Cleaners, Ty-Cal and Motocar are the nominees in the 15-and-fewer employees category.
Seven businesses are nominated for the People's Choice business award. They are: Fountain Tire, the Pomeroy Inn & Suites, Signs By Jan, the Olds Pet Clinic, Preferred RX Pharmacy, B & M Home Hardware, and Treadpro.
Seven people were identified as having provided exceptional customer service during the year. They are: David Ruan of Preferred RX Pharmacy, Terry Stevenson of Fountain Tire, Cindy Smith of Advanced Telecom, Michelle Everingham of Olds College CLC, Joanne Braun of Mountain View Credit Union, Diane Dardis of Shoppers Drug Mart and Merry Anne Bell of the Olds Golf Course.
The 2017 Better Business Bureau Business Ethics award goes to the Olds Golf Course.
Three firms have been nominated for the Community Spirit award for businesses or organizations. They are Casa de Flores, the Pomeroy Inn & Suites, and Trackside Sales & Services.
Three entities have been nominated for the Community Spirit award for non-profit organizations. They are: the Olds and District Christmas Angels Society, Chinook Arch Victim's Services Society, and Olds Rural Crime Watch.
Cassidy Matthews of the Olds Regional Exhibition was the lone person nominated for Youth Employee of the Year.
Chamber president Ben Stone congratulated all the businesses, organizations and individuals who have been nominated this year.
This year, a total of 27 nominations were received for the People's Choice business award, down almost half from 50 last year and 66 in 2015.
Also, 58 nominations were received for employees who provided exceptional customer service, down from 86 last year and 97 in 2015.
Outgoing chamber executive director Robbin Corsiatto figures that's because local businesses are still too busy trying to survive the economic downturn.
"They're putting their heads down and paying more attention to that," she says. "I think it's survival mode."
She says some don't seem to realize that awards and award nominations are actually a great way to promote their business, and that can be invaluable in tough times.
"I think it's survival mode."ROBBIN CORSIATTO, FORMER CHAMBER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,EXPLAINING WHY NOMINATIONS ARE DOWN THIS YEAR
