Terry McNamee
For the Beaver
The banquet hall at the Strathcona Paper Centre was packed on Thursday evening as local business people gathered for the seventh annual Greater Napanee Business Achievement Awards.
The event, held by the Napanee & District Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Napanee Downtown BIA and the Town of Greater Napanee and hosted by local radio personality Rebecca Wilkinson, included 12 presentations, since one attracted so many nominations that it was split into large and small businesses. Nominations were made by the public and, in the event of a tie, the final decision was made by the Business Achievement Awards Committee.
“We were happy to see the great turn out of local business, dignitaries and supportive staff and family that came out to celebrate the achievements of so many within our great community,” said Megan Sands, business manager of the Chamber of Commerce.
First up was the Young Entrepreneur Award, which went to Diamond Fitness Mixed Martial Arts and owner Meighen Hodgen. She opened her business in 2015 in Napanee and credited her sister Olivia, who is the manager, kids’ program director and instructor, with contributing to the success of her business. There were five nominees for this award.
The Youth Employee Award for ages 15 to 21 had six nominees, with the plaque going to Angela Tudor, who works at Home Hardware.
Black Cat Cafe in Tamworth received the Communities in Bloom Award, given for clever use of signage and landscaping. The business, located in a restored Victorian home, is owned by Carol Brown and Kevin Hilliker. They had a lot of competition for this award, with a dozen businesses nominated for their outdoor beautification.
The Downtown Greater Napanee Business Improvement Area Award was presented to Napanee Opticians from four nominees. The award was accepted by owner Laurie Morris, who has worked at the business since it opened in 1988 and has been operating it since 2004.
The board of directors of the Napanee and District Chamber of Commerce selected the Napanee Beer Company as the winner of the Chamber of Commerce Award from the three companies nominated in this category. Owner and brewer Geordan Saunders moved from Toronto to his native town of Napanee to start his brewery in 2016, and since then it has won multiple gold medals and was named New Brewery of the Year at the Ontario Brewery Awards.
This year’s New Business Award for business in operation for between one and three years went to the Greater Napanee Gun Works. Owner Aaron Haynes could not attend, so the award was accepted on his behalf by Brian Keller, president of the local rod and gun club. Six businesses were nominated for this award.
Denny’s, represented by Ron Hamill, was presented with a special award from Career Edge for its work in training and providing jobs to four new employees.
Workplaces that support a healthy, safe environment for both employees and customers were the focus of the Centre for the Workplace Development Workplace Wellness Award. With two nominees, the plaque went to Ellena’s Cafe, owned by Ellena Fleury.
The Customer Service Award had so many nomination that the organizers decided to split it into two awards. The one for large businesses went to the John M. Parrott Centre for the Aged in Napanee, with the award accepted by Angela Malcolm, while the small business winner was Seasons Fine Foods, owned by Joseph Imre and Jazmin Bansagi.
Sands explained the next award, called the Shout Out Award, which the Chamber started in February. Customers submit “shout outs” to businesses that provided excellent service and were friendly and welcoming. She said the Chamber received 128 shout-outs for more than 50 different businesses in just eight months. The winner was The Keto Bakery, which received the most shout-outs with 11. The award was accepted by owner Lisa Revell.
The final award of the night was the Milestone Award for business that have been in the community for a long time and that have shown an ability to adapt to changing times. This year’s winner amongst the seven nominees was Gray’s IDA Pharmacy, a family-owned business that opened in 1977 and now is being run by the third generation of the family, the brother and sister team of Jason and Christine Hager.