The Niverville Chamber of Commerce held their annual general meeting on the evening of Thursday, March 7, where they announced the winners of their annual awards.
There are three award categories: Outstanding Customer Service, Business of the Year, and the Alex Fast Sr. Memorial Award. The winners were determined by a three-judge panel who took into account the information provided by each nominated business, as well as comments from people in the community, in the case of the customer service award.
For Outstanding Customer Service, three business were nominated, including Ben Sawatzky Electric, BSI Insurance, and Dollhouse Design.
Ben Sawatzky Electric was recognized for its strong corporate culture, committed staff, and high integrity. The owner of Dollhouse Design, Kelsey Kosman, was commended for her flexibility and passion in working with clients of all different types and budgets.
The winner was BSI Insurance. The judges pointed to the fact that the company has built up its brand in the community well over the years, while also noting that they excel at working with their clients at times when those clients are often going through some of their worst life experiences.
“I was impressed with each of the award nominees,” said one of the judges, who wished to remain anonymous. “For the customer service awards, you don’t get consistently great comments from customers unless you are running a great business.”
Two businesses were recognized for Business of the Year: Heritage Lane Builders and The Citizen. The judges took note of The Citizen’s exponential growth in a short period of time and their willingness to adapt to challenging market conditions.
The award went to Heritage Lane Builders, which began as a renovation company in 1987 and has since come to excel in the local custom home market. Recently, the family-run business has branched out into commercial, multi-family, and condo properties.
“They have been able to strike a great balance of growth without sacrificing their foundation,” remarked one judge. “Throughout the highs and lows of their industry, they have remained true to their values.”
The third and final award of the evening, the Alex Fast Sr. Memorial Award, seeks to acknowledge either a business or individual who has made outstanding contributions to the community. This year’s award was given to Ferd Klassen, owner of Niverville Autobody.
Klassen was unable to attend the awards, because he was busy that evening doing the very thing the award was meant to recognize: volunteering as a chaperone for a Grade Four class field trip.
The judging panel pointed to Klassen’s hours of volunteer service over the years and his generosity in helping other businesses and businesspeople in times of need.
Other highlights of the evening included a conversation between Chamber President John Magri and Stefan Maynard, one of four owners of Bold Commerce, a large-scale internet commerce business which began operations seven years ago in an Île-des-Chênes garage and currently employs 300 staff at its Winnipeg headquarters. The company is poised to undergo a major expansion, both in terms of space and staff.
Maynard and Magri engaged in an insightful, wide-ranging discussion that covered everything from advice for small businesses looking to embrace online solutions to the company’s future ambitions.
Chamber Offices
In conjunction with the Town of Niverville, the Chamber made another significant announcement at this year’s annual general meeting. As has been previously reported, the Town of Niverville will be transitioning their offices from the current municipal building on Main Street to a much larger space at 329 Bronstone Drive.
It has now been revealed that the Chamber of Commerce will also occupy office space in the new municipal building.
“For some time, the Chamber board has felt that the Chamber needs to be more visible to the community,” said Magri. “To this point, our offices have always been in the homes of our managers. Financially, we could not afford an office outside of the home. We were very pleased when we were told there might be room at the new town office for a Chamber office. That has now been confirmed… I would like to thank Mayor Dyck and the council for this opportunity.”
Mayor Myron Dyck was on hand to turn over the keys to the new office space to the Chamber board.
“The town council has always appreciated the work of our Chamber,” Dyck said in his remarks. “In the last number of years, we’ve seen continued growth as to the strength of the Chamber and the work that the executive has done, the executive director and the board members, and the town is grateful for all that work. We understand that the Chamber represents the business community and the business community needs their voice, and it’s a voice that council needs to hear. So we look forward to the feedback that the Chamber will be giving to us.”
Dyck added that he expected the town to move into the new offices in the first week of May.
