The Humboldt and District Chamber of Commerce held the 17th annual Mark of Excellence awards night on Mar. 11 at the Humboldt Uniplex. The awards night recognizes companies and organizations from throughout Humboldt and District.
The event was very well attended with tickets being 96 percent sold out and honoured three individuals as well as nine companies/organizations.
Chamber President, Andre Kruger, said it was important for the chamber to recognize the deserving individuals who were nominated and won awards at the event because it is a great opportunity to show Humboldt off to the rest of the province.
“By us showcasing the businesses and the talent and we really show the rest of the province what we have in Humboldt and how well the businesses are doing and that is to really attest to the fact that this is the best place to live and work.”
Kruger was very pleased with how the event turned out saying it went exceptionally well and it was a fantastic night.
Before the evening got down to handing out awards a member of the Lanigan Potash Corporation’s management team spoke about how great the Humboldt and District area is and told a story about a mine closing on the east coast and how when they gave a presentation to the workers about this area there were a lot of workers who were interested in making the move.
Today, there are three workers who have been hired on a full time basis and will move out here soon and a fourth who has been hired on a part time basis, with the possibility of it turning into a full time position.
Kruger said he was very pleased when he heard that Humboldt and District could attract people from other parts of Canada.
“They look at the region, they love what they see and Humboldt and this district is very friendly, very welcoming to strangers and we want to keep it that way.”
When it came time for the awards presentation there were many successful companies but none more so than Pharmasave’s, Mike and Lacey Rath, who were honoured with two awards.
The first award the pair won was the Marketing Award awarded to the business that created and performed the best marketing strategy.
During his acceptance speech Mike made mention of the fact that the local media outlets played a huge role in helping them come up with a successful marketing strategy.
Mike also said he was very humbled to be recognized for the award.
“It’s great to get recognition of any sort so we’re humbled and honoured that we got the award and knowing the other nominees in the category, very humbling to win it.”
It did not take the Rath’s long to find their way back on stage accepting another award as the next award handed out was the Young Entrepreneur Award awarded to the person between the ages of 18 and 35 who showed tremendous entrepreneurial skills in the start up or operation of a business.
The Rath’s have put in a lot of hard work into Pharmasave over the past couple of years remerchandising and renovating their store.
Lacey said it was a real honour to win the award.
“Our job is part of our life and we’re very passionate about it. So that was just really an honour.”
A pair of electric companies took home awards at the event as well with Tremblay Electric winning Small Business of the Year and Bunz Electic Ltd., based in Muenster, winning the Service Award for excellent customer service.
Tremblay Electric Owner Adam Tremblay said it was a real honour to win the award and said it was a great representation of the employees that work for the company.
Bunz Electric Ltd. Part Owner Jason Zimmerman said that winning the award makes them feel appreciated and backs up their hardwork.
“It really backs up what we try and do with our service and 24/7, 365 days a year if there’s an emergency.”
Despite only some of the nominees being recognized for an award Kruger felt that all of the nominees were winners.
“I just want to again congratulate all the nominees, I don’t think anybody was losers here tonight it just shows what we have in this region and there’s more to come.”
The award winners were:
Adam Eichorst – Junior Citizen of the Year
Mark Seidel – Citizen of the Year
Michelle Bankowski (former Diamonds of Detroit owner) – Business Hall of Fame
Community Merit – The Humboldt Gathering Place
Community Involvement – Humboldt Home Hardware Building Centre
Service Award – Bunz Electric Ltd.
Marketing Award – Pharmasave
Young Entrepreneur of the Year – Mike and Lacey Rath (Pharmasave)
New Business Venture – Heavy Tech Truck & Trailer Wash
Small Business of the Year – Tremblay Electric
Large Business of the Year – Humboldt Sobeys
People’s Choice – Free Spirit Market
