Normally it's the merchandise that sparkles at Diamonds of Detroit, but on Oct. 26 the business itself shone at the annual ABEX Awards in Saskatoon, taking home the service award and tying with Regina's Alliance Energy for top honours as business of the year.
Prairie's Edge Development Corp. also won the marketing award, completing a strong night for local businesses.
This marks only the second time since the ABEX Awards were established in 1984 that a business in Humboldt has won the top award; Humboldt Flour Mills was named business of the year in 1987.
Diamonds of Detroit's win represents a break with recent tradition, as the past few business of the year winners have been large corporations in manufacturing and industry that operate internationally and often employ hundreds or thousands of people. Recent winners have included Magna Electric Corporation and the Mosaic Company. For an independent jeweler in a town of barely 6,000 to win was unexpected, even to the winners themselves.
"In my wildest dreams I never thought we'd be considered for business of the year," said Diamonds of Detroit owner Michelle Bankowski. "I think the jury thought, this is a small rural business that has paid their dues and put in exceptional performance."
The six-foot tall trophy will be shared with Alliance Energy over the next year and will surely be used as part of Diamonds of Detroit's extensive marketing. Their public presence is so pervasive, in fact, that customers often have a hard time believing there's only one store.
"We have customers that come in and argue that there's another store or that we're a chain," Bankowski said with a laugh.
Winning the service award spoke to Diamonds of Detroit's core business, the art of creating a lifelong customer.
"It's how we've built our business over 28 years," Bankowski said of the store's level of service. "It's easy to sell something to someone once, but it's hard to keep them coming back."
Diamonds of Detroit and Prairie's Edge were part of a large contingent from the Humboldt area that made the trip to Saskatoon for the ceremony. Strueby Plumbing & Heating was nominated in the Young Entrepreneur category and Schulte Industries was up for the Export award.
"We were loud and proud and having a lot of fun," Bankowski said.
"This is definitely a defining moment for my career."
