Recognizing Excellence

The prestigious Abbotsford Business Excellence Awards was once again a highly popular event, attended by more than 500 people on Nov. 23.

Staged by the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce, the 16th annual evening at Tradex featured special guests including departing Mayor George Peary and a number of Abbotsford councillors.

Guests were treated to a fine dinner by the Tradex staff and Lori’s Catering.

Decor at the Abbotsford Airport venue was provided by Bev Johnson with Celebrate the Moment.

Opening the ceremonies was MC Allan Asaph, chair of the Business Excellence Awards Committee, who called attention to this year’s 82 superb nominees.

In recognition of his outstanding contribution to the awards evening, Asaph was presented a plaque by Chamber of Commerce president Patrick Giesbrecht, who also made the awards presentations with Abbotsford News publisher Andrew Franklin following a performance by the Business in Black dance troupe.

The 11 awards recipients were chosen by a panel of 33 dedicated judges from the community, who conducted interviews with each of the nominees.

The Award Recipients were invited to the stage to receive their plaques from the category sponsors.

After the first eight awards were received, ventriloquist Michael Harrison entertained the crowd with a laughter-inducing range of characters and audience participation events.