The 24th Annual Business Excellence and Citizen of the Year nominees have been announced.
“I’m really excited about the nominees this year,” says Shelly Morton, executive director of the South Cariboo Chamber of Commerce. “I think they’re all well-deserving. We had tons of nominations throughout the South Cariboo and it was these businesses that reached the top four. So real excited about it and record-breaking nominees again this year. The South Cariboo is just getting behind it.”
In the past few years, it’s usually been four or five or six nominees for Citizen of the Year, says Morton.
“So I’m really excited to see 11 nominees and all very very well deserving. I’m sure there could be 30 nominees out there.”
This year’s nominees are (in no particular order) Margo Wagner, Larry Rode, Mitch Campsall, Gina Myhill-Jones, Rob and Bev Fry, Shane Gunn, Kevin Halcro, Marcelle and Marsha Ried, Lori and Eveline Flemming, Donna Barnett and Liz Jones. Barnett and Jones have won it before and are therefore not eligible but it was still important to acknowledge them, says Morton.
Margo Wagner
Margo Wagner was the Cariboo Regional District area H director in 2017. The community was cut off during the 2017 wildfires and she was a real lifeline for many residents in the Forest Grove and Canim Lake area. She provided regular updates to residents including by calling those without internet with updates. Among other things, she arranged for local prescriptions to get filled. As one nominator put it, “Margo was our lifeline during the fire season.”
Larry Rode
Larry stayed behind during the 2017 wildfires to serve as a communication between the responders, officials and the general public. He was on air many hours for several weeks straight making sure to provide up to date and accurate information. Larry has been a prominent voice in the community for nearly four decades. As one nominator put it, “his loyalty to this community became extremely clear during the 2017 fires.”
Mitch Campsall
Mitch Campsall is the mayor of 100 Mile House. He also served as a city councillor before that. Mitch was instrumental in the response to the 2017 wildfire season. As one nominator put it, “Mitch was indispensable as our local communicator involving information needed for the community and surrounding areas for safety and updates about the progressions of the fires, evacuation alerts and orders.”
Gina Myhill-Jones
Gina created a Facebook page called “Cariboo Neighbours 911,” which has over 4,000 members. On the page, residents could get regular news updates about the fires, evacuation orders, notices, maps and more with great timeliness. According to one nominator, she also discouraged any negative postings and posted offers for help and encouragement. “It kept our spirits up.”
Rob and Bev Fry
Rob and Bev Fry run CaribooRadio.com. Rob and Bev worked hard to make sure people had up to date information, from the wildfires to reports on road conditions. Rob and Bev also sponsor many events in the community with stage and sound equipment and much more. As one nominator put it, “Rob and Bev Fry are a shining example of hard working business owners giving back with volunteerism that goes above and beyond.”
Shane Gunn
Shane Gunn started a T-shirt fundraiser, called Cariboo Strong, that raised over $100,000. The money went to a variety of different sources including many of the local fire departments. Shane is also part of the Search and Rescue team and updated the community with livestreams on Facebook. As one nominator put it, “Shane shows so much pride being part of the Cariboo … We are lucky to have such a stand-up guy in our community.”
Kevin Halcro
Kevin was the “go-to-guy” during the 2017 wildfire season. If you needed anything from a nut or bolt to food or a ride, Kevin would help out. He had very long days and always looked to help others. As one nominator put it, “wherever you go in town, summer or winter and in between, you can see Kevin not only doing his job, he goes miles for everybody. Especially during the fire season!”
Marcelle and Marsha Ried
Marcelle is the chief for the 108 Mile Ranch Volunteer Fire Department. Marcelle and his team worked to protect homes in the 103, 105 and 108 Mile area during the 2017 wildfire season. Marsha worked hard to help out behind the scenes. As one nominator put it, “during our wildfire season, they were leaders and guides with such confidence … Outstanding rolemodels for our community.”
Lori and Eveline Fleming
Lori and Eveline Fleming started and continue to lead the Shoebox Program which has been running since 2012. They work all year to collect and buy the gifts throughout the year and then give them out to go along with food hampers surrounding Christmas. Lori also takes in pets for free if someone is in the hospital. As one nominator put it, “[she is] giving a local struggling family a wonderful Christmas.”
Donna Barnett
Donna Barnett is the MLA for the Cariboo-Chilcotin. During the wildfire season, Donna organized public meetings, helped organize support for isolated areas and visited many people during the wildfires to ask if they needed help. As one nominator put it, “Donna was working 24/7 to help where ever she could. I don’t know what we would do without her.”
Liz Jones
Liz Jones is the Emergency Social Services Director for the 100 Mile House and District. Liz organized all the volunteers, dealt with government both locally and provincially and attended public meetings to keep people informed. She’s been the ESS Director for many years and has spent many hours assisting on house fire calls and other local disasters. As one nominator put it, “Liz displayed amazing resilience volunteering long days while showing great leadership.”
The event, which will take place on March 3, will be at the 100 Mile House Community Hall.
The hall will be as pretty as possible with a decorating crew coming in, catering by the Iron Horse Pub and Grill, Clinton Grey a magician/comedian will be coming up for entertainment, says Morton. Tickets are selling and there are about 120 left out of 200, she adds.
“They’ll be going really fast this week.”
There will be a $1,000 cash prize draw with only 100 tickets at $40 each. There’ll also be a silent auction for which donations have been coming in.
“The event is usually always real exciting. It gives people a chance to dress up and get out and just have some fun.”
To see the business excellence nominees, visit 100milefreepress.net.
Community Impact Business Excellence Award Top Four Nominees
* 100 Mile House Free Press
* West Fraser Lumber
* Save On Foods
* Canada Safeway
Greatest Improvement in 2017 Business Excellence Award Top Four Nominees
*Jackson’s Social Club and Brew House
*CaribooRadio.com
*Country Prime Meats
* Curves – 100 Mile House
Tourism/Recreation Business Excellence Award Top Four Nominees
*South Cariboo Rec Centre (Canlan Icesports)
*108 Resort
*100 Mile House Wranglers
*Jackson’s Social Club & Brew House
Best Marketing & Promotions Business Excellence Award Top Four Nominees
*Rustic Elements
*JJ’s Home Inspirations
* Sunrise Ford Sales
*Curves – 100 Mile House
Professional Services Business Excellence Award Top Four Nominees
*Horton Ventures
*Three R’s Construction
*PMT Chartered Professional Accountants LLP
*South Cariboo Dental
Best Home Based Business Excellence Award Top Four Nominees
*Creating Joy In Art – Joanne Young
* Three R’s Construction-Tom Gallagher
* Chris Harris Gallery-Chris Harris
* Green Sisters-Billy Feistmantl
Best New Business in 2017 Business Excellence Award Top Four Nominees
*Blissed Out Yoga
*Jackson’s Social Club & Brewhouse
* Midori Day Spa
*Impossible Knot Yarn Shop
Non-Profit Organization Business Excellence Award Top Four Nominees
* South Cariboo Search & Rescue
*Emergency Social Services – 100 Mile House
*Cariboo Chilcotin Partners for Literacy
* 100 Mile House Lions
Community Based Business Excellence Award Top Four Nominees
*Donex Pharmacy & Dept Store
* The Iron Horse Pub & Grill
* Tim Hortons
* Williams Lake & District Credit Union
Resource Based Business Excellence Award Top Four Nominees
* Jason Hinsche Contracting
* CEEDS
* Big Rock Ranch
* Rod Dillman Contracting
Age Friendly Business Excellence Award Top Four Nominees
*Cariboo Chilcotin Partners for Literacy
*100 Mile Vision Care
* Donex Pharmacy
*Pharmasave
People’s Choice/Customer Service Business Excellence Award Top Four Nominees
*Rise & Grind Coffee House
*Blissed Out Yoga
*Andres Electronics
*CaribooRadio.com
