The woman who created a local national historic site, which draws visitors globally, is now a hall of famer.
More than 180 people attended the sold-out 2011 Crystal Awards for Business Excellence, held by the Saanich Peninsula Chamber of Commerce at Butchart Gardens. The restaurant among the flower buds was particularly appropriate this year, as the chamber inducted Jennie Butchart, posthumously, into the new Business Hall of Fame.
The hall of fame was established to recognize long-term contributions to the business community by individual business people and civic officials. Jennie’s great grand-daughter Robin Clarke, accepted the commemorative award.
“Mr. Butchart was an accomplished businessman, well so too was his wife an equally talented and very driven entrepreneurial spirit. And I can tell you the apple does not fall too far from the tree today in Robin (Clarke). Jennie Foster Butchart was a chemist who enjoyed ballooning and flying — that was 100 years ago — so as an extension of that free spirit in 1904 Mrs. Butchart began and as the old adage goes, she built and boy-oh-boy did the people come,” said guest speaker, Dave Cowen, general manager of the Butchart Gardens.
In 1918, more than 50,000 visitors found their way to the flower beds on Benvenuto.
“In today’s tourism market, 50,000 visitors is still a very big number,” Cowan pointed out.
This year marks the fifth for the Peninsula chamber’s awards program to honour outstanding achievement of area businesses.
“There are 1,960 businesses on the Saanich Peninsula,” said John Treleaven, president of the chamber. “Behind every one of those businesses are people like Robin (Clarke) and people like our nominees this evening for whom every day is a day to create value for customers.”
