A total of 83 companies have been named as finalists for the 17th Annual Vancouver Island Business Excellence Awards, which celebrates the best of the best in Island business Jan. 26 at the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort.
“This is one of the deepest and most diverse set of finalists we’ve seen yet,” notes Mark MacDonald of Business Examiner, which coordinates the event. “I believe this was the largest number of nominations we’ve ever received, and the scope and variety of what these businesses do is mind boggling. It’s simply amazing what businesses are doing on Vancouver Island.”
Bruce Williams of CTV Vancouver Island will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the event, which has Black Press as a Platinum Medium Sponsor this year. RBC Royal Bank and Grant Thornton LLP are back as Gold Sponsors. Category sponsors include CIBC, Coastal Community Credit Union, Helijet and Grieg Seafood.
Categories this year include: Agriculture, Automotive, Construction/ Development, Entrepreneur, Forestry/Wood Products, Green, Health, Hospitality/Tourism, Manufacturer, Ocean Products, Professional (legal, accounting, insurance), Real Estate, Retail, Small Business (under 50 employees), Technology, Trades and Business of the Year (over 50 employees).
Campbell River finalists and finalists of some other Island cities are:
Campbell River: ASAP Geomatix, Bailey Western Star Trucks, Balance Equestrian Centre, Discovery Passage SeaLife Society, Dolphins Resort, Ripple Rock Restorations, and Skye Avionics.
Comox Valley: Lacasse Construction, My Tech Guys, Rattan Plus Home and Patio, Salish Sea Foods, West Coast Expeditions, Woodland Flooring.
Cowichan Valley: Cowichan Woodwork, Mid Island Ink Depot, Ramada Duncan and Westholm Tea Farm.
Esquimalt: Arriba Mexico Food Company and Sharkz Coins.
Ladysmith: Chopstix Salon, Coast Salish Development Corporation, GNB Builders and Three Guys Construction.
Langford: Verity Construction Ltd.
Nanaimo: Calais Billiards & Spa, Classic Care Services, Coast Bastion Hotel, Ecklundson Construction, Island West Coast Developments, Living Forest Campground, NYLA Fresh Thread, Restacon, Rewild Homes, Seamor Marine, Studio AE Interior Design, The Nest Bistro and VitaCare Natural Health Clinic.
Parksville: Oceanside Roofing, Quality Foods and Weather-Wise Cedar Products.
Port Alberni: Alberni Community & Women’s Services Society, Boomerangs Café, Coulson Group, EM Salon, The Fenton Group, Trends Design, Vancouver Island Limousine and West Coast Edge ATV.
Port Hardy: Keltic Seafoods.
Port McNeill: Telegraph Cove Resort.
Qualicum Beach: CrossFit Qualicum Beach, Lefty’s Fresh Foods and Waypoint Insurance.
Tickets to the event are $125, and can be purchased through www.businessexaminer.ca/events.
For more information, contact 1-866-758-2684 ext. 120 or email: mark@businessexaminer.ca
