Campbell River, BC News

Celebrating Business Excellence in Campbell River
Chamber Business Awards of Distinction Recipients for 2011
Announced at Community Celebration

Campbell River Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the award recipients of the 2011 Business Awards of Distinction. In response to the call for nominations, the community brought forward a distinguished group of nominees, representing the outstanding contribution that individuals, businesses and not for profit organizations make to Campbell River. An independent panel of judges, comprised of business and community leaders, evaluated the nominations resulting in the selection of the award recipient in each award category. The efforts of all the nominees were applauded by a crowd of over 250 at the 2011 Chamber Business Awards of Distinction event held September 24th at the Tidemark Theatre.

"The Business Awards of Distinction recipients exemplify the qualities of business success. Each of the award recipients brings their entrepreneurial spirit, risk taking, ideas and innovation into our community to grow and shape a prosperous and healthy Campbell River. On behalf of the Chamber Board, Staff and our Members, we congratulate you and wish you continued business success." commented Gary Thulin, 2011 President of the Campbell River Chamber of Commerce


Micro Business of the Year for 2011 is City Smiles Dental Centre.

City Smiles Dental Centre & Dental Hygiene Inc. is a unique dental office, the first of its kind in Campbell River! Truly a leader in her profession, Ethel Henry is the Owner-Operator and a Registered Dental Hygienist. The hygiene clinic is also supported by two Dentists.

At City Smiles the focus is prevention and the goal is to help our clients achieve the best mouth care possible. Many people are taking responsibility for their overall health and want choices for treatment and continuity in their care. City Smiles Dental Centre offers a gentle dental care experience!

Micro Business of the Year is sponsored by Vancouver Island Insurance Centres.

Small Business of the Year for 211 is Anchor Cove Electric.

Anchor Cove Electric goes where the others don’t want to. We build and service high and low voltage systems where Hydro doesn’t. We work in the most remote and harsh locations there are on the North Island and the west coast. We spend as much time on floats and boats as we do in trucks. When we get there, we do generation and power and sewer and water and when we leave everything works. So when the phone rings, we already have our bags packed and we get there fast and get the job done.

Small Business of the Year is sponsored by Pioneer Home Hardware Building Centre.

Intermediate Business of the Year for 2011 is T-Mar Industries.

T-Mar is a multi faceted industrial service company who specialize in providing engineered solutions to our customers. Starting in 1984, the original concept for the company was simple, put together a facility that combines mechanical services with a machine shop, fabricating shop, component shop and parts department. In this way a customer can bring in their equipment for repair or overhaul and get all the work done under one roof, and have one company responsible for the quality and warranty. In 1995 we added the engineering department so we could design and manufacture custom equipment for our customers. Today we have mostly the same concept with 26 years of experience and stability to support our products.

Intermediate Business of the Year is sponsored by Glacierview Financial Services, The Chambers Group Insurance Plan.

Large Business of the Year for 2011 is Marine Harvest Canada.

Marine Harvest is BC’s leading supplier of British Columbia’s largest agricultural export - farm-raised salmon. MHC is a fully integrated company with complete control of the production process; brood stock to egg rearing to on-growing to processing to sales and distribution. Our main office is located in Campbell River. A unique aspect of the aquaculture business and specifically Marine Harvest is that our salmon are marketed year-round, with the ability to provide stable, full-time employment in all parts of the business including processing and packaging.

Large Business of the Year is sponsored by Grieg Seafood.

Not-for Profit Business of the Year for 2011 is Campbell River Hospice Society.

The Campbell River Hospice Society exists to provide compassionate support and companionship to meet the needs of those individuals facing death, their families and friends and to those grieving a loss due to death. We recognize the special needs of a person who has a life threatening illness. Our focus is on treating symptoms and making clients comfortable.
The Hospice Society touches a large section of the community through a variety of events such as the Christmas Celebrate a Life. We have over 60 dedicated, screened and trained volunteers. It is important for the Hospice Society to view itself as part of a community team that networks with many organizations for the best interest of the client.

Not-for-Profit Business of the Year is sponsored by Marine Harvest Canada.

Family Friendly Business of the Year for 2011 is Marine Harvest Canada.

Marine Harvest employs 550 Island residents; of which 130 are women and 120 are of First Nation descent. Many of these staff are under the age of 35 which helps keep young families on the North Island. A comprehensive benefit package also helps these young families raise the “next generation” of North Islanders. One unique benefit is financial support to help send employee’s children to summer camps. Marine Harvest has an active “Employee Council” which is a cross-section of employee representatives that helps plan and coordinate staff parties, picnics, fundraisers and wellness initiatives. In addition, staff are encouraged to give their own time to community fundraising events that support local charities and other community organizations.

Family Friendly Business of the Year is sponsored by Success by Six.

The Environmental Sustainability Business Award for 2011 goes to Discovery Foods.

Over the past few years Discovery Foods has been aggressively renovating both locations to be more energy efficient. We have been investing in brand new energy efficient cases throughout both stores, replacing old open faced freezers with new close door cases. We have completely replaced the lighting in both stores with new T8 bulbs, installing night covers on cases and a heat reclaiming system in our Oyster River location. Coolant lines have been insulated and strip curtains installed. We also offer re-usable shopping bags, recycling of plastic bags and a refundable service for bottles and cans. In doing so we are reducing our costs which in turn reduces the cost for our customers.

The Environmental Sustainability Business of the Year Award is sponsored by BC Hydro Power Smart.

Young Entrepreneur of the Year for 2011 is Erin Wallis of Erin Wallis Photography.

Erin’s passion for photography led her to finding her niche in photographing people. In 2008 she moved to Vancouver Island to pursue her photographic dreams. Erin Wallis Photography grew quickly. As well as being able to provide amazing results and customer experiences, Erin credits her business success to her online presence and a talented support team. Erin is a tireless volunteer and passionate about community involvement and spirit. From weddings, to maternity, to new babies and gorgeous grannies – Erin’s images are fresh and alive.

Young Entrepreneur of the Year is sponsored by the Campbell River Mirror and 97.3 The Eagle.

Business Leader of the Year for 2011 is Tom Pallan of The Pallan Group.

Tom Pallan was born and raised in Victoria. From an early age Tom was motivated, he had an early morning paper route and after school sold newspapers on a busy street corner. Over the past 48 years, Tom has learned perseverance, commitment and hard work in the forest industry. Through perseverance and the ability to adapt quickly to changing economic conditions, The Pallan Group of companies has continued to thrive and expand. It has been said that The Pallan Group of companies has had to be very nimble on their feet and the same is still true of Tom Pallan, founder of the Pallan Group of companies.

Business Leader of the Year is sponsored by MNP.

“On behalf of the Chamber, we want to express our appreciation for the outstanding community support we receive for this event. Thank you to the many sponsors and talented volunteers who helped make the 2011 Business Awards of Distinction a success,” comments Colleen Evans, Executive Director of the Campbell River Chamber.

The 2011 Business Awards of Distinction were presented in partnership with MNP.

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