The Fernie Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce that the annual Fernie Business Excellence Awards will go ahead on Friday 29 October 2021. Nominations from the public are now open! The nominations period will run from today until 5pm on Monday 6 September 2021.
To nominate your favourite business, organization or individual – please click here to cast your nomination.
The extremely popular event has had a bit of a refresh for 2021 in terms of award categories. There will be twelve award categories this year – with three of them being brand new awards for this event. The brand new awards include the Business Innovation Award (recognizing a business that has created or adopted innovative concepts, methods or products), the Environmental Sustainability Award (recognizing a business that exemplifies leadership and commitment to environmentally sustainable business practices and corporate social responsibility), and the Business Person of the Year Award (recognizing an individual working for a for-profit business who has significantly contributed to the success of that business). These awards will be given out along with long-time favourites like Business of the Year, Citizen of the Year, Employer of the Year, and the People’s Choice Award.
Fernie Chamber Executive Director Brad Parsell explains, “This is hands-down our favourite event of the year where we get to celebrate outstanding achievement within our business and non-profit community here in Fernie. We know that the pandemic continues to present extreme challenges for many of our businesses and it’s so important that we recognize the hard work and dedication of these folks, especially this year. Our title sponsor for this year’s awards is once again North Coal, and we sincerely thank them for their ongoing support. We’re really looking forward to it.”
The Fernie Chamber is tentatively planning to shift the event back to what it looked like pre-pandemic with an awards gala at the Fernie Community Centre. This venue will give organizers plenty of space to work with to facilitate physical distancing and any gathering limits in play. The safety of our members, staff and community is our top priority so this event will be modified to support BC government guidelines at that time.
There will be a plan B involving an online streamed awards ceremony similar to last year, should a full indoor awards ceremony not be possible on Friday 29 October. Further announcements including ticket information will be forthcoming in September.
The Fernie Chamber encourages the public to make their nominations ahead of the deadline on Monday 6 September. If local businesses are interested being a sponsor for this year’s business awards, they are encouraged to get in touch with the Fernie Chamber as soon as possible.
How voting and judging works: Anyone can nominate a business or individual for any award they feel meets the criteria outlined on the online nomination survey. All nominees from business categories will then be contacted once the nomination period closes and asked to submit an awards package that will be used by the judges to determine the finalists and winners This form will be reviewed by an independent panel of judges from outside the Fernie area. Based on the information and details provided by the business, the judges will rate the businesses against the award criteria. Highest rated business will win. Exceptions to this process are Citizen of the Year and the Chamber Legacy Award – which are all judged by the Fernie Chamber board of directors. Businesses and organizations nominated in all categories will be on the ballot for the People’s Choice award that the public will vote on in September.
