The Fernie Chamber of Commerce is excited to announce the finalists for this year’s Fernie Business Excellence Awards. There were hundreds of nominations cast for the awards this year which is an amazing testament to how much local businesses are valued by the community.
Businesses that were nominated were asked to complete an awards application that was forwarded to an independent panel of judges from outside the Fernie area. These judges have determined the three finalists in each category (below) as well as the winners – which will be announced on Friday 21 October at the awards gala event at the Rusty Edge. The exceptions to this were the People’s Choice Award, the Chamber Legacy Award, and the Citizen of the Year. Any business that was nominated for any award was in the running for the People’s Choice Award and voting was open to the public with hundreds of votes cast. The Chamber Legacy Award and the Citizen of the Year have been selected by the Fernie Chamber of Commerce board of directors and will be announced at the awards event.
Brad Parsell (Executive Director of the Fernie Chamber) explains, “This is by far our favourite event of the year, and we are so appreciative of the outstanding achievements of our local businesses. Despite the rising costs of doing business, chronic labour shortages, and other challenges thrown at us this past year – our business community continues to find innovative and creative ways to serve their customers. On behalf of the Fernie Chamber, I want to sincerely congratulate all nominees and finalists.”
The awards ceremony will be held on Friday 21 October commencing at 6:30pm. There are limited tickets available to this event and priority will be given to people representing businesses that are finalists, with a maximum of two people per business able to attend. If there are spare tickets available to the general public, these will be released the week of the event. Tickets are $99 for Fernie Chamber members and $119 for non-members. Tickets include drinks upon arrival and a full buffet dinner, and are available for sale at www.ferniechamber.com through the event page.
See the full list of the 2022 Fernie Business Excellence Awards finalists below:
2022 Fernie Business Excellence Awards Finalists
1. Citizen of the Year – sponsored by the City of Fernie
• Announced at the awards gala
2. Community Group of the Year – sponsored by Columbia Basin Trust
• Elk Valley Suicide Taskforce
• Fernie Women’s Resource Centre
• Twin Meadows Animal Rescue Society
3. New Business of the Year – sponsored by Fernie Alpine Resort
• Bramasole Restaurant & Wine Bar
• Drift & Sonder Lifestyle Shop and Refillery
• Miner’s Mud
4. Community Tourism Achievement – sponsored by Tourism Fernie
• Claris Media / Fernie Fix
• Raging Elk Adventure Lodge
• Wapiti Music Festival Society
5. Employer of the Year – sponsored by College of the Rockies
• Edge of the World Board Shop
• Gearhub Sports
• Nevados Restaurant
6. Environmental Sustainability Award – sponsored by Ski Base
• Drift & Sonder Lifestyle Shop and Refillery
• Elk River Alliance
• Fernie Fox Hotel
7. Businessperson of the Year – sponsored by the Free Press
• Abi Moore (Fernie Brewing Co.)
• Kurt Saari (Nevados Restaurant)
• Michelle Nelson (Edge of the World Board Shop)
8. Outstanding Customer Service Award – sponsored by Western Financial Group
• Fernie Forge
• Gearhub Sports
• Spa 901
9. Business Innovation Award – sponsored by Fernie Fox Hotel
• Fernie Brewing Co.
• Fernie Fox Hotel
• Gearhub Sports
10. Chamber Business Legacy Award – sponsored by Claris Media
• Announced at the awards gala
11. Fernie Business of the Year – sponsored by TC Energy & Surerus Murphy
• Mugshots
• Nevados Restaurant
• Rocky Mountain Chocolate
12. People’s Choice Award – Rockies Law Corporation
• Fernie Distillers
• OrganicTan Fernie
• Stick & Stone Cannabis
Congratulations to the finalists and best wishes in the finals!
