2025 EVENING OF EXCELLENCE
Business Excellence Awards - Citizen of the Year - Cranbrook Chamber Education Grants

friday, october 24 - key city theatre

2025 New Business of The Year

NOMINEES

Next Adventure Home Inspections

Bizzy Bear’s Cub Cuts

Out Of The Woods Home Inspection

Maggie B’s Mercantile

Redeemed Detailing

Young Entrepreneur of the year

NOMINEES

Nic Gawletz, Next Adventure Home Inspections

Ashley Taylor, Sweet Gestures Chocolate Shoppe Ltd.

Emily Popoff, Talking Helps Heal Kootenays Ltd.

Inclusive Employer of the year

NOMINEES

Ground Floor Coworking Space

St. Eugene Golf Resort & Casino

Safeway Inc.

Age-Friendly
Business of the year

NOMINEES

Kootenay Ramps & Access

Auntie Barb’s Catering

Bizzy Bear’s Cub Cuts

OK Tire Stores Inc.

Arts & CULTURE excellence

NOMINEES

Fisher Peak Performing Artists Society

Cranbrook Arts

Customer Service excellence

NOMINEES

Britany Shears

Silver Path Financial Solutions Inc.

Cranbrook Pest Control

Guidance Planning Strategies Ltd.

Neatology Inc.

Great Canadian Oil Change

Meraki Mechanical Ltd.

Mission Thrift Store Cranbrook

StratIS Group

Culinary Excellence

NOMINEES

Numa Dining & Lounge

The Baker89

Fenwick & Baker

Tourism Excellence

NOMINEES

Fort Steele Heritage Town

Cranbrook Golf Club

Kamu Sauna

Spirit of the Rockies Festival

Retail Excellence

NOMINEES

Britany Shears

Kootenay Communications Ltd.

My Best Friend’s Closet

Talaria

Huckleberry Books Inc.

Urban Verve

The Paw Shop

Just Music Ltd.

Bumble Tree

Professional Services Excellence

NOMINEES

Britany Shears

Silver Path Financial Solutions Inc.

Alisha Trozzo, 2day FM

Josh Eimer, StratIS Group

Barbie Torres, Bizzy Bear’s Cub Cuts

Morganne Jones, Meadowlark Osteopathy

Dan Meldrum, Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Service East Kootenays

Westland Insurance

Business to Business Excellence

NOMINEES

Sidekick Printing Inc.

Silver Path Financial Solutions Inc.

StratIS Group

Neatology Inc.

Alopex

Kootenay Kwik Print

Non-Profit Organization of the Year

NOMINEES

Mission Thrift Store Cranbrook

Therapeutic Paws of Canada

Cranbrook Archives, Museum and Landmark Society (CAMAL)

JCI Kootenay

Community Connections Society of Southeast BC

Business of The Year
(1-15 employees)

NOMINEES

StratIS Group

Britany Shears

Silver Path Financial Solutions Inc.

Kamu Sauna Ltd.

The Studio Spin Barre Yoga Ltd.

RONA Cranbrook Building Centre Ltd.

Business of The Year
(16+ EMPLOYEES)

NOMINEES

Heritage Inn Hotel & Convention Centre

Apex Accounting

Baker Hill Dental

Fenwick & Baker

Business Person of the Year

NOMINEES

Jennifer Bird, Fly Fusion Magazine

Chancellor Litke, Guidance Planning Strategies Ltd.

Paul Jovanovic, Kootenay Tailor Shop

Nathan Lieuwen, Cranbrook Bucks

Ted Murrell, Save-On-Foods

Rachelle Langlois, Silver Path Financial Solutions Inc.

NOTE: If you submitted a nomination and don’t see it here, the nominee may have declined the nomination OR the nominee did not meet category criteria.

MEET THE JUDGES

The Chamber assembled an adjudication panel to review the nominations and award scores based on a matrix. Locked in the Chamber boardroom, fueled by coffee and muffins, a 3.5 hour judging session took place. We received four sets of score sheets that were filled out independently and confidentially.

Special thanks to:

Galen Olstead – Executive Director, Key City Theatre

Jon McWhirter – Owner/Operator, McWhirter Office Solution

Marnee Bellavance – Owner/Operator, Printed Matter Services

Leanne Jensen – CAO, New Dawn Developments

Big thanks to this group of community leaders for their valuable time and thoughtful insight.

AWARD CATEGORY CRITERIA

NEW BUSINESS OF THE YEAR

The New Business of the Year Award recognizes a business that is considered a rising leader in their sector, demonstrating outstanding sustainable business practices. The recipient is financially sustainable, potentially scalable, and being managed with a robust planning process. The recipient materially differentiates itself from its competition, and has been established in the last 3 years.

The Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding entrepreneur under the age of 40 who has built their own business or has been a part of the decision-making management team of an existing business. This award pays tribute to an outstanding young entrepreneur who has distinguished themselves not only by their success in business, but also by their creativity, innovative spirit, and community involvement.

Inclusive Employer of the Year Award recognizes an employer that looks beyond traditional recruitment and retention strategies in order to support the needs and development of their staff. From policies and procedures to diversity initiatives, the recipient demonstrates a commitment to identifying and employing diverse individuals and engaging them in an inclusive workplace.

The Age-Friendly Business of the Year Award recognizes a business that is dedicated to accommodating the needs of older adults in Cranbrook. The recipient’s business practices include considerations for factors like accessibility, customer comfort and communication.

The Arts & Culture Excellence Award recognizes an individual, business or organization that displays contributions and innovation in the arts that strengthen the cultural, social and economic fabric of the community. The recipient has displayed outstanding creativity and vision in the Cranbrook Arts community, and is devoted to practice within Visual Arts, Performing Arts, and/or Literary Arts.

The Customer Service Excellence Award recognizes a business that embraces the concept that outstanding customer service is critical to the success of their business. The recipient’s business is dedicated to continually striving to exceed customer expectations. Their internal culture through all levels of their organization is centric to a positive customer experience.

The Culinary Excellence Award recognizes a restaurant or other food business that has made an outstanding contribution to Cranbrook’s culinary landscape. The recipient offers their patrons a unique and memorable experience that delights the senses and inspires others through creativity, presentation, quality and passion.

The Tourism Excellence Award recognizes a business or non-profit that has delivered positive community impact through provision of tourism offerings, contribution to an exceptional visitor experience, and/or support for a broader vision to leverage the value of tourism for Cranbrook.

The Retail Excellence Award recognizes a business that has demonstrated outstanding achievement through consistency, innovation, business acumen and overall success. The recipient shows evidence of success that is outstanding for the size of their operation.

The Professional Services Excellence Award recognizes a business, an owner or an employee that demonstrates the highest quality of service to their customers. The recipient is a recognized leader in their professional service industry sector with exemplary professional standards.

The Business-to-Business Excellence Award recognizes a business that works with other businesses to identify and accommodate their needs in the business-to-business service industry. The recipient demonstrates a consistent adherence to the highest quality service and support for their clients. The recipient has demonstrably optimized business processes to drive higher levels of operational performance, customer satisfaction and loyalty.

The Non-Profit Organization of the Year Award recognizes a registered non-profit society or charity that is dedicated to making a difference in Cranbrook through their own mandate. The recipient has an outstanding record of achievement and meets the highest ethical standards of the non-profit community. The recipient shows a high level of care and concern for the community.

The Business of the Year Award (1-15 employees) recognizes a business that is regarded as an industry leader with a strong reputation for success. The recipient demonstrates a high degree of professionalism and performance in key measures of business, showing a substantiated business history exhibiting sustainability and/or growth over numerous business cycles. This business has been established in Cranbrook for more than three years.

The Business of the Year Award (16+ Employees) recognizes a business that is regarded as an industry leader with a strong reputation for success. The recipient demonstrates a high degree of professionalism and performance in key measures of business, showing a substantiated business history exhibiting sustainability and/or growth over numerous business cycles. This business has been established in Cranbrook for more than three years.

The Business Person of the Year Award recognizes an individual that displays outstanding leadership and vision in the Cranbrook business community. The recipient has been in a leadership role for a minimum of one year at a business that has been operating for at least five years, and has succeeded through innovation, risk-taking and a commitment to the community. The recipient serves as a positive role model and mentor and exemplifies community leadership and dedication.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards recognize and celebrate the success of Cranbrook’s businesses and their leadership across all sectors; private, public and non-profit.

We shine a spotlight on the best of Cranbrook, to highlight our diversity, creativity, ingenuity and success in the local business community.

The Business Excellence Awards are open to businesses, registered non-profit organizations and individuals.

Everybody is welcome to attend the Award Ceremony!

  • Nomination submissions are open online prior to the Business Excellence Awards Ceremony.
  • Nominations are garnered from peers, community members, or by way of self-nomination.
  • After nominations are closed, each nominee is notified.
  • Nominees confirm their acceptance to participate. 
  • Confirmed nominees are given an opportunity to provide additional information about their impacts in the business community to strengthen their nomination. 
  • A panel of adjudicators is chosen by the Chamber. They are provided a scoring matrix to guide them through the rating process.
  • The Chamber tallies the scores to identify the recipients for each category.
  • The results are kept confidential until the Award Ceremony.

As long as they operate in Cranbrook, the following are eligible for nomination:

  • Businesses
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Registered Non-Profit Organizations
  • Businesspeople
  • Employers
  • Yourself

*note: multi-year nominees are eligible to receive an award for the same category only once every 3 years

As long as they operate in Cranbrook, the following are eligible for nomination:

  • Businesses
  • Entrepreneurs
  • Registered Non-Profit Organizations
  • Businesspeople
  • Employers
  • Yourself

Nominees are not required to hold membership with the Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce.

Anybody can submit a nomination. Nominations are garnered from peers, the public or by way of self-nomination.

Sponsorship is an effective way of gaining exposure for your business. Reach out for more information.

thank you for over 120 nominations for 2025