The 15th annual Small Business Awards will be held Friday, October 25 at the Battle River Ag Hall in Manning!
Once again, the County of Northern Lights and the Manning Chamber of Commerce have joined forces to present 5 awards at this year's event.
Eligibility:
- Business must be registered with the County of Northern Lights or a Manning & District Chamber of Commerce Member
- Business must be located in the County of Northern Lights or the Town of Manning
- Business Leader nominees must be a resident of the County of Northern Lights or the Town of Manning
- Business Leader nominees can hold any role within a business or organization (owner, operator, manager, supervisor, dept. staff, manager, etc.)
- Employer of Choice nominations must come from staff (the option to nominate your employer is at the end of the online form)
Awards & Criteria
- Business of the Year, sponsored by ATB Financial
- The business achieves one or more of the following:
- Supporter of community events, programs, or services
- Contributes to growing their business, product or services, and job opportunities.
- Has taken positive action to invest in the community and incorporate social responsibility into their business vision.
- Advocate/supporter for other small businesses, locally or regionally
- Best Social Media Marketing, sponsored by Community Futures Peace Country
- The business has been active for at least 6 months on one or more of the following:
- TikTok
- The business has taken an engaging and creative approach to generating content that highlights its products, services, business operations, achievements, and/or community involvement.
- The business has been active for at least 6 months on one or more of the following:
- Excellence in Customer Experience, sponsored by Mathieu Hryniuk LLP
- The Customer Experience Award is presented to a business that has shown that customer service is its top priority. The business does one or more of the following
- Provides a welcoming and positive environment
- Brings a personalized and attentive experience approach to their customers
- Quickly adapts to changing customer needs and problem-solves
- Takes a proactive approach to gathering customer feedback and suggestions
- The Customer Experience Award is presented to a business that has shown that customer service is its top priority. The business does one or more of the following
- Business Leader of the Year, sponsored by Venture Parts Supply
- The individual has a strong entrepreneurial spirit and is passionate about the success and growth of
- their business
- their employees
- their community
- and the overall business community
- The individual has a strong entrepreneurial spirit and is passionate about the success and growth of
- Employer of Choice (nominations from staff only), sponsored by Alberta North Financial Services
- Nominations come from staff who would like to recognize their employer for the fantastic work environment they have created, including but not limited to;
- promoting work/life balance
- great benefits
- community involvement
- supporting employee growth and development
- Note: Employer of Choice nominations are at the end of the online nomination form
- Nominations come from staff who would like to recognize their employer for the fantastic work environment they have created, including but not limited to;
Business Award Winner Selection:
A revised winner selection process has been created for 2024. Winners are selected by a committee comprising of reps from Chamber, Town of Manning, County, and Award Sponsors. If an award sponsor cannot commit to a winner selection meeting, the committee will select an alternate rep.
Nomination Period:
Public nominations for small business awards and staff nominations for Employer of Choice can be submitted online from Friday, September 20 and close at 11 pm on Friday, October 18.
We kindly ask that you review the legibility and nomination criteria on the Award Nomination Info sheet before submitting your nominations. Note that nominations must include at least one sentence on why you are choosing to nominate in order to be eligible.
The Employee of the Year awards are sponsored by Manning & District Chamber of Commerce. The nominated employee must be employed by a business located in the County of Northern Lights or the Town of Manning.
- Employers can submit nominations online from Friday, September 20 and will close at 11 pm on Friday, October 18.
- Nominations must be completed by the business owner, manager, or supervisor.
- Businesses may only nominate 1 (one) employee, per department.
- The nominee performs beyond the call of duty, demonstrates enthusiasm and commitment to the business, and represents and contributes to morale and teamwork.
- Nominations close at 11 pm on October 18, 2024.
Winners will be announced at the Small Business Awards dinner on October 25.
This year's awards feature a comedy hour with Lori-Ann Ferguson and Kevin Stobo
Tickets are $35 each (inc. GST) or $250 (inc GST) for a table of 8. Tickets can be purchased at the County of Northern Lights office in Manning. Limited tickets are available.
Ticket sales end Friday, October 18.
Small Business Award Nominees for October 4, 2024
Employer of Choice (sponsored by Alberta North Financial Services)
- Knievel Services
- Manning Veterinary Clinic
- Stone Insurance Brokers
- Whillians Mechanical
Excellence in Customer Experience (sponsored by Mathieu Hyrniuk LLP)
- Aurora Theatre
- Back Forty Blooms
- Big North Graphics
- Canada Post
- Freson Bros
- Jo Dot Com
- Jackknife Creek Land & Cattle
- Manning Veterinary Clinic
- North Town Esso
- Stone Insurance Brokers
- Venture Parts Supply
Social Media Marketing (sponsored by Community Futures Peace Country)
- Big North Graphics
- Jackknife Creek Land & Cattle
- JL Financial Solutions
- Manning Veterinary Clinic
- Stones Insurance Brokers
- Sweets by Lemon
Business of the Year (sponsored by ATB Financial Manning)
- Back Forty Blooms
- Big North Graphics
- Condy Meadows
- Empire Home Building Centre
- ES Business Solutions
- Freson Bros.
- HawkView Ag
- Jo Dot Com
- Manning Veterinary Clinic
- Neil’s General Contracting
- North Town Esso
- Patricia Ford Sales
- Stone Insurance
Business Leader of the Year
- Daken Soroka
- Shania Stone
- Jennifer McCracken
- Rhonda Dechant
- Jonathan Lambert
- Alden Johnson