The Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce announced the three finalists in the 11 different Business Excellence Awards categories during a nominees reception on January 13.
The three businesses competing for Business of the Year are Northern Savings Credit Union, the Canadian Fishing Company and Home Hardware, while Good Times Games and Electronics, Stuck On Designs and Gutter Brothers are the finalists for Rookie Business of the Year.
Small Business of the Year Trades/Industry/Manufacturing/Transport finalists are Quickload CEF, Kristoff Trucking and North Pacific Seaplanes; finalists for Small Business of the Year Retail are Cook’s Jewellers, Homework and Farwest Sport and Cycle; and Small Business of the Year Hospitality/Tourism/Service are Opa Sushi, Cow Bay Cafe and West Coast Launch.
The Aboriginal Business of the Year finalists include Gutter Brothers, Grassy Bay Petro Canada and H2O Adventures, and the Chamber Member of the Year will be either Northern Savings Credit Union, Pacific Coast U-Brew/Kerrie Desjardins or The Prince Rupert Northern View.
There was a tie in the Excellence in Customer Service category, one of two categories decided entirely by votes, with HawkAir, the Crest Hotel, Good Times Games and Electronics and Kathy’s Hair Design named finalists. Finalists in the other vote-only category, Newsmaker of the Year, include Dave’s Oyster Bar, The Crest Hotel and the Prince Rupert Port Authority.
The Community Involvement Award will be presented to either Tim Horton’s, Overwaitea or Cowpuccino’s, and the Volunteer Organization of the Year will be either the Salvation Army, the Prince Rupert Special Events Society or the SPCA.
The Business Excellence Awards will be presented at a dinner on January 29.