New honour debuts at Vermilion Small Business Awards

Vermilion Chamber adds an award and expands to surrounding small communities in this year’s virtual presentation.

Nominations are now open for the Vermilion & District Chamber of Commerce Small Business Awards, which have moved online.

This year, a new award is up for grabs and several new area villages have a chance to participate.

A separate Customer Service Award has been added this year and last year’s employee of the year category was changed to Business Professional of the Year, which will include non-profit organizations.

The expansion can include entries from Mannville, Derwent, Clandonald, Dewberry, Marwayne, Kitscoty, Paradise Valley, and Blackfoot.

“We’re trying to get communities involved and recognize the businesses,” said Leanne Martin, Chamber Office Manager.

“If you don’t have businesses you don’t have a community. Not only do they pay taxes which pays for services, but they sponsor local sports and community organizations. Businesses, in general, are important to the economy because they employ local people and their investment creates a domino effect.”

Other award categories include Business of the Year, Employer of the Year, and Spirit of Vermilion.

Martin said they also want to showcase employees in the area and encourage their positive qualities. She said that good employees and customer service can improve business.

“We always talk about the feeling of a business and whether it is warm and welcoming,” said Martin.

To make a nomination, you can fill out a form at TD Bank, Craig’s Cornerstone, Elevation, Co-op food store, outside the Chamber office, or online at vermilionalbertachamber.com before September 20. From there, they will go to an online public vote, and the committee will then examine the reasons and use a scoring matrix to find the winners.

Awards night will be online this year on October 17.

It will be an interactive experience including some Vermilion trivia and feature video footage of the top three nominees in each category.