BY ERIN FAWCETT
Lacombe Express
Online nominations are now open for the 2016 Business and Community Awards Gala hosted by the Lacombe and District Chamber of Commerce.
“It truly is the business and community awards gala because we focus both on local businesses and also on some individuals in the community and we have several different categories that highlight various areas,” said Monica Bartman, executive director of the Lacombe and District Chamber of Commerce.
The public is invited to nominate a business, individual or farm family in different award categories until July 25th.
The categories include Large Business of the Year (10+ employees); Small Business of the Year (less than 10 employees), Non-Profit, Farm Family, Citizen of the Year, Lifetime Achievement and People’s Choice for Customer Service.
This will be the second year for the Chamber’s People’s Choice Award, and Bartman added the public will be able to vote online for that nomination from Aug. 15th to Sept. 12th.
“It’s important to take the time and sit back and acknowledge the individuals and businesses in our community that are doing amazing things for our City,” she said. “This is our chance to bring attention to the great things that are being done and to have people in the business community and the community at large join us on that.”
The nominees and award winners will be recognized at the 2016 Business & Community Awards Gala on Oct. 22nd at 5:30 p.m. at the Lacombe Memorial Centre.
“The vibrancy of this event is built on participation from other people whether it is businesses nominating their neighbours or maybe it’s the people that live in your neighbourhood that are nominating you because they know you are active in your business and community. That really lends itself to the success of the event - to get as many people involved as possible,” said Bartman. “It really is a community effort. It’s not the Chamber nominating and going through that process on their own, we want to encourage other people to get involved and to participate in that way.”
Tickets for the 2016 Business & Community Awards Gala cost $75 each or $500 per table and are on sale for the general public at the Lacombe and District Chamber of Commerce office located at 6005-50th Ave. The Chamber is open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.lacombechamber.ca.
For more information, call 403-782-4300.
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