Lefty's Fresh Foods was honoured last night as the Business of the Year during the Qualicum Beach Chamber of Commerce Community Awards.
Ian Lindsay was honoured as Citizen of the Year and John Briuolo of Quality Foods was given the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Each year, the chamber honours individuals and businesses for their contribution to the community. This celebration follows a nomination period during which Qualicum Beach residents and visitors are encouraged to nominate those they consider deserving of recognition.
Also nominated for Business of the Year were Pedego Electric Bikes and Bailey's in the Village. Also nominated for Citizen of the Year was Diana LaMonte.
Dave Graham from 88.5 The Beach was the night's emcee and hosted a lively evening full of celebration and acknowledgement at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre. Keynote speaker Kait Burgan guided the audience through an energetic tour of life behind the scenes at Shaw TV's "Go Island" and discussed the importance of diversity and the value of noticing what happens in the periphery.
A few of those people being honoured last night were nominated in more than one area.
The short-listed nominees and recipients for the 2015 Qualicum Beach Community Awards are:
The Volunteer of the Year winner was Gord Almond. Also nominated were Michele Jack and Erin Holmes.
The Community Builder of the Year was St. Stephen's United Church. Also nominated were Qualicum Beach-Beach Day and Young Life-Qualicum Beach.
The Outstanding Customer Service award went to Chelsea Cummings of Ohs Marketing Team at Royal LePage. Also nominated were Helen Fauvel of A Step Above and Darrin Andrews of Pharmasave Qualicum Beach.
The New Business of the Year was CrossFit Qualicum Beach. Also nominated were Skydive Vancouver Island and HeBrews Restaurant.
The Newsmaker of the Year was the ever growing tech/gaming business Cloudhead Games. Also nominated was Gord Johns for his federal election victory.
Read the Tuesday, Feb, 23 edition of The NEWS for more from the awards night. Pictures of the celebration can be found on the Qualicum Beach Chamber of Commerce website and Facebook sites.
The Qualicum Beach Chamber of Commerce would like to thanks the volunteers who helped to make this evening a success and the support of our generous sponsors: Parksville Qualicum Beach News, Scott Rodway of the MacIsaac Group of Law Firms, Katherine Wilk from the Ohs Marketing Team at Royal LePage, Qualicum Foods, Pharmasave Qualicum Beach, the Society of Organized Services, Vancouver Island Insurance Centres and Coastal Community Credit Union.
— NEWS Staff/Qualicum Beach Chamber of Commerce news release