Gala & Business Excellence Awards 2010
The Gala & Business Excellence Awards were held on Saturday, January 29th at the beautiful Red Robinson Show Theatre. Guests were treated to a full agenda,commencing with a Champagne reception, followed by dinner, awards, dancing and fun “gambling” . Attendees were encouraged to enter in draws for a bevy of beautiful prizes including from jewellery to a flat screen television.
Categories and Winners are as below:
Not for Profit of the Year – Sponsored by BCLC
Winner: Place des Arts
The Maillardville arts centre offers education in music, visual arts, dance and drama — all with a flair for keeping students young and old engaged and entertained. The centre’s bursaries, scholarships and endowment fund support students, and ArtReach, established three years ago, allows learners facing economic barriers to attend a week-long summer arts camp. Place des Arts has been a leader in the arts community since 1972, and has a reputation for delivering high-quality programs in an outstanding facility.
Small Business of the Year – Sponsored by Coquitlam Centre
Winner: Me-N-Eds Pizza
Me-n-Ed’s Pizza, who’s Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam locations are owned and operated by long-time Tri-Cities residents Chris and Richard Florian provides local youths with valuable work experience in a positive environment, develops management staff through an established training program and is quick to reward excellence. The company sponsors several local sports organizations and organizes and hosts a charity golf tournament that raises funds for Parkinson Society BC.
Business Leader(s) of the Year
Winners: Layne Magnuson (Metro Motors) & Doug Morneau (Rhino Marketing)
Layne Magnuson and his family have owned Metro Motors — a brand that has become synonymous with the Tri-Cities — since 1998. Metro Ford is the top Ford dealer in B.C. and has the highest customer retention rate of any Ford dealership in Western Canada. Under Magnuson’s leadership, Metro Ford has also become known for community involvement, sponsoring the Coquitlam Metro Ford Soccer Club, the Port Coquitlam BIA Car Show and more, including Coquitlam Little League and SHARE.
Doug Morneau, the founder and CEO of Rhino Marketing, recently orchestrated an exclusive partnership between Rhino and the Vancouver Canucks. His company has also become a leader in the emergent practice of e-marketing. He currently serves as a director on the Crossroads Hospice Society board, Coquitlam Alliance Church and BC Assessment Authority, and is a past director of the Rotary Club and Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce. Wherever he volunteers, his enthusiasm and clear vision are much appreciated.
Business of the Year – Sponsored by Boulevard Casino
Winner: Thrifty Foods – Austin Station
Thrifty Foods Austin Station which opened in 2006, was the first Thrifty’s location to become carbon neutral. The Staff supports many Tri-Cities charities, including SHARE and Cops for Cancer. The store is also an industry leader in presentation, cleanliness and food safety — and was recently named the top food-safe store in the chain in an annual company-wide audit.
Newsmaker of the Year – Sponsored by Tri-City News
Winner: The Olympic Torch Relay
Top honours went to the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay and Celebration. From the thousands of eager residents who lined the streets to watch torchbearers enjoy their moment in the spotlight to the jubilant crowds that filled Coquitlam’s Mackin Park, this story had drama, excitement and, most of all, community spirit. A moving video showing clips of the event at Saturday’s gala brought tears to more than a few audience members’ eyes.
Also honoured during the evening was:
Chamber Member of the Year
Greg Garrison, Mardon & Garrison Insurance Brokers Ltd.
Greg Garrison, president of Mardon and Garrison Insurance Brokers, was honoured with the Chamber Member of the Year Award. A long-standing and active Chamber member, Garrison is a board member of the Rotary Club of Coquitlam Sunrise, where he has served for more than a decade. He also serves on the board of the InnerVisions Recovery Society and, through his company, sponsors and supports local organizations ranging from the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation to the Crossroads Hospice Society. Mardon and Garrison Insurance Brokers, founded by Greg’s father Les Garrison, has grown to include seven offices throughout Metro Vancouver, as well as more than 70 employees — an amazing 35 per cent of whom have been with the company for more than 20 years.
Thank you to all sponsors of the Gala and Business Excellence Awards and also to the providers of all the incredible prizes.
Enjoy some photos from our premier event!
Photos courtesy of Darla Furlani
Video presentation by Geoff Scott, Tri-Cities Community Television Society
for more news & photos, click here.
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