Excitement high as in-person business achievement awards return
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The London Chamber of Commerce’s business achievement awards will return as an in-person gala Wednesday.
“Everybody’s masked, everybody’s distanced, everybody will produce proof of double vaccination at the door,” said the chamber’s Graham Henderson, who replaced Gerry Macartney as chief executive of the organization in March.
The event takes place downtown at RBC Place. Henderson says the capacity for the event is 600 people.
“I think we’re going to get close to that number,” he said.
A crowd that size would represent one of the largest indoor gatherings in London since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In non-COVID years, the awards event has drawn twice that number. Last year’s ceremony was a livestreamed online event with only 50 people in the room.
Other precautions being put in place include opening the doors early to give everyone time to get through the pandemic protocols, Henderson said.
“It’ll be a safe event,” he said. “It’ll still be a lot of fun.”
This will be the first London chamber gala for Henderson, the former head of Music Canada who also served as the chair of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce after working as an entertainment lawyer and executive with Universal Music Canada. He is married to Margo Timmins, lead singer of Cowboy Junkies.
He said the response has been “crazy” since the chamber went back to conducting in-person events, such as networking sessions.
“People were excited. It was exploding out of their head. They were so happy to be meeting people,” he said.
The awards honour excellence in business in several different categories and have been a Forest City tradition since 1984. This year’s crop of finalists includes Anderson Craft Ales, Grace Restaurant and General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada.
Asked what can be said about this year’s finalists as a group, Henderson said, “I think that would be hard to say. I think, what I’m looking at, I think it does represent a very broad cross-section of London’s business community.” To be a winner, he says, a company must be exceptional within its own particular niche.
Part of Henderson’s mandate is to look at the chamber’s operations through the lens of equity, diversity and inclusion.
“We will weave that into who we are. That means also having a look at everything,” he said. As a consequence, some of the award categories may change by next year. For example, he said it’s possible the corporate social responsibility category could be “amplified” in the future in some way.
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If you go
What: Business achievement awards, sponsored by the London Chamber of Commerce
When: Sept. 22, 6 p.m.
Where: RBC Place, 300 York St.
For tickets: Visit londonchamber.com
2021 Business Achievement Award finalists by category
Agribusiness: Sollio Agriculture, Whitecrest Mushrooms
Business of the Year – Large: Alimentiv Inc., Callon Dietz Inc., LBMX Inc., Selectpath Benefits and Financial Inc.
Business of the Year – Medium: Anderson Craft Ales, Carmina de Young Fashion Design Inc., Donaldson Heating and Air Conditioning, Waste Solutions Canada
Business of the Year – Small: Grace Restaurant, London Orca Intelligence Inc., the Branding Firm, Whole Grain Hearth
Corporate Social Responsibility: Old Oak Properties, Libro Credit Union
Environmental Leadership: Convertus, Sifton Properties Ltd.
Excellence in Human Resources: Mobials Inc., Tribe Medical Group Inc.
Innovation: Oci Vacuum Microengineering Inc., PSD Citywide Inc.
Manufacturer: Equals Brewing Co., General Dynamics Land Systems – Canada
Corporate Icon: Info-Tech Research Group
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