The Italian Hall in Port Alberni was packed on April 20 with people celebrating business in the Alberni Valley at the 2018 Community Excellence Awards. If the sold-out attendance is any indication, business is in very good hands.
The annual excellence awards cover every size business as well as the Valley’s youth, people’s volunteerism, their achievements, their vision and their entrepreneurial spirit. The ceremony is a good looking glass revealing the direction the community’s business community is taking.
(May we also point out that this event was paid for by members of the chamber of commerce, not taxpayers, and that one doesn’t have to be a chamber member to be chosen as a winner.)
The Alberni Valley’s small business efforts and motivation have been noted on a provincial and national scale. Guest speaker Val Litwin, president of the B.C. Chambers of Commerce, lauded business owners for the diversification he sees in the Alberni Valley, calling their efforts ‘ambitious’.
Litwin noted, rightly, that the Valley is at a tipping point when it comes to business. Now all we need to do is find the weight that will put us on the success side of the scale.
Courtenay-Alberni MP Gord Johns said the Alberni Valley has more opportunity than many areas of his riding. Mid Island-Pacific Rim MLA Scott Fraser said people should take note of the businesspeople gathered at the event, because they are the positive change-makers.
The community excellence awards aren’t simply a popularity contest among an elite few. As one person posted on a Facebook post we made from the event, there were more than 100 businesses represented that employ thousands of people from the Alberni Valley.
Bill Collette nailed it when he said the community excellence awards are about acknowledging great performance and ‘celebrating this great community.’
It is vital that we celebrate our successes if we are to have more of them.
— Alberni Valley News