The Orillia District Chamber of Commerce (ODCC) celebrated local businesses and the people who help them thrive on Thursday night.
The ODCC held its annual Business Achievement Awards in Casino Rama’s Silver Nightingale Ballroom, where 14 awards were handed out on a night that celebrated getting ‘back to business' after two long years of COVID-19 restrictions.
ODCC president Raquel Ness said this year, chamber members were allowed to vote on who they feel is deserving of recognition.
“In the past, we had a committee that would vote on the awards,” she said. “Now we’ve opened it up to a survey style.”
Ness says it’s difficult to determine a winner for each award as there are plenty of deserving businesses in the community.
“We are living in a very progressive community,” she said. “A lot of businesses have gone above and beyond as well as rising from the ashes of the pandemic."
This year, the ODCC honoured the late Chris Bellchambers by renaming the prestigious Hats Off Award after the long-time Orillia volunteer.
“It’s an award for anyone who goes above and beyond,” Ness explained. “We renamed it the Chris Bellchambers Award because Chris was an icon for going above and beyond.”
This year there were three Chris Bellchambers Award recipients. The first was a long-time member of the city's economic development department, Dan Landry.
“I did have the opportunity to know and work with Chris on the Winter Carnival committee for several years,” Landry said. “He worked hard, and his heart was always in the right place. So, if this award is about those qualities then I certainly think it’s a good name.”
Landry thanked the Orillia business community for giving him an opportunity to be their “voice at the table” for 12 years.
“To receive an award and to be appreciated by the business community is probably the highest honour a developer could ever achieve,” he said. “This means a ton to me, and I appreciate it.”
The second Chris Bellchambers award of the night was awarded to the Rotary Club of Orillia. During the pandemic, club member Paula Hill-Coulson started an initiative called Take-Out Tuesday to help support local restaurants.
“There are restaurants who have said if it wasn’t for that, they would have given up,” says club President Allan Lafontaine. “It was an emotional thing to keep them going and it brought them revenue in hard times.”
Lafontaine says the club's goal is to support the community year in and year out, adding it’s "nice to be recognized."
The final Chris Bellchambers award was presented to Roy Micks, Leanne Smith, and Donna Telford of RE/MAX real estate Orillia. They stepped up to provide $5,000 to Couchiching Golf & Country Club which needed to purchase a snow fence and associated accessories for their popular toboggan hill.
“We are overwhelmed, and this means a lot to us,” Smith said. “We weren’t looking for recognition, we just wanted to do something for the kids.”
Micks says the toboggan hill has been used by generations of Orillia families and it was important to RE/MAX to keep the hill open for generations to come.
“It’s a great spot for kids,” he said. “We’ve all used that hill with our families at one point or another.”
Here is a full list of award winners and nominees:
Award for Innovation: Theo’s Eatery
Runner up: Trombly’s Tackle Box
Regional Economic Development Award: Vetta Nordic Spa
Runner up: Lake Simcoe Regional Airport
Company Expansion Award: Canadian Tire
Runner up: MPC
Leadership in Training Award: The Common Stove
Site Enhancement Award: McLean & Dickey
Runner up: Quayle’s Brewery and Tammie’s Place
Marketing and Promotion Award: Pocket Skate & Vintage
Runner up: The Common Stove
New Business of the Year Award: Picnic
Runner up: Rama Cannabis
Customer Service Award: Men in Kilts
Runner up: Ever After Bridal
Milestone Award (longevity): Sunshine Super Wash
Runner up: Orillia’s Floor Fashion Carpet One
Sustainability (Green) Award: Green Storage
Runner up: McLean and Dickey
Strengthening our Community Award: Cordery Electric
Runner up: Quayle’s Brewery
Rebuilding Orillia Award: Matchedash Lofts
Runner up: Hill’s Diner
Overcoming Adversity: Theo’s Eatery
Chris Bellchambers Award: Roy Micks, Leanne Smith, and Donna Telford of RE/MAX Orillia, Dan Landry, Rotary Club of Orillia
