Chamber celebrates the best in business

WESTLOCK – The community’s best businesses and brightest staff were celebrated April 15 at the second-annual Westlock and District Chamber of Commerce Business and Community Awards Gala.

The Westlock and District Community Hall was packed for the event, which saw awards handed out in 11 categories ranging from businesses of the year (three categories based on the number of staff), to the best new business, customer service and innovation. Chamber president Graeme Harrington couldn’t have been happier as they received 206 nominations, well above the 150 they got for the inaugural event.

Nominations opened in March and were open to all businesses, whether they were chamber members or not, and once closed, a separate, impartial panel went through the list and selected the winners based on a points system.

“We were thrilled and beyond grateful for all of the support that we received from all of the businesses and individuals who were nominated for the awards. They’re who make the community and the businesses within Westlock work. We couldn’t be happier for the turnout and the number of nominations that we received,” said Harrington.

During the night, Town of Westlock mayor Ralph Leriger along with Westlock County deputy reeve Ray Marquette gave kudos to all who were nominated, with Marquette adding the entire business community deserved a round of applause “for the well-deserved, all-important contributions you’ve made to the community.”

“Congratulations to everyone here and all the nominees and all the businesses, and especially the organizers with the chamber,” said Leriger. “This is just another fantastic event. I’m just so proud of our business community here in the town. Our businesses are innovative, hard working, and leaders within the region. The strength and dedication of our businesses are some of the reasons why we’re recognizing the leaders through their resiliency and prosperity. You have an important voice and a role here, and I want everyone to remember that.”

Honouring Dwight Brown

The night also saw Brown’s Chrysler namesake Dwight Brown, who passed away May 3, 2022, at the age of 65, lauded as his family accepted the chamber’s ‘pioneer award’ on his behalf — at the 2022 event, Brown’s mentor and friend Albert Miller, who passed away in March 2020, posthumously received the honour.

Brown’s daughter, Brittny Ketsa, spoke on behalf of the family saying, “we have always been so proud of him and the contributions that he made” and noted that her grandparents, Doug and Vera Brown, have been volunteering for over 65 years in the community. As well as being a leader in the business community, Brown was a big volunteer and was part of the original chamber of commerce, a member of the Westlock Rotary Club for 32 years and was twice president and also president of the board for the Westlock and District Community Hall.

“Dad was, for lack of a better word, a big community supporter,” Ketsa said. “Not only was he a trailblazer, but he was always known for being a present weight on the boards he sat on, always speaking his mind, whether you liked it or not. He stood up for what he believed was the right course of action and fought for the things he felt would benefit and worked hard to make the changes happen.

“Being a leader also means being an enthusiastic supporter.”

Community ambassador

Although 2023 community ambassador winner Megan Balascak wasn’t able to attend, chamber secretary Brandi Wolff, who won the award last year, relayed comments from Balascak, who wrote that, “One thing I can say of all these nominees and myself is that you don’t fall into recognition like this by accident” as there are “many hours of love and labour that go into each of our passions and projects.”

The ambassador award is given to an individual who has shown strength in leadership by organizing an event or completing a significant project in the past year that enhances the region’s business community.

Balascak, who is grateful for the support she’s received from her husband, family and friends, said that when she moved to Westlock, she made a conscious decision to invest her “time and effort” into the community and it was Tammy Round who got her involved in the Rotary Club almost 10 years ago which is where she found her stride. Since, she became involved with the Rotary youth group doing local and international service work and has given countless unpaid hours to the community via the club on the Rotary Trail through the Mother’s Day Run and the inaugural Home Time Hockey Tournament.

Sub: Looking forward

Harrington has previously called the gala, which was initially slated for 2020, but COVID-19 shelved those plans until last spring, the organization’s “flagship” event and looks forward to it being even bigger and better in 2024.

“It’s gratifying to see it improve year over year. Last year was a great start for us, and then to see more nominations and more buy-in from the community is just tremendous,” he continued. “We got what I think was a great representation of this community and the diversity of the individuals and businesses we have. We’re super happy for sure.”