Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce presented the 16th annual Business Excellence Awards on Saturday night at the Summit Theatre at Cascades Casino.
There were a large number of nominations this year in the 10 award categories. After the nominations were screened by a committee of past presidents, a total of 39 finalists received plaques from chamber president Angie Quaale.
The semi-formal event featured a Parisian theme, with Times columnist Jim McGregor the emcee for the evening. Awards were presented by representatives of the sponsors.
Marco Paolella, owner of Marcon Construction, was named winner of the George Preston Business Person of the Year award. The award was named after the late former mayor and chamber activist, who was a strong advocate of business people playing an active role in the community. He told the crowd that Langley has been an excellent place for him to live and grow his business.
Paolella has been in business for 27 years and his company has built over 8,000 homes and numerous commercial projects, including the Thunderbird Village shopping centre. It is currently building the new IGA store in Fort Langley. It built the first high-rise in Canada to achieve LEED certification.
“Marcon has dedication to superior construction, uncompromising quality and responsible customer service,” the biography in the chamber program reads.
Other nominees for the award this year were John Tilstra of Centra Windows; Sonya Perkins of Forever Yours Lingerie and Stan Duckworth of Fort Camping.
Large business of the year award went to Advanced Integration Technology. The award was accepted by Lazo Turanjanin and Steven Taylor-Lewis. The Aldergrove-based company is a global provider of turnkey aerospace tooling and factory automation. It designs, fabricate, installs and maintains fully integrated plant floor systems. In 2011 and 2012, the company received Boeing Gold Performance Excellence Awards for “superior performance” and “consistent gold composite performance.”
Other nominees in the category were Britco; Marcon Construction and Otter Co-op.
The medium business of the year award went to All Seasons Mushrooms, owned by Frank Moscone. It is a certified organic company and has become one of the most prominent mushroom production and marketing companies on the west coast. It has production and distribution plants in B.C. and Alberta.
Other nominees in the category were Dead Frog Brewery; Milsean Shoppe and The Driving Force Inc.
Small business of the year went to McBurney Junction Furniture and Interiors, owned by Karla Barton and Nikki Martine. It started in 2000 as a quaint country store and has grown to a two-storey lifestyle store focusing on furniture, home decor, interior decorating, face frame cabinetry and two in-store jewelry boutiques.
Other nominees in the category were Brookswood Florist; MacDonald Blueberry Farm and Valley Evergreen Pharmacy.
Entrepreneur of the year award went to Melanie and Craig McDougall, Frosting Cupcakery Ltd. Their business is a destination for specialty cupcakes and cakes, with more than 50 flavours. The company is open for coffee and cake and offers cupcakes to go.
Other nominees in the category were Adrian and Shannon Beaty of Seasonal 56 and Mike Garcia and Rob Gjertsen of SilverPoint Systems.
Darvonda Nurseries won the environmental leadership award. Other nominees were CKF Inc.; Executive Mat Services and Recyc-Mattresses.
The service excellence award went to George Wiens and Kaitlyn Johnson, Crystal Vision and Hearing Centre. They brought many of their staff to the event and had them all come on stage to accept the award, saying that their business is successful because of their team.
Other nominees were Langley Bottle Depot; On Line Collision and The Eco Floor Store.
Envision Financial won the Community impact award for-profit businesses.
Other nominees were Canadian Tire and Hino Central.
Community impact to a non-profit with a budget over $500,000 went to the Gateway of Hope, operated by The Salvation Army. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Langley won the community impact award for a non-profit with a budget under $500,000.
Other non-profits nominated for the award were Langley Care Society; Langley Community Farmers Market; Langley Community Services Society; Penny Pincher Thrift Store; Stepping Stone Community Services Society and Wagner Hills Farm Society.