Sharon Mohagen of Battlefords United Way was among several that accepted hardware at the 27th Annual BBEX Awards Thursday. (Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW)

By Josh Ryan

Business awards

Theatre format a success for BBEX Awards

Nov 13, 2020 | 11:54 AM

It may not have had the social interaction of years past, but the 27^th Annual Battlefords Business Excellence Awards (BBEX) were a unique experience for all those involved.

Put on by the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce and hosted at the Capitol Annex, this year’s event featured a live broadcast from the theatre lobby screened into four auditoriums. This followed dinner reservations being held at multiple local restaurants. Chamber COO Linda Machniak said they were extremely pleased with the results of the floor plan to keep people socially distanced and received positive feedback from the audience.

“It was a very unique idea and we’re so grateful for all the member restaurants that hosted people for dinner,” Machniak said. “And the theatre did so much to make sure that it was prepped for people and we were able to keep them under 30 per cent for the seating capacity.”

“The fact that we were filming in the lobby and everyone could see what was going on and watch the videos was a very cool experience.”

Seven awards and a scholarship were handed out, as the BBEX Awards highlighted local businesses, business owners and employees for their community support during a particularly trying time. Two of the awards handed out were the Employee and Business Owner selections of the Heather Guthrie Customer Service Star Award. Guthrie, a longtime member of the Chamber of Commerce, recently stepped away to care for her grandson. Machniak said it’s appropriate to have her name as part of the ongoing tradition, particularly with customer service.

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“It was really an honour for us to present those two awards last night,” Machniak said.

Li-Lhey Taylor and Chyrs Berrinuevo of Cafe 4 U, took home the award business owner(s) section of the Heather Guthrie Customer Service Star Award. Chad Gartner, vice president of Consumer Advisors at Innovation Credit Union was the winner of the employee section. He said COVID-19 provided a number of different challenges for Innovation Credit Union, with their main focus being access to funds, loan payments and more for residents during the pandemic.

“The biggest part of it was having people be able to have access to their cash,” Gartner said. “Members were very understanding and we were happy to provide that service to them.”

Battlefords Discovery Co-op was the winner of the everyday heroes category. The Stan Wychopen BBEX Scholarship (which was increased to $2,000 this year) went to Courtney Roberts of North West College.

Two of the awards (Community Support and Business Resilience) had a business section and a non-profit section. In Business Resilience, Battlefords Interval House won for the non-profits, with Blend Restaurant and Bar taking home the other trophy. Blend owner Robin Petersen said he was honoured to receive the award and blessed to live in this business community.

“Everybody helps each other,” Petersen said. “That’s our cornerstone, that’s what we do.”

Comfort Inn and Suites won the business section of the community support category, following an initiative taken to provide rooms for health care workers in the spring. Battlefords United Way was the non-profit winner.

“It was just something to give back to the community,” Darin Menegre, sales and business relationship manager for Comfort Inn and Suites, said.

“It’s great to be able to help our community out and it’s great being recognized for that,” Battlefords United Way Executive Director Sharon Mohagen said.

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports