It was a jovial mood at the Rotary Centre for Youth during the 14th annual Outstanding Business Achievement awards hosted by Bracebridge Chamber of Commerce last week.

Local businesses were recognized for great achievements for their professional service and contribution to the community with such awards as the Best Environmentally Sensitive Marketing Program, Outstanding Customer Service and Outstanding Contribution to Bracebridge awards. There were eight categories in total.

The award winners were chosen from a process that included nominations and voting by the 393 members.

With more than 100 people attending the event, there wasn’t an empty seat at the centre for MC David Powley, director of the Bracebridge Chamber of Commerce.

The event featured guest speaker Christopher Grossman, president of the Haliburton Broadcasting Group that operates the Moose radio stations. He kept the mood light, interjecting his speech describing how he started his business and how to stay current in contemporary business with jokes presented by radio personalities.

This year’s awards included three new categories, replacing three retail awards from the previous year. They were Best Environmentally Sensitive Marketing Program, as accepted by Gagnon’s Your Independent Grocer community development and sponsorship co-ordinator Colleen Swider, Best Niche or Specialty Business award won by Back Country Paintball owners Tony and Kim Armstrong, and Outstanding Customer Service award by Sue Rueger and Sue Wilson of SAS Home and Gifts.

Chamber president Andy Brooks felt the change reflects the community better.

“Some of the old categories just didn’t fit today’s needs. The environmental one is a better award to provide and maybe it will encourage more participation in the future,” he said. He adds this recognition is important for the future of other such initiatives.

Brooks is in his third year of his final term at the helm of the chamber.

Owner of Mark’s Work Wearhouse, Don Lewis and his son Adam accepted the Established Business of the Year award. Eligible businesses must have operated for more than three years. The Lewis’ have been a chamber member since 1997.

The winner of the New Business of the Year award went to Wabora Fusion Japanese Steakhouse. Owner Min Soo Kim accepted the award.

Owner of Hot Tub Warehouse Donna Loshaw won the Chamber Female Business Person of the Year.

“Never been nominated, never won . . . I think it is awesome. It’s a great town to work in and easy to do business,” she said.

With husband Graham, she has owned and operated the 13-year-old business for four years.

“It really is quite an honour having been nominated let alone win.”

Doug Fitzmaurice, owner of the Fitzmaurice Brothers Carpentry, was pleasantly surprised by his first award win in the Chamber Male Business Person of the Year award.

“I’m honoured to have been selected. We’ve worked pretty hard to try and create a good business in Muskoka. We haven’t got too many complaints, so hopefully that means that we are doing what we want to be doing,” he said “I feel proud I was even selected.”

Started in 1940, the family-run company built cottages on the north shore of Lake Muskoka.

Practically a celebrity, local resident Jerry Fox was born and raised in Bracebridge and although he isn’t new to accepting awards — two weeks ago he won an Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship for lifetime achievement as awarded by the Town of Bracebridge — he appreciates the recognition by the community for voting him as the winner of the Outstanding Contribution to Bracebridge award.

“I think it is a great town. I went to school here and this has been my home and it’ll probably be until the day I die,” he said. “I thought it was great to be recognized by the community . . . I never joined any of these organizations to be recognized. You get involved and do the best you can and you enjoy doing them or you wouldn’t do it. That’s what it comes down to. If it came down to watching television all the time or doing nothing, I would go bonkers.”

He was on Bracebridge town council for nine years and volunteered with the Bracebridge fire department for 43 years, 10 years as the fire chief.  

Currently, he is a Bracebridge fall fair director and a Bracebridge Agricultural Society member.

Brooks was “very pleased” with the result, too.

“Jerry has given a lot to the community over the years,” he said. “After his retirement from council it was an opportune time for him to win and lucky enough he did.”

The high calibre of nominations and award recipients this year showed Bracebridge is heading in the right direction Brooks said.

“I think business is alive and well. There are hiccups on the way. On a positive note, there is a lot that is going on that’s really good. It augurs well for future business,” he said.

Brooks, an owner of Leon’s Furniture in Bracebridge and Huntsville cites the inclusion of various developments such as Wal-Mart to Bracebridge as a move forward toward making the area “a regional shopping area’.

“Both towns (Huntsville and Bracebridge) have some pretty aggressive plans — development is underway there. I feel really positive about it, I think it’s a place where more and more people will want to live here. And with those people coming in, they’re going to need all that Huntsville and Bracebridge has to offer and more. There is lots of opportunity for the right idea and the right niche.”