Steinbach Chamber honours local businesses

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This article was published 06/10/2023 (903 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Steinbach Chamber of Commerce held its annual Business Excellence Awards Sept. 28 and it was a well-attended event with a lot of gaiety.

Seven awards were handed out that evening, which was supposed to begin with City of Steinbach Mayor Earl Funk giving a state of the city address, but due to a family emergency he was not able to attend.

“We have a lot to celebrate over the 2022/23 year. I think one of the highlights for me is just seeing the engagement we’ve gotten from our membership, and it’s represented here today with the number of people that are here,” said chamber president Christine Beaumont. “The camaraderie, the passion for business, the passion for community, the passion for welcoming newcomers to our community, and making Steinbach a great place to live and to work.”

The first award of the evening was the Customer Service Award which is an award chosen by the public. This year’s winner was Brandt Pharmacy. Ironically, the owner Chirag Patel was late to the awards ceremony because he had customers in his store and couldn’t leave until they did.

“Thank you everybody for giving such an amazing welcome,” he said, adding he didn’t expect such a positive welcome. “Our priority is to focus on what the person needs and then we try to create ourselves according to that need.”

Winning the Future Leader Award, which recognizes an individual between 18 and 35 who demonstrates admirable leadership or vision within an organization or business, was Evan Schinkel.

“I’m absolutely honoured. This is quite something and I truly appreciate the support,” said Schinkel. “I must say this award is quite personally significant to me because after all what could be more important than positively influencing others. It’s truly at the core of who I am.”

The next award was the Community Involvement Award, which recognizes a business or organization that has demonstrated leadership, made significant contributions to improve the wellbeing of the community and promote community involvement as part of its culture. The winner was Ledingham GM.

“I’m very honoured to receive this (award) from the Chamber of Commerce…I also want to express my deepest gratitude to the community itself. It is an honour to work with so many compassionate individuals from our community and area who are dedicated to making our community a better place,” said Kent Ledingham.

Winning the Non-profit Excellence Award was Soup’s On Inc. The award recognizes the non-profit organization that is known for enhancing the social, cultural, environmental, and economic wellbeing of the community.

“Soup’s On success is based on three things: The team…The world’s best volunteers…lastly all of you. This community is amazing. You all need to be acknowledged for your contributions to Soup’s On we could not do this without you. On behalf of the team, thank you very much,” said founder Joy Neufeld.

Business of the Year Awards recognizes a small, medium, and large business that exemplifies excellence in most if not all the following areas: growth and stability, innovation, quality of product and service, human resource practices, community and their industry. The winner of the small business award was Cloud 9 Ranch.

“We’ve been in business 21 years and I started off in Women’s Business Network that was many, many years ago…When I started we were just four riding students and I was training horses…We work with a lot of youth with the horses. It’s just so amazing that I could do the things that I love and make it a business and I hope you guys can do it too,” said owner Tara Reimer.

Winning for medium business was mode40. Co-owner Cameron Bergen said the idea for their business was to change manufacturing.

“Our work takes us all over the world. And what’s interesting about that journey is how much we owe back to Southeast, because everything we do, the way we think, the way we work, the way we innovate, the way we fail, it all comes from this culture that exists here,” he said.

Winning the large business award was Penn-Co Construction. Dan Reimer joked that Penn-co is not responsible for Park Avenue that it was the city that was responsible. He added construction there should be done soon.

“For over 25 or so years I’ve worked out of the Blumenort office I want to thank my team…We look forward to moving to Steinbach…Thank you very much for welcoming us into Steinbach we’re looking forward to being a part of the chamber,” he said.