Awards and advice were handed out Wednesday night at the Morden District Chamber of Commerce (MDCC) awards gala in the Access Events Centre Community Hall in Morden.

Morden Physiotherapy and Giant Tiger won the Business of the Year awards--under seven employees and over seven employees respectively. The owners all expressed surprise at being selected.

"[I] literally had not thought about being the recipient of that award," shared Giant Tiger owner, James Steedsman.

"I know [the other nominees], and I know the kind of businesses that they run. I was fully expecting that the award would go to them."

Steedsman admits he was in complete shock when his business was announced, but appreciates that the hard work of himself and his staff is being recognized.

"You don't do everything yourself," he said, "[the staff are] 99 per cent of the reason why we got this award. It validates the hard work that they're putting in."

The owners of Morden Physiotherapy, Tim Shantz and Jared Hildebrand, mirrored Steedsman's response, saying that the other nominees were fully deserving of the award.

"We were going up against two other great businesses," said Shantz, explaining that in a small community, businesses rely on each other.

"It's a pretty tight-knit community," he added.

Before the awards were announced, the audience heard Brian Sharfstein, CEO and President of Canadian Footwear, speak on his journey in business, the successes and failures he lived through.

Sharfstein grew up in Winnipeg and started working for his family when he was 13. When he was 17, he opened his first business in Winnipeg's Exchange District. Afterward, he got into real estate with his wife and did quite well following a testing first year.

Co-owners of Morden Physiotherapy, Tim Shantz (left) and Jared Hildebrand (right) received the business of the award for businesses with under seven employees

Eventually he left real estate and began learning about orthotics and pedorthic services. He went to university in the United States and fell in love with the foot-care profession, however he didn't have a smooth ride to success. He attempted to challenge the pedorthic program in Canada, but failed the exam.

Sharfstein was rocked. However, after building up his knowledge with several university courses and a week of exam-writing practice with his daughter, he tried again and passed.

The main point Sharfstein shared with the audience was to care how you're perceived, "perception is everything," he said and how you're seen by people matters, so dress for success.

The MDCC thought the evening was excellent and fun.

"I got lots of positive comments," said Chad Sheldon, chair of the MDCC adding the important aspect of the night was the winners.

Sheldon explained that all the nominees are vetted to determine which most deserves the award, but the process isn't easy.

"it's a tough process," he said. "There's certain criteria that they go through and it's super tough [because there are so many great businesses and they're all so supportive of the community and give back to the community. All of the key things you would want in a good, strong business, they all had."

Previously announced winners, Marni Lu-Hu Designs and the Corn and Apple Festival, also received their awards during the gala. Marni Lu-Hu for entrepreneur of the year and Morden Corn and Apple Festival for non-profit of the year.

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