The Altona and District Chamber of Commerce is just a month away from the return of its annual awards gala. It’s been four years since the last event, and the Chamber board and staff are really looking forward to an evening focused on recognizing excellence in the business community. 

"We're very excited to announce the awards gala will be back in Altona, and we're really excited to celebrate our local businesses," said board member Stephanie Harris. 

There will be four award categories this year.

"There's going to be two Business Excellence Awards, that we're presenting to two different businesses; one with ten employees or less, and one with eleven employees more," she explained.  "We're also going to have the Entrepreneur of the Year award which we present to celebrate an entrepreneur that has been in business for at least three years, and then we've got the non for profit of the year award which is being presented to a nonprofit organization fulfilling its mission in the community and making a contribution to it, as well."

It's exciting to have the gala back in town, happening at the Rhineland Pioneer Centre, especially from the context of the small business community coming out of some very difficult years during the pandemic.

"It has been a bit of a difficult past three years that our businesses have faced, so I think it's really important to celebrate them, and to come together as a community as a whole celebrate them, their endurance and their strength throughout that difficult time."

You can reserve your tickets now on the Chamber's website, by stopping by the office, now on Centre avenue, or by calling 204-324-9549. April 6th is the deadline to reserve tickets.

The evening will include the awards, but also comedian Andrew Packer, one of the top comedians in the country.

"I'm just looking forward to celebrating, getting everybody together, socializing, networking and coming together as a community as a whole," said Harris when reflecting on what she's most looking forward to the night of the Gala.

Listen to CFAM Radio 950 Morning Show Co-Host Chris Sumner's conversation with Stephanie Harris, below.