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(Updated.
19/11/09)
Local businesses fêted at Peoples Choice Awards
By Fred Sherwin
Orléans Online
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 Gerry
Dust (right) accepts the Chamber Champion Award from Orléans Chamber of
Commerce president Marc Thibault at the People's Choice Business Awards
on Wednesday. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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The Orléans
business community came together at the Shenkman Arts Centre on on Wednesday
night to honour this year’s recipients of the Orléans Chamber of Commerce
People’s Choice Business Awards.
Topping the list
of this year’s recipients was Eric St. Cyr from Eric’s Academy
of Music who was named Business Person of the Year after picking up the
award for Young Business Person of the Year at the 2008 People’s Choice
Awards. This year’s award for Young Business Person of the Year went
to Leslie Scott, community relations coordinator at Boston Pizza.
The award for
Service Business of the Year was presented to Jason Pilon from the PilonHamilton
Real Estate Team. Cuisine et Passion won the award for Retail Business of
the Year; chiropractor Dr. Michael Mattinen received the award for Professional
of the Year; Arts Ottawa East (AOE) Arts Council was selected as Community
Support/Non-Profit Organization; L.M.N.O.P Toys and Games received the award
for New Business of the Year; and Rangoli Indian Cuisine and Sweets was
the peoples’ selection for Restaurant of the Year.
Perennial winner
Cedar Valley Restaurant received their fifth Peoples Choice Business Award,
this time in the category of Family Business of the Year.
It’s the second time that the Nasr family has won the award. They’ve
also been named Restaurant of the Year twice and received the award for
New Business of the Year in 2003.
Marcelle Nasr
accepted the award with her daughter Jessica and her son George. Her husband
Fadi was back minding the restaurant.
“We are
very proud to receive this award. It means a lot to our family,” said
Marcelle. “We have very loyal customers and we are grateful for their
support. Without them there would be no Cedar Valley Restaurant.”
This year’s
award for Corporate Citizen of the Year went to The Mortgage Centre on St.
Joseph Blvd. Owner Marie-France Lavigne was both shocked and honoured to
receive the award.
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Mortgage
Centre owner Marie-France Lavigne (centre) accepts the Corporate Citizen
of the Year Award from Transcontinental Weeklies general manager Michael
Curran at the People's Choice Business Awards. Fred Sherwin/Photo
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“It’s
an honour to be nominated in any category, but its more of honour to be
selected in this one,” said Lavigne who does a great deal of work with
the Orléans-Cumberland Resource Centre.
Several years
ago she look over as chair of the Breast Cancer Awareness Golf Tournament
and turned it into one of the most successful golf tournaments in the region,
raising between $30,000 and $40,000 a year.
“It’s
so important to give back to the community. And it doesn’t have to
be just money. A lot of the time it’s just as important to donate your
time and energy to help make a project successful.”
Someone who knows
all about giving back to his community is Gerry Dust from Dust Evans Lawyers
Avocats.
Dust is a past
president of the former Cumberland Chamber of Commerce and is a founding
member of the Orleans Chamber of Commerce.
Over the years
he’s been involved in a myriad of local initiatives and causes and
most recently agreed to help out the fundraising effort for the Orléans
YMCA-YWCA as chair of the organization’s Strengthening the Heart of
Our Community fundraising campaign.
During the People’s
Choice Business Awards, Dust received a special Chamber Champion Award for
all his efforts both past and present.
“I’m
honoured. I’m flattered. This is a complete surprise. One of the basic
tenants I’ve tried to live by is to always give back to the community
that has given so much to me. This is just the icing on the cake,”
said in accepting the award.
The Peoples Choice
Business Awards were started in 2001 to give local residents a chance to
select their favourite businesses in a variety of categories. This year
a total of 209 businesses were nominated and online voting was up more than
40 per cent.
The event was
emceed by CJOH news anchor Kimothy Walker and Carolle Seguin from the Cumberland
Heritage Village Museum. Entertainment was provided by Kiwanis Idol winner
Angela Rozman and Stellae Borealis.
(This story
was made possible thanks to the generous support of our local
business partners.)
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