After receiving more than 100 nominations for the Clovie awards, the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce has narrowed the field down 37 nominees.
“We pick the top three (nominees) for each of the (12) categories,” said Scott Wheatley, the Chamber’s executive director. “Our judging committee had a difficult time selecting the finalists due to the high calibre of the submissions.”
Next up Wheatley will send the nominee names out to this year’s three judges: Ursula Maxwell-Lewis, Marlyn Graziano, and Andrew Gluck. They will then decide on the winner for each category.
The Clovies Awards ceremony is set for April 23 at Northview Golf & Country Club. Wheatley hopes the awards gala will go ahead as planned.
“It really depends on what happens over the next couple weeks,” he said, regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.
If the Clovies can’t go ahead, Wheatley said he’ll look at postponing them until a later date, but added they won’t be cancelled. He said the Chamber has reached out to Northview to see what their policy is regarding postponement.
“We’re a small Chamber and this is our biggest fundraising effort of the year. So we need this to go ahead.”
Wheatley said the Clovies committee will meet at a later date to decide whether or not to postpone the annual awards night.
Money raised through the Clovies helps fund the Chamber’s programs, business services, and the Cloverdale Rodeo Youth Initiative Foundation.
The Clovies are set for the same week Surrey’s annual Vaisakhi parade was scheduled to take place. The 500,000-person strong parade — the biggest Vaisakhi parade in the world — was cancelled March 12 by organizers.
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Wheatley said more than 200 business and community leaders attend the Clovies each year. Along with the awarding of the shiny-green Clovie trophies, the night also features “a live and silent auction, on-site entertainment, and a gourmet dinner.” This year the emcee is Steve Darling.
Wheatley stressed that nothing has been postponed yet and that tickets are still available. He also said if the Clovies are postponed, all tickets will still be honoured when the awards gala finally goes ahead.
“If anyone buys a ticket and changes their mind, we’ll refund their money,” added Wheatley. “If worse comes to worse, and we do postpone the event, everyone’s tickets will still be good” when the Clovies finally occur.
Tickets can be purchased on theclovies.com. Early bird pricing is in effect until March 23.
NOMINEES
Here are this year’s categories and nominees:
Business Excellence Large Business (20+ employees)
Hall Constructors
Honeybee Centre
JRG Group
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Business Excellence Medium Business (10-19 employees)
Harry & Sons Barber
Miracon Development Inc.
Museum of Surrey
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Business Excellence Small Business – Health and Wellness
Cloverdale Black Belt Academy
Ola Fit for Life
The Nest Family Wellness Centre
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Business Excellence Small Business – Hospitality
The Rustic Rooster
Short & Sweet Patisserie and Bakery
The Bennett Craft and Kitchen
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Business Excellence Small Business – Professional Services
Bold Fish Video Production
DFC Events Inc.
Forevery Occasion
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Business Excellence Small Business – Retail
Clothesline Consignment
Hansel Deli Cloverdale Sausage & Meats
Malary’s*
Tricia’s Gems*
*tie
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Business Excellence Small Business – Trades and Crafts
BC Roof Inspections
Cloverdale Auto Repair
Venus Dry Cleaners
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Not-for-Profit Business of the Year
Fraser Valley Heritage Railway
Museum of Surrey
United Way of Lower Mainland
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New Business of the Year
Clover Valley Beer Festival
Ola Fit for life
Sweet Avenue Bakery
—
Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Albert Kopec
Ola Alagboro
Ryan O’Shea
—
Volunteer of the Year
Al Kersey
Bruno Zappone
The Team at Snowden Animal Hospital
—
Bill Reid Memorial Business Person of the Year
Rob Patterson
Shannon Claypool
Yvonne Hogenes
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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