By Nate Smelle

Published Dec. 7 2017

On Saturday March 17 the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its annual Business and Community Achievement Awards ceremony at the Pinestone Resort in Haliburton.

As the only annual achievement awards handed out in the Haliburton Highlands manager of the Haliburton Highlands Chamber of Commerce Autumn Wilson says the awards gala is a special opportunity for people to come together and celebrate excellence in the community.

“The goal of the awards is to shine the light on the businesses organizations and individuals that are making our community thrive” says Wilson.

“Not only the award recipients but the nominees as well are people that contribute to the economic vitality of the Haliburton Highlands.”

This year the chamber will be adding a new award to the ceremony which celebrate the accomplishments of a young professional in the community. Wilson says the Young Professional of the Year award was created because they wanted to communicate how important young people are to the community in respect to sustainability and growth. This award recognizes an employee or business owner who is 35 years of age or younger who exhibits great potential for leadership and/or innovation. According to Wilson the winner must “live work and play” in the Haliburton Highlands and contribute to the overall well-being of the community.

“They are also someone who is an ambassador for young people in the community” she says.

“The chamber believes it is important for this age group to know they are valuable contributors to our community and we need them here in order for the Haliburton Highlands to grow and thrive.”

Wilson says anyone in the community can participate in selecting the winners because people do not need to be a member of the chamber to nominate someone nor does the business or organization need to be a member in order to be nominated. Nomination forms can be downloaded online at the chamber website and can be submitted by email fax or mail. There are also hard copies of the forms available from the chamber of commerce as well as at various businesses throughout the Haliburton Highlands. Nomination forms are also available at each of the branches of the Haliburton County Public Library in Dorset Wilberforce Haliburton and Minden. The deadline to submit nominations is Feb. 15 2018 however Wilson encourages people to submit their nominations as soon as possible.

“Every year we have people say they wanted to nominate someone but forgot” she says.

“We always tell people to nominate people as soon as they can so they can put the right information on the nomination form that will make sure the nominee moves forward to the last stage of judging.”

The cost to attend the awards gala is $75 per person and tickets go on sale in February. Wilson says ticket sales will be announced on air on Moose FM and through the chamber’s eBlasts which people can subscribe to on the chamber’s website. For more information on the Business and Community Achievement Awards or for assistance filling out the nomination form contact the chamber at 705-457-4700; or by visiting the chamber online at www.haliburtonchamber.com.