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Celebrating strength, resilience and innovativity of small business

Small Business Week is underway
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Kathy Somerville is the manager of the Quesnel and District Chamber of Commerce which has been the voice of business in Quesnel since 1910. (Rebecca Dyok photo — Quesnel Observer)

Small Business Week is an opportunity to showcase the incredible determination, hard work and adaptability of B.C.’s small businesses, according to Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery and Innovation.

Manager of Quesnel and District Chamber of Commerce, Kathy Somerville agrees.

“I have to commend our businesses in Quesnel because with everything that has been thrown at them, I think they’ve come out on top,” Somerville said. “They’ve done very, very well.”

Kahlon described the past few years as anything but normal, with small businesses having felt the impact as they navigate the effects of the pandemic, extreme weather, global labour shortages and economic uncertainty.

“Even with these challenges, many businesses are thriving,” Kahlon said in a statement.

Small Business Week runs in B.C. from Sunday, Oct. 16 to Saturday, Oct. 22.

On Oct. 22 at the Quesnel and District Seniors’ Centre, the 2022 Business Excellence Awards will be held celebrating 99 nominees and providing awards to business person of the year, business of the year (over 10 and under 10 employees) and new business of the year. There will also be awards for customer service, home-based business, community inclusion, excellence in tourism, social leadership, environmental and agricultural excellence, and greatest improvement.

Somerville called this year’s amount of nominees beyond impressive.

“Before the pandemic, we had 64 nominations, and I carried on doing the business excellence awards throughout the pandemic in a different manner, but we’ve never done anything quite like this,” Somerville said.

“I think our community realizes the backbone of communities is our businesses,” she added. “Our small businesses are huge — they give back to our communities, they supply jobs, it is what our communities need, so I think the community recognizes that and took the time to nominate these people.”

Roughly one-in-10 British Columbians are small business owners or entrepreneurs of some kind.

At the 2022 Business Excellence Awards, Somerville said they would also be celebrating the Quesnel and District Chamber of Commerce’s 110th anniversary, which they missed out on due to COVID-19.

The Quesnel and District Chamber of Commerce has been the voice of business in Quesnel since 1910.

For more information about Small Business Week, visit https://www.bdc.ca/en/small-business-week/.

Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: rebecca.dyok@quesnelobserver.com



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