SUMMERSIDE – Oct. 22, 2014 – Wishing to continue to honor francophone business people, businesses and co-ops that have distinguished themselves by the great quality of their products and services and by the great contributions they make to the local and provincial economy, the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI (CCAFLIPE) has just launched its annual entrepreneurial awards contest.
During the Entrepreneurs’ and Co-operators’ Luncheon in Summerside, Oct. 22, Chamber spokesperson Jeanette Arsenault, launched an invitation to the public to submit nominations for the five awards that will be handed out during the 2015 Entrepreneurs’ Gala next March. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 28, 2014.
For this current competition, the Chamber is returning to its regular categories, after having used the Lauriers de la PME national competition categories this past spring. For the current contest, the categories and specific criteria will be:
Enterprising Youth of the Year Award: The nominated person must be aged 25 years or younger, as of March 14, 2015, and must have shown impressive entrepreneurial and/or community involvement, especially during the past year;
Co-op of the Year Award: The nominated co-operative must have stood out for its accomplishments and successes, including its impact on the community, especially during the past year;
Business Woman of the Year Award: The nominated person must be a business woman or female entrepreneur who has at least five years of experience and who deserves recognition for outstanding accomplishments and business spirit, especially over the past year;
Distinguished Entrepreneur Award: The nominated person must have at least 25 years of entrepreneurial experience since this award aims to honor an entrepreneur who has distinguished himself/herself for efforts and accomplishments throughout his/her career; it’s essentially a lifetime achievement award. The nominated person can be retired or still working;
President’s Award of Excellence: The nominated business must have stood out by showing excellence, especially over the past year, in one or more of the following categories: innovation, quality of service, job creation, greening effort and community impact.
All nominees must also adhere to the following general criteria:
- The nominated persons, businesses or co-ops must be or be willing to become members of the Acadian Chamber of Commerce;
- At least one of the owners, co-owners or managers of the business or co-op must be able to speak in French;
- The nominated person, business or co-op must not have won an award in that particular category for the past three years at the Chamber’s Gala.
It should be noted that the selection committee reserves the right to refuse submissions that are incomplete or that don’t meet the required criteria. It can also decided not to present one or more of the prizes if no suitable candidates are presented.
« If a person or businesses is qualified, you can however nominate him or it in more than one category. Then the jury will decided if it retains these submissions or not, » noted the president. « You also have the right to nominate your own business or another deserving business. »
She said nominees must absolutely review and approve all submissions to ensure that the information provided is accurate. The nomination form has been revamped to ensure that the same type of specific information is provided for all the finalists. The focus of course is all on the economic and community contributions and accomplishments of the nominees.
The nomination form (in French only) can be downloaded from the web site www.rdeeipe.net, under the « Concours » menu heading. When the form is filled out and approved, it must be sent to the Chamber no later than Nov. 28, 2014, either by email to raymond@rdeeipe.org or by mail at Jury de sélection, RDÉE PEI Inc., 48 Mill Road, P.O. Box 7, Wellington, PEI, C0B 2E0. Any question about the contest may be addressed to contest coordinator Raymond J. Arsenault at 902-854-3439, Ext. 231.
The luncheon was organized as part of both the Summerside Pumpkin Festival and Co-op and Small Business Weeks.
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CUTLINE: Jeannette Arsenault, centre, spokesperson for the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce, officially launched the chamber’s annual entrepreneurial awards competition Wednesday during the Entrepreneurs’ and Co-operators’ Luncheon in Summerside. Among the attendees hearing details of the contest were representatives of former award winners: Pierre Gallant from HMS Office Supplies and Lorraine Gallant from the Abram’s Village Handcraft Co-op.
For more information:
Raymond J. Arsenault
Coordinator
Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI
C0B 2E0
(902) 854-3439, ext. 231
raymond@rdeeipe.org