Acadian Chamber’s next entrepreneurial awards competition to focus on sustainable development

ABRAM-VILLAGE – Oct. 19, 2021 – The 2021-2022 edition of the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI’s Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards Competition will focus on sustainable development, announced Chamber spokesperson Pierre Gallant, as he officially launched the competition on Oct. 19 in Abram-Village.

He explained that the Chamber (also known as CCAFLIPE) has retained the same six award categories it had during its last recognition contest. However, the board members wanted to emphasize the importance of sustainability in all award categories. “This is a theme that is becoming increasingly important in the business world and especially in the context in which we live today. We want to do our part to promote this concept.”

People offering nominations will have to explain, in one of the questions on the application form, what the nominees are doing in this area. In addition, in the 2022 Business of Excellence Award category (essentially a Business-of-the-Year type award), sustainability becomes the primary criterion for eligibility.

For this competition, the CCAFLIPE has adopted the official definition used by RDÉE Canada: “Sustainable development goes beyond environmental concerns and encompasses three interconnected aspects: the environmental aspect, the social aspect and the economic aspect. Sustainable development not only ensures the health of the planet for future generations, but also promotes economic stability and the creation of vibrant, healthy communities.”

The competition, as a whole, is intended to honour entrepreneurs, business people, companies, organizations and co-operatives who have distinguished themselves by the excellence and high quality of their commercial products and/or services and for their contributions to the local and provincial economy.

CATEGORIES

People have until Nov. 19, 2021, to submit nominations in the following categories:

2022 Young Enterprising Person Award: The nominee must be 25 years of age or younger as of March 12, 2022, and have demonstrated significant entrepreneurial (or community) involvement and initiative, particularly within the last year. Groups meeting the age criteria are also eligible.

2022 Social Economy Business Award: The nominated business, cooperative or organization, which must have some type of economic vocation, must have distinguished itself by its achievements and successes, including its impact on its community, especially during the past year.

2022 Distinguished Employee Award: The nominee must be an employee of a business, co-operative or organization who has distinguished himself/herself by the quality of his/her customer service or by his/her accomplishments or leadership in the business world, especially during the last year.

2022 Immigrant Entrepreneur Award: The nominee must be an immigrant entrepreneur with at least two years of entrepreneurial experience on the Island as of March 12, 2022, and be recognized for outstanding achievement and business acumen, particularly within the past year.

2022 Business of Excellence Award: The nominated business must have stood out and demonstrated excellence, especially in the past year, in one or more of the following categories: sustainability, innovation, quality of service, job creation and community impact.

2022 Business Hall of Fame Award: The nominated person must have at least 25 years of entrepreneurial experience, as this award is intended to honor an entrepreneur or business person who has distinguished themselves by their efforts and achievements throughout their career (life-time achievement). The nominee may be working or retired. The winner will be officially inducted into the Acadian and Francophone Business Hall of Fame of PEI.

RULES

A panel of professionals will evaluate the nominations and select finalists and winners. The finalists and winners will be invited to the Chamber’s 20th Entrepreneurs’ Gala, which will be held March 12, 2022. It is there that the awards will be presented to the winning individuals, businesses or co-operatives.

The nominated individual, business, organization or co-operative must be, or be ready to become, a member of the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI. At least one of the owners, co-owners or officers of the business, organization or co-operative must be able to speak French.

The nominees cannot have won an award in the same category in the last three editions of the Gala.

The selection committee reserves the right to refuse incomplete nominations or nominations that do not meet the criteria. It may also choose not to award one or more of the prizes if the nominations for that prize(s) are not sufficient or adequate. It will normally accept a maximum of three nominations per category but may make exceptions.

The nomination form can be accessed from the web page https://bit.ly/3CiOWoh .

The completed form should then be mailed to Awards Selection Committee, RDÉE PEI Inc., 48 Mill Road, PO Box 7, Wellington, PE, C0B 2E0, or by email to raymond@rdeeipe.org by Nov. 19.

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PHOTO: Pierre Gallant, right, spokesperson for the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI, and Raymond J. Arsenault, the Chamber’s events coordinator, officially launched the 2021 Entrepreneurial Excellence Awards Competition, which runs until Nov. 19.

 

 

For more information:
Raymond J. Arsenault
Gala coordinator
Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI
raymond@rdeeipe.org