Acadian Chamber unveils new awards trophy

Tickets for 2012 Entrepreneurs’ Gala now on sale

SUMMERSIDE, PEI – Feb. 15, 2012 – With great enthusiasm and pride, the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI has unveiled the model of the new trophy it will present to each of the five winners at its “2012 Entrepreneurs’ Gala” March 17 at the Centre Belle-Alliance in Summerside.

“This beautiful trophy, just like our new gala logo, is in the form of sparkling flames, which represent heat and action. That’s very appropriate since our winners are entrepreneurs who reflect a lot of warmth in their approach to customer service, who are very action-oriented and who are extremely hot!” explains Chamber spokesperson Jeannette Arsenault with a smile.

“But seriously, as you will see during our gala banquet, the winners are all people and businesses who excel and who are exceptional in their area of expertise, and who contribute greatly to the economy and their community, always by the great quality of their services, their commitment to their community and often by the creation of jobs. They are people who have learned that it is by giving that you receive.”

Much like the flames on the trophy, Arsenault is just burning to announce the names of the contests’ winners since she is so happy with the choices that were made.  However, the selection committee has been sworn to secrecy to not reveal anything before the evening of the banquet when the crowd hears those famous words “The envelope please!” and “The winner is…”

The new trophy is composed of a blue flame and a clear flame. The name of the award will be engraved in large letters along the curved edge of the clear flame. A portion of the CCAFLIPE and gala logo, specifically the compass symbol, along with the words “Presented by the CCAFLIPE”, will be engraved in the upper portion of the blue flame. The name of the winner will be engraved near the bottom of the blue section. (Blue is one of the Chamber’s official logo colors.) The CCAFLIPE plans to continue using this same trophy model for many years to come.

Each of this year’s 14 finalists will receive a certificate of recognition. This year’s awards categories are Young Enterprising Person of the Year, Business Woman of the Year, Co-op of Year, Distinguished Entrepreneur and the President’s Award of Excellence.

“We hope that all members of the Chamber will attend this beautiful gala soirée to honour our finalists and winners who are so deserving of recognition,” adds Arsenault. “This will truly be a great evening to celebrate their accomplishments.”

HOST AND SPONSORS

For the ninth consecutive year, Raymond J. Arsenault will host the gala evening.

“Raymond, who is the communications and liaison officer for RDÉE Prince Edward Island, always brings a great enthusiasm as well as a humorous touch to the evening, so we certainly wanted to have him back at the helm again this year,” said the chamber spokesperson. This is in fact the 10th gala-banquet that he has co-ordinated.

“This year, we’ve decided to present just a brief biographical paragraph on each of the finalists rather than a fairly long speech on each of the winners, as we used to do,” she added.

The trophies will be presented to the winners jointly by the spokesperson and the major sponsors of the awards, namely the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the Province of PEI’s Rural Action Centres, Evangeline Credit Union, The Co-operators (Mike Bradley Insurance Services Ltd.) and CBDC Central PEI.

Other gala sponsors include RDÉE Prince Edward Island Inc., the French Chamber of Commerce of Canada Atlantic Network, the Royal Bank of Canada, the Baie Acadienne Development Corporation and Pro Max 2000.

TICKETS

Tickets for the gala banquet are now on sale at the Wellington Rural Action Centre (48 Mill Rd), at the RDÉE PEI office in Charlottetown (137 Queen St., Suite 204) and at the reception desk of the Centre Belle-Alliance in Summerside (5 Maris Stella Ave.)

The price for tickets is $25 plus GST for CCAFLIPE members and $30 plus GST for non-members. Tickets provide entry to a small reception, a superb banquet with a three-course meal and the gala awards ceremony.

Tickets will be on sale only until March 9.

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CUTLINE: Jeannette Arsenault, spokesperson for the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI, and Raymond J. Arsenault, host-coordinator of the 2012 Entrepreneurs’ Gala, examine the new trophy, in the form of flames, that will be presented to each award winner March 17.

For more information:

Jeannette Arsenault
Spokesperson
CCAFLIPE
(902) 558-1908
cfl@cavendishfigurines.com

Raymond J. Arsenault
Gala co-ordinator
CCAFLIPE
(902) 854-3665
raymond@rdeeipe.org