The call for nominations is officially open.

 The Huntsville/Lake of Bays Chamber of Commerce opened the nomination process Jan. 17 for the fifth annual Business Excellence Awards to be held March 27 at the Algonquin Theatre. The chamber’s vision is to support the economic and social growth of its members through networking, public awareness and community promotion.

“The chamber has secured 11 award sponsors, including Bell as our anchor sponsor for this year. These awards have been created to recognize business individuals and companies who have set standards and demonstrated achievements that have contributed to the prosperity and business development in Huntsville and Lake of Bays,” said general manager Kelly Haywood.  

 Nominations will close on Feb. 22 at noon and then the due diligence of the judging will begin.

Nomination handbooks are available at the chamber offices and on the chamber website at www.huntsvillelakeofbays.on.ca.

Tickets are $45 plus GST and will be available for sale at the Algonquin Theatre box office by calling 705-789-4975 ext 2352 or toll-free at 1-888-696-4255 ext 2352. You can also buy your tickets online at www.algonquintheatre.ca.

Awards open for nominations are:

Company of the Year (0 - 5 employees) - Sponsored by: Dreams Becoming Reality; Company of the Year (6 – 30 employees) - Sponsored by: TD Canada Trust; Company of the Year (30 + employees) - Sponsored by: 105.5 More FM; New Business of the Year - Sponsored by: Muskoka Futures; Professional Business of the Year - Sponsored by: Algonquin Animal Hospital; Service Business of the Year - Sponsored by: Saunders and Associates; Tourism Business of the Year - Sponsored by:  BDO Dunwoody; Business Leader of the Year - Sponsored by: Assante Capital Management Inc.; Business Community Involvement Award - Sponsored by: Town of Huntsville economic Development Committee; and the Community Organization of the Year - Sponsored by: Deerhurst Resort.

One of the many highlights of the evening is the presentation of People’s Choice Award, which is sponsored by the Huntsville Forester.

This award will be presented to an individual or business who has demonstrated excellence within the business community both in business growth and/or community service. All nominees in the eleven award categories will automatically be the nominees for this award. The recipient will be chosen by both public voting and gala event attendees. Public voting will take place in person on March 25 between the hours of 9  a.m. and 5  p.m. at the Chamber Main Office at 8 West Street N.

Guests attending the 2008 Business Excellence Awards will receive a ballot upon admittance to the gala which must be returned to the Chamber staff by 7:45 p.m. that evening in order to be counted. At this time results will be tabulated and a recipient declared on the evening of the awards gala.