Northern Lights Estate Winery wins big; Business Excellence winners revealed

The Prince George Chamber of Commerce held it’s annual Business Excellence Awards ceremony last night at the Civic Centre.

About 280 people attended there to see the recipients of 11 different awards.

Northern Lights Estate Winery was the biggest winner. It was named Business of the Year and was also recognized with a Tourism & Hospitality award. CEO Doug Bell won both Entrepreneur and Business Person of the Year.

Bell is still beaming about the announcement.

“We’re so excited to be in Prince George. I’ve been here since 1988, and this was an opportunity to build something that people could feel proud of. We certainly feel proud of it and I can’t be any more excited about the effort our team has put in and the recognition they received.”

When reflecting on the past year, he says a few big events came to mind. For one, the Climb for Cancer event last Spring that raised over $30,000 for the Kordyban Lodge. His fondest memory wasn’t necessarily a specific event, but any time the winery connected people.

“The ability for us to continue to host more events within the community that really are able to showcase the beauty of the cutbanks and the river and bring people and families together, those are things that I’m really proud of and hopefully we can continue, and even build on, in the future.”

Another big winner was the PG Recycling and Return-It Centre. It took home two wards; one for the “Environmental Awareness” as well as the Community Impact.

Kyle Sampson was the recipient of the Hell Yeah Prince George Ambassador Award, winning the title through a Facebook vote. The award recognizes a person or group that demonstrates “community pride and a commitment to making Prince George a positive place to live and work.”

Other winners include:

Northern Hardware & Furniture – Service Excellence
Play Grounds Café – Innovator of the Year
Game Quest – Micro Business of the Year
Two Rivers Gallery – Outstanding Corporate Culture