Small businesses recognized
Hairstylists take top prize at awards presentation
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, October 30, 2014
INUVIK
National Small Business Week was saluted in Inuvik on Oct. 23 thanks to the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) and the Inuvik Chamber of Commerce.
Adam Maier, centre, representing the Cloud 9 restaurant, accepted this award for third place in a new contest for the Best Small Business in Inuvik Oct. 23 at the Mack Travel Building. Pictured with him are Michel Lemieux of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment, left, and Bright Lubansa, the president of the Inuvik Chamber of Commerce. The contest was the result of a partnership between the department and the chamber for Small Business Week. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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The two organizations partnered to sponsor a social media contest to select Inuvik's top three small businesses.
Beaufort Beauty, a recently established hairstyling business operated by Stephanie White in partnership with Tanya Hoskin-Gugel, took top prize in the voting.
Joey Watters and his business, Inukshook Catering took second place, while Alestine's, a new restaurant specializing in seafood, and the popular Cloud 9 restaurant at the Inuvik Airport, tied for third place.
Neither White nor Watters was in attendance at the awards ceremony.
When contacted Oct. 24, Watters said he was unable to attend the 5 p.m. ceremony due to time constraints. He hadn't been informed that he had won second place.
"I'm honoured to have won," he said.
He operates a catering business along with running the food services at the Aurora Campus.
White said she was "shocked and delighted" with the win. Her normal operating hours coincided with the awards ceremony, precluding her from attending.
"I really thought it was going to be won by a restaurant or food company," she said. "I'm really happy with this."
Michel Lemieux of ITI helped organize the contest, which was the first of its kind for Inuvik. He said 26 different companies were nominated for awards in the campaign, with 52 people voting and approximately 1,500 people seeing the contest on social media.
"We wanted to celebrate the Small Business Week," Lemieux said. "For us, we were not able to choose a business, so the contest makes people aware of businesses. It was a great thing to do this year for Inuvik. It's a nice concept and I hope we keep it for next year."
Bright Lubansa, the president of the Inuvik Chamber of Commerce, said "this is absolutely something new for Inuvik.
"This is Small Business Week in Canada, and we thought it's fitting we also celebrate the contributions they make to Inuvik and indeed to the general life of Inuvik. So in partnership with ITI, we decided we were going to have a competition open to the general public."
Nominations and voting took place primarily on the chamber's Facebook page, with e-mail as a secondary option for voting, Lubansa said.
"Being the first time we tried it, we were quite excited," Lubansa said. "We're planning on doing it again next year.
"A lot of time we tend to forget the contribution they (small business) make," Lubansa added. "We wanted something smaller and independent to be highlighted."
Businesses that are franchises or parts of larger chains were excluded in favour of truly independent and local business, Lubansa said. That's why restaurants and catering businesses were heavily represented in the voting.
