From a wedding planner to an orthodontist and a radio station to an at-home health care provider.
These are the entrepreneurs and businesses who have all made the list of winners for the 2024 Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards.
The winners for Entrepreneur of the Year and Business of the Year (large) is Tina and Dakota Hodgson from Neighbourly Care, a home healthcare service provider in Chatham.
"We have 10 awards that are up for recognition and each one has a different set of criteria," said Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Gail Hundt. "All the nominations come from the public."
The Business Individual of the Year is Kaleena Cryderman from TekSavvy. The Young Business Individual of the Year is Dr. Maxwell Abraham of Abraham Orthodontics.
The Citizen of the Year is Susan Bienstman from Chatham.
"I didn’t realize that I meant that much for all the work I do," said Bienstman. "I think it was the Big Brothers and Big Sisters, but they are now called the Boys and Girls Club. The girls in the group are pretty special to me."
Other winners include Small Business of the Year -- CKXS 99.1 FM and Medium Business of the Year -- The Paper Bride/Style Co.
"This is my last award ceremony to play host and celebrate with the businesses in Chatham-Kent," said Hundt. "I am looking forward to being able to honour the businesses once again for the hard work they put into Chatham-Kent and the prosperity of our community."
The Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce will honour the recipients during its 136th ceremony on April 11 at the Everest Convention Centre in Chatham.
Tickets for the event are $135 each and include dinner and reception. You can purchase them online.