NIPAWIN – The Nipawin ABEX Awards were held on March 6, recognizing several deserving local businesses.
The gala, hosted by the Nipawin Chamber of Commerce, took place Thursday night with approximately 75 people in attendance. Awards were handed out in four categories: Retail, Service, Heritage, and Agriculture.
RONA Pinecrest Lumber won the 2024 Retail ABEX Award. Chad and Kelly Tour have been owners since 2019.
“Since the doors opened, customer service has always been the top priority of all staff members that have worked in the building [through] the years, and still remains the top priority today,” RONA Pinecrest said in the chamber release. “Our team consistently looks forward to providing excellent service to Nipawin and surrounding communities.”
The Service Award went to Centre St. Drugs.
“Centre St. Drugs prides themselves on providing the highest level of patient care to anyone that walks through their doors,” the Nipawin chamber news release said.
Nipawin Greenhouses took home the Agriculture Award. Owners Ward and Kimberely Wood have grown the business since 1946. The greenhouse has expanded over the years and received many accolades for consistently providing some of the best and brightest flowers to the community.
The Heritage Award was given to Twin Lakes Trail Blazers. The organization operates with a volunteer board dedicated to maintaining the trails. The group has 120 members who maintain nearly 300 km of trails and have added seven new shelters along the routes. Many hours go into ensuring a safe and enjoyable experience, including clearing trails, chopping wood for the shelters, maintaining signage, grooming, and other essential tasks.
Special dignitaries in attendance included Carrot River 小蓝视频 Terri Bromm and Nipawin Mayor Marlon Zacharias.
"Over the past 100 years, Nipawin has had various businesses come and go. Each one of them was part of making Nipawin what it is today," Zacharias said. "From the smallest shops and family-owned businesses to larger corporations, they provide opportunities in various ways throughout our community. From offering employment opportunities to sponsoring any of the hundreds of annual events in town, they have helped build Nipawin into a place I, and the rest of the community, are proud to call home.
"While each of the ABEX categories had three finalists, I know there are many more businesses that are great candidates. I do want to send out special congratulations to each of the winning businesses. It is an honour to have them as a part of our community. As Nipawin continues to grow into the future, I know we will see more businesses striving for excellence, and I can't wait to be a part of their celebration."
The Nipawin chamber thanked the Nipawin Legion for catering the event and expressed appreciation to the event sponsors: Lake Country Co-op, Suncrest College, and SaskTel.
