The best of the best in the Meadow Lake business community will once again have the spotlight on them. The Meadow Lake and District Chamber of Commerce is hosting its annual Meadow Lake Business Excellence Awards (MLBEX) gala Friday, Feb. 21. The event will take place at the Meadow Lake Civic Centre beginning at 5 p.m. “We’re not entirely sure what we will be doing for entertainment that night – we have a few things in the works – but the focus is going to be on the sponsors, the nominees and on the winners this year,” explained Chamber administrator Trevor Dignean when speaking with Northern Pride.

“We’re going to try to make it a better program as far as that goes.” Unlike past years, where the meal has been served buffet style, Dignean said this year’s event will instead feature a served meal. “I’ve gone to a few dinners and whatnot, and when people finally get through the buffet line, sometimes they don’t get any of this or any of that, which isn’t good when you’re paying good money for a meal,” he said. “This year, it will be a served meal and guests will have a choice of two options for their main entrée.” In total, 280 people are expected to be in attendance. “The last couple years tickets have sold out, we’re about half sold out now and I just started (last week) calling nominees to see if they are willing to let their names stand for the various awards they are nominated for,” Dignean added.

This year’s award categories include: the Customer Service Award; Large Business of the Year; Community Builder; Small Business of the Year; Young Business Leader of the Year; Female Entrepreneur of the Year; Male Entrepreneur of the Year; Non-Profit Organization of the Year; Indigenous Leader of the Year; the Roots of Hope Workplace Mental Health Award; and New Business of the Year.

“I have at least one nominee for every award, but there is definitely room for more,” Dignean said. “The cutoff date for nominations is Feb. 7.” To nominate a business or individual for a MLBEX Award, people are encouraged to visit the Chamber’s Facebook page and follow the necessary links.

To purchase tickets to the gala, guests are asked to contact Dignean directly at 306-240-6768 or via email at mlchamberofcommerce@sasktel. net. Individual tickets for Chamber members are $100 and $125 for non-members. A table of eight is $750 for members and $850 for non-members. “It’s been absolutely overwhelming the support we’ve received from the business community,” Dignean said. “We have one award that doesn’t have a sponsor yet, but every other sponsorship has been taken. There are many groups and businesses stepping up to donate prizes and whatnot. Again, it’s just been overwhelming. And, if people have a person, organization or business in mind that would be a good candidate for a nominee, please go ahead and nominate them. I have also been asked if a person or business needs to be a Chamber member in order to be nominated. That answer is no. Anyone in the community can be nominated.”