As the curtain came down on another year of the Golden Brush Awards, Chemainus and District Chamber of Commerce is already looking at improvements for next year.
The winners were announced this past Saturday (Nov. 30) at the Chemainus Senior Centre, as local Chemainiacs and businesses were rewarded for their continuous endeavours and hard work.
“It went really well,” said Chamber co-ordinator Jeanne Ross. “Everyone had a fun evening, and the recipients [of the awards] were very happy.”
The crowd was down a little from last year, with 128 people showing up to join the proceedings this time around, compared to 154 last year.
“The main difference was that there were a couple of big Christmas parties in town, so I think that it was just the day that was the problem,” said Ross, who will soon begin planning for 2014.
“Every year we try to make it better,” she said.
The winners of this year’s awards were as follows:
• Retail Business of the Year — Rexall Drug Store
• Food Service Business of the Year — Willow Street Cafe
• Manufacturing Business of the Year — Vancouver Island Soap Factory
• Personal Services Business of the Year — Urban Legends Salon and Spa
• Professional Service Business of the Year — Island Savings, Chemainus Branch
• Trades or Contractor Business of the Year — B&H Tire
• Good Neighbour Award — 49th Parallel Grocery
• Customer Service Award — Shelley MacKenzie, Rexall Drug Store
• Volunteer of the Year — Shannon Bellamy and Ruth Schiller (Tie)
• President’s Award — Wes Everitt