The Yarmouth and Area Chamber of Commerce will hand out its annual business awards this week.
The honours will be presented Thursday, Nov. 6, at the Rodd Grand Hotel.
Changes were made to the awards program this year, including the introduction of some new award categories.
The new format – announced officially in early September – includes business-of-the-year award categories for small, medium and large businesses. Small is considered one to 10 employees, medium is 11 to 30 and large is 31 and up.
There is a rising star business award for businesses less than five years old or which have had a new owner within the last five years.
There is an award recognizing a business’s “community impact” and also an award category focusing on hospitality and tourism.
There is an award for export achievement, another for customer service. (These awards are not new.)
The judging was done by some of last year’s winners, a new approach for selecting the chamber’s business award winners.
Jeff Little, dealer principal and general manager of Murray GM, will be the evening’s MC.
Another change made to the awards program is that there would be no guest speaker. The chamber opted instead to focus on celebrating the accomplishments of the local business community, notably those of the award nominees.
Those who attend the awards dinner can expect a “fun-filled” and “fast-paced” evening and “a few surprises,” the chamber said when it announced the new award categories and other changes.