By Stephen Vance, Staff
The Meaford Chamber of Commerce hosted their annual Community Awards dinner on Saturday, March 28 at the Meaford & St. Vincent Community Centre.
For 17 years the event has recognized business owners as well as community members who contribute to making Meaford a better place to live and work.
Nominations for the various award categories are submitted by Meaford residents, and those nominations are reviewed by a special committee who then decide on the award winners.
This year’s Most Improved Business award was presented to Georgian Bay Physiotherapy, who recently moved to a new location at the Don Bumstead & Family Medical Centre.
The popular Scarecrow Invasion & Family Festival organizers were presented with the Tourism Award this year. The annual Scarecrow Invasion engages hundreds of volunteers, and draws thousands of residents and tourists each year.
Eggcitement Bistro took home the Customer Service award. Eggcitement has become a favourite breakfast destination for locals and visitors over the past five years, and customer service is one of the reasons why.
Former Dragons’ Den Meaford winner Bighead Hops was recognized with the Agri-business award. Operated by Nicholas Schaut, Bighead Hops has seen significant expansion over the past year, and their annual ‘Shindig’ is fast becoming a must-attend event for craft beer lovers.
Organizers of the Meaford Community Gardens were presented with the Special Merit award, which was collected by Jaden Calvert. The more than 30 volunteers with the Meaford Community Gardens have built and managed vegetable gardens around the municipality, enabling people to grow their own food and also to supply the Golden Town Outreach Foodbank.
The Peter Francis Memorial Award was presented to Mary Solomon in recognition of her many years of service to her community through her many volunteer activities.
And this year’s Business Owner of the Year award was presented to David Glass and Chris Davies, owners of Muxlow Pharmacy.
