It was an evening to recognize a city of entrepreneurs and a community of business leaders in a celebration of the best in Estevan business over the past two years.
The bi-annual Estevan Business Excellence (EBEX) Awards was hosted at Affinity Place on June 5. The event, organized by the Estevan Chamber of Commerce every other year, saw awards distributed to business owners and managers in several categories, from service and community involvement to growth, environmentalism and young entrepreneurs.
Being the Energy City, the selection committee, composed of Chamber past-presidents, didn’t have to look too far in order to find its business of the year recipient; Dart Services Ltd. received the distinction, shortly after owner Davin Emmel was recognized as the young entrepreneur of the year.
“There are so many great businesses that have been started here and succeeded here, and it’s an honour to be recognized in that group,” said Emmel.
Wil-Tech Industries Ltd.’s Jim Wilson was awarded the business leader of the year award.
“I’ve been a part of Estevan all my life and working at growing the business has been a big part. We never really envisioned being in business for 23 or 25 years,” said Wilson.
He added there is no other place he would rather start a business.
“If I was to start a business, there’s no better place to start than in Estevan. I see a lot of our customers getting recognized this evening, and you see a pretty good group of businesses in town.”
While the EBEX awards mark an occasion to celebrate the successes of business in the city, with slumping oil prices and the local economy’s reliance on a healthy oil sector, the evening was also a time to find resilience and stability in the business world.
“Everything revolves around (the oil sector), so to speak, but we’ve been fortunate,” said Emmel, who noted the company purchased some larger equipment to take on work elsewhere in Saskatoon, Regina and Winnipeg. “We’ve had to expand our horizons. It’s a known thing. It’s a cycle, and some of these older guys have been through it. It’s something you have to deal with.”
For Wilson, he has seen the cycle play out before. It has to be recognized, he said, and lessons have to be learned each time a dip in the economy happens.
“In our 23 years, this is the third one of these we’ve seen. It’s real and it’s something that has to be recognized, but it makes us stronger, and it makes us better. If you’re going to take the good years, you have to take the bad years,” said Wilson. “We don’t like seeing our staff go backwards, and we don’t like these times, but it’s part of doing business.”
The other businesses and business leaders recognized throughout the evening were a mix of new business people and stalwarts of the area.
The outstanding service award went to Jump.ca, while Power Dodge was honoured with the award for community involvement.
Regens Disposal, in operation for the past 30 years, was recognized as the Energy City’s environmental leader.
Receiving the growth and expansion award, Gilliss Casing Services was recognized for its growth in employees, as well as the company’s expansion of its services in the past five years.
Liberty Tax Service Estevan was recognized as the top new business venture that has been operating for fewer than three years.
Inducted into the Nick and Verna Morsky Business Hall of Fame was Barry Bridges, a long-time lawyer with the McDougall-Gauley law firm, who set up his practice in Estevan in 1974. For a complete story on the hall of fame induction, see tomorrow’s Lifestyles.
