The 2005 Oakville Awards for Business Excellence

The Oakville Awards for Business Excellence is dedicated to recognizing exemplary models of excellence and community service by Oakville’s businesses. The annual program, now in its 11th year, is organized by The Rotary Club of Oakville West, in association with the Oakville Chamber of Commerce.

The “OABE” culminates in a prestigious Gala Dinner and Award ceremony.  This year’s dinner event for the 2005 Awards will be held Thursday April 6, 2006 at the Oakville Conference and Banquet Centre (Wyecroft and Bronte Rd).

The proceeds from the Gala Awards Dinner, including the considerable support from our many sponsors, provide for the Rotary Club’s numerous youth and academic programs such as the Oakville Awards for Academic Excellence, the Oakville Youth Development Centre, and Camp Enterprise.

Over the last ten years the OABE has generated over $200,000 in youth support and student awards while honouring over 140 exceptional entrepreneurs and businesses in our town. An excellent record in itself!

What are the 5 OABE categories?

Entrepreneur of the Year: This award recognizes an individual who has introduced a new, different or unique business concept where the element of risk is significant and where a track record of success is clearly evident.

Manufacturer of the Year: This award recognizes a business involved in any of the design, fabrication, manufacturing, assembling, or wholesale distribution of goods.

Retailer of the Year: This award recognizes a retail business.

Service Provider of the Year: This award recognizes a business which provides service in areas such areas as legal, financial, automotive maintenance, personal care and other professional services.

Tourism/Hospitality Provider of the Year: This award recognizes businesses which provide services related to the tourism and hospitality sectors. The service areas include but are not limited to … hotels, restaurants, catering, bars, sport facilities, entertainment complexes, destination or attraction operators.

How many award trophies are given out?

Five OABE trophies are awarded to the winners of each category. Runners-up are recognized as well. The Judges select finalists in each category. Of the finalists, one is selected as the excellence winner. The Judges reserve the right to allow for a category tie or to designate a large and small winner in a category when appropriate. In these cases an additional award is presented.

Who is eligible to win an OABE?

This competition is open to Oakville businesses that have existed for a minimum of two years. The business must be located in the Town of Oakville.

What about small businesses? How large does a business have to be in order to be nominated?

Size does not matter! The Judges are looking for excellence in business, not size. To ensure that small businesses (defined as 1 to 15 employees) can compete on an equal footing with large corporations, the Judges have the discretion of naming two winners in a category, if they feel that is appropriate.

Who is not eligible to win an OABE?

These are business awards. Therefore the competition is not open to governments, associations, centres or organizations which operate on a not-for-profit basis. Businesses that have won an OABE in the past three years are not eligible to win in the same category. They may however win in a different category. The competition is also not open to the Judges or their employers, nor to members of the OABE Organizing Committee or their employers.

How is a business nominated for an OABE?

Typically a customer or a supplier nominates a firm they recognize as excellent. Sometimes Oakville businesses self nominate if they feel they have succeeded and excelled and possibly many in Oakville are not aware of them. Nomination forms are available from November 15 to January 15 through the Oakville Beaver, Oakville Chamber of Commerce, and on the www.OABE.ca site maintained by the Rotary Club of Oakville West. The deadline for nominations for the 2005 awards closes January 15, 2006. Neither nominees nor nominators need be Rotary Club members or Chamber of Commerce members.

What if one am not certain about the appropriate category?

The Judges reserve the right to move a nomination to a more appropriate category if necessary.

Does one have to obtain a company’s permission before nominating them?

Not necessarily. Businesses are usually honoured and flattered to be nominated by their customer or suppliers even without consultation. However, you might want to tell them as a courtesy. Most people like to know they are appreciated. In any event they may choose to have their nomination withdrawn.

What does a nominated company have to do to participate in the Oakville Awards for Business Excellence?

All eligible nominees will be contacted and invited to qualify for the award competition by submitting insightful information for the Judges’ consideration. The Judges do not probe commercially sensitive information, but ask nominees general questions such as:

What differentiates you, in your business? 
Why do employees want to work for you?  
What has been the growth of your business since it was formed? 
How do you and your business give back to the community? 
How do you demonstrate customer service?

When are the Awards presented?

The Gala Awards Dinner for the 2005 Oakville Awards for Business Excellence will be held April 6 at Carmen’s in the Oakville Conference and Banquet Centre at Bronte Road and Wyecroft.

What are the sponsorship opportunities associated with the OABE and the Gala Dinner and Ceremony?

Sponsorships are still available for the 2005 Oakville Awards for Business Excellence (OABE) ... a joint project of the Rotary Club of Oakville West (RCOW) and the Oakville Chamber of Commerce. Please see the sponsorship outline on the web site.

How do I get tickets to the Gala Award Dinner Event on April 6/06?

Tickets will go on sale in January at $130 each, only $100 if ordered before Feb 28th. Watch the web site and the Oakville Beaver for details and order forms.

2005 OABE Awards Timetable

(Dates are approximate)

November 15: Launch of Nomination process through Chamber of Commerce, Oakville Beaver, Rotary Clubs of Oakville (5) and other business press.

January 15: Close of Nominations.

January 20: Tickets for the 2005 OABE Gala Award Dinner go on sale.

January 2006: A request for further information is sent to each validated “Nominee” who meets the criteria of being an Oakville business in operation for two years. List of all such qualified nominees is posted to the www.OABE.ca web site and publicized in the Beaver and the Chamber news.

January 30: Final day for receiving qualification replies from nominated businesses in order for them to qualify for the judges’ review.

February 15: List of “Qualifying” businesses and entrepreneurs is published in the Beaver, the Chamber news, other business media and is posted on the www.OABE.ca web site.

February 1 to March 15: Judging panel determines the three “Finalists” for each of the five categories from among the “Qualifiers”.

March 15: The “Finalists” are announced in the Beaver, the Chamber news, other media and is posted to the www.OABE.ca web site. The winners are kept absolutely secret by the Judging panel until the award dinner itself. “May I have the envelope please …”

March 30: Ticket sales close. (if the maximum of 375 tickets sold is reached before March 30, the ticket sales will cease at that time).

April 6: The 2005 OABE Gala Award Dinner and Ceremony is held at the Oakville Conference and Banquet Centre from 6pm to 10:30pm.

April 10: the Winners and Finalists are congratulated in the press and on the OABE web site.

and

November 1, 2006: The OABE for 2006 is launched for the twelfth year.