photo by Nunn Other Photography –
Who better to give advice to local businesspeople than other local business people? Here, Seaside Magazine asks last year’s Professionals winners to share some thoughts on the importance of their award category to their business.
Winner: Customer Service. Courtney Thomas, Quince Café & Ice Cream. Thank you to the readers of Seaside Magazine for awarding us with the Customer Service award! It is truly an honour to be recognized for something that we work hard on every day at Quince. For myself, customer service matters for a multitude of reasons. It means you are treating customers with respect and welcoming them into a space that cares for them. It means providing a convivial environment for friends and strangers to meet, where they can enjoy a tasty treat and truly relax and spend quality time with others. Excellent customer service helps to foster community, and that is something that matters to us at Quince.
Winner: Community Support. Judy Peterson, Sidney All Care Residence. Winning the Professionals award for Community Support meant more than anyone could explain as making everyday moments matter is what we strive for with our residents at Sidney All Care Residence. By creating an inclusive and family community where residents are treated with respect and dignity within the context of their own social world, we can give our residents the best day possible every day. Making moments matter is achieved by every team member, volunteer and visitor with every interaction our residents have. Our community is “home” to all of our residents and giving them wonderful experiences, whether simply through small interactions or via big events like our annual prom, provides a superior quality of life. We would like to thank Seaside Magazine and those who nominated us last year for recognizing the dedication our team has to make moments matter and giving the “Best Possible Day” every day for our residents.
Winner: Innovative Thinking. Karen Morgan, Saanich Peninsula Hospital & Healthcare Foundation. In 2004, when Dr. Ambrose Marsh and I realized physician retirements were going to challenge this community, neither of us could have predicted the long and winding journey to find a solution. But passion and perseverance, along with support from the great Saanich Peninsula Hospital and Healthcare Foundation Board, has made all the difference for the community. This award helped get the message out for a transformative campaign – to raise funds to support Shoreline Medical in its efforts to recruit physicians. We are so close (only $120,000 away) from our goal of $2 million! It has proved what I have long believed: communities have all (or most) of the tools to help themselves. I have loved being the cheerleader for this project.
Winner: Branding. Sidney BIA – answer given by Executive Director Morgan Shaw. The Sidney BIA was so pleased to receive the branding recognition from Seaside Magazine last year because branding has been an essential ingredient of the BIA’s success. It not only says who we are: it serves to remind potential shoppers, clients, customers and event attendees what they can expect when they visit Sidney, a small, friendly, service-centered seaside town. The BIA brand has helped us to establish Sidney and the Peninsula as a lively, vibrant hub that offers family-friendly fun, lovely places to stay, eat and, of course, shop. In addition, the Sidney BIA brand enables us to distinguish ourselves from other towns in the area which, in a highly competitive market, is critical to our growth and vibrancy as a community. The BIA brand also enables us to make better use of all media platforms and provides a ready tool for our own growth and creative initiatives.
