It’s the start of another long awards season! The Emmys have already taken place, and we can expect red-carpet reports and tearful acceptance speeches all the way until the Oscars in February. We don’t like to be left out here on the Saanich Peninsula – October sees our own kind of awards season. At Seaside we like to get the readers involved, asking for your nominations for our Professionals Awards (p. 12). With winners in five categories it’s a chance for readers to tell us who is really excelling in their field. We had a great response this year, and it was exciting sifting through the replies, reading examples of superb customer service, innovation and excellence.
Clearly we have a thriving business community here, and I wonder how much that has to do with people following a passion. When Lara asked “Live to work, or work to live?” in her Word on the Street column (p. 20), the majority of the replies were that people didn’t feel they had to choose either. When you find a career that you love, the elusive work/life balance seems more manageable. Not everyone has the opportunity for fulfilling work, but it surely follows that if you’re happy in your role that shows through in all your business dealings. Following a passion to start your own business takes a lot of courage, but hopefully leads to empowerment, fulfilment and happier work days! Congratulations to everyone nominated for a Professionals award, and especially those who won this year.
We’ll see winners at the Sidney Fine Art Show too. I was astonished to read about the adjudication process (p. 11) and learn that there are over 1,000 pieces of art submitted to the show, with each one scored by three judges. What a wealth of creative talent there is in our local area. It takes courage to put yourself out there in a creative field (as I learned this month in my Day Out – p. 46) and I’m always grateful that so many people are willing to do it. You’ll certainly find me at the Art Show enjoying the fruits of many others’ creative labours. Congratulations to everyone who submitted a piece to the show, and the winners of each category.
Awards season coincides with the start of holiday season … Happy Thanksgiving to you all. You know at Seaside we’re most thankful for our supportive readers and advertisers; we’d give you all an award if we could!
