Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Saint John Board of Trade announces recipient of 2011 “Chair’s Award”

John Warrington, Chairman of the Saint John Board of Trade is pleased to announce his choice for the 2011 “Chair’s Award” to be presented at the 27th annual Outstanding Business Achievement Awards dinner on Wednesday, November 30th at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre.

The Chair’s Award was established in 1993 to recognize a company, or individual, who has demonstrated a particular excellence or achievement in a certain aspect of their business, having made either an immediate impact on or a substantial long-term contribution to the economic progress of our community.

“It is my pleasure to announce that the recipient of the 2011 Saint John Board of Trade Chair’s Award is Enterprise Saint John” said Mr. Warrington. “Enterprise Saint John was established in the mid-90’s by the City of Saint John, and at the encouragement and support of the Board of Trade. Over this time they have played a pivotal role in fostering economic development in our community from supporting a culture on entrepreneurship which leads to more new business starts ups and increased business investment to supporting our existing businesses through workforce development and expansion initiatives.”

Mr. Warrington continued “In early 2011, an economic task force reported to Common Council that Enterprise Saint John not only fulfilled its mandate to its funding partners, but was considered by its peers to be a model to emulate. They set the gold standard as a regional economic development agency. Our economic development agency for the region is the only one in Canada that brings together five municipalities to work collaboratively on economic development issues and opportunities; this is regional cooperation at its best.”

Enterprise Saint John’s philosophy is: regional cooperation is fundamental to having a balanced approach to achieving our social, cultural, environmental and economic goals. For Enterprise Saint John, that means focusing on their core services – workforce expansion, entrepreneur development and investment attraction. People, ideas and investment: these are the ingredients for success.

In 2010, Enterprise Saint John was Canada’s only Atlantic Canadian organization in the not-for-profit category to receive an IPAC/Deloitte Public Sector Leadership Award.

Enterprise Saint John led the initiative to have Saint John named one of the world’s 2012 high tech Smart21 hot spots by the Intelligent Communities Forum. Enterprise Saint John continues to lead the
initiative, in partnership with the City of Saint John, to get into the Top7.

Enterprise Saint John delivers the Business Immigrant Mentorship Program in partnership with YMCA-YWCA Settlement Services, the Saint John Multicultural and Newcomers Resource Centre, the Saint John Board of Trade and the Population Growth Secretariat. This program matches newcomers with local mentors to introduce them to New Brunswick’s business culture.

Mr. Warrington is looking forward to presenting the Chair’s Award to Mr. Tony Gogan - Chair, and Mr. Stephen Carson – C.E.O. who will accept the Award on behalf of Enterprise Saint John.

The 27th annual Outstanding Business Achievement Awards dinner, Saint John’s Premiere annual business event, will be held at 6 p.m., Wednesday, November 30th at the Saint John Trade and Convention Centre. Tickets can be purchased online or by contacting the Board of Trade office at (506) 634-8111.

Past recipients of the Chair’s Award include: Mr. Philip Oland in 1993; Saint John Pro Sports Inc. in 1994; Mr. Malcolm Somerville in 1995; the Imperial Theatre Inc. in 1996; Mr. Patrick Darrah in 1997; Cruise Saint John’s “Meet & Greet” Committee and the Irving Companies in 1999; New Brunswick Community College-Saint John and the University of New Brunswick Saint John in 2000; Mr. Lino Celeste in 2001; The Greater Saint John Roundtable on Primary Healthcare in 2002; Mr. Stephen MacMackin in 2003; Dr. Mary Eileen Travis in 2004; The five regional mayors were honoured as group in 2005; The Atlantica Centre for Energy in 2006; the Business Community Anti-Poverty Initiative (BCAPI) in 2007; Bob Manning in 2008; Gerry Pond in 2009; and Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick in 2010.

The Saint John Board of Trade is a nationally accredited business organization with distinction dedicated to fostering an economic climate that enhances growth, prosperity, and an improved quality of life in the community. With more than 1,000 members, representing 600 small, medium, and large businesses and organizations and therefore, the interests of more than 30,000 citizens, the Board is a dynamic advocate and the principal voice for the business community of Greater Saint John. It offers a variety of programs, activities, services, and networking opportunities designed to enhance the business prospects of members and the overall business climate of the area.

For more information contact:

John Warrington, Chairman
Ph: 632-2446

Imelda Gilman, President
Ph: 634-4157