By Lawson Hunter
For the past 15 years or more, the Burlington Chamber of Commerce has held a gala event to recognize the achievements of local businesses, non-profit organizations, and, occasionally, an outstanding business person of the year.
Diana Tuszynski, chair of the nominating committee for the Burlington Chamber’s Business Excellence Awards, is proud to announce that nominations for the annual Business Excellence Awards Gala are now open.
The event will take place in May of 2023, so why start the nomination process so early?
“We conduct a rigorous process to qualify award winners,” explains Tuszynski. “The Burlington Chamber has actually received accolades from other chambers for the thoroughness of our process. After we receive nominations, a committee of twelve to fifteen business leaders goes out and interviews the nominees.”
Those “audits” are then further scrutinized by the committee as a whole before winners are chosen in the various categories. The categories include: Manufacturing; Retail; Hospitality & Tourism; Not-for-Profit; Service; and Young Entrepreneur. And no winner from the previous year may qualify again for a couple of years.
This year, the Chamber is considering two other categories, “Employer of the Year” and a company celebrating a significant milestone (50 years perhaps).
“The black-tie gala is a celebration of companies that are doing a really great job,” says Tuszynski. “It really lifts us all up with that recognition of business achievement.”
Anyone in the community, not necessarily Chamber members, can nominate any business that has done business in Burlington for at least three years. “Anyone doing business with a company or not-for-profit organization that wishes to recognize their great work can do the nomination. You can even nominate a company anonymously,” notes Tuszynski.
“We don’t expect the community to only pick ‘award winners,’ we just want them to hit the nomination button on the Chamber’s website [www.burlingtonchamber.com/business-excellence-awards-gala/], fill out the form, and that’s it,” Tuszynski urged. “I encourage anyone that knows of a really great company to go ahead and nominate that company.”
Tuszynski also notes that the mayor gives out an award at the event, as does Burlington Economic Development and Tourism Burlington, “So the gala is a signature event for the city and the Chamber to celebrate the best in Burlington.”
