Petley-Hare, HOPA among big winners at Oshawa Chamber’s Business Excellence Awards

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Published September 27, 2022 at 12:51 pm

Brian Ferreira, Cecilly Minniti and Andrew Osborne of Durham Broadband, along with Oshawa Economic Development Director Hailey Wright

After 100 years of service to the community, Petley-Hare Limited Insurance Brokers and its President, Adam Hare was a very deserving winner as the Business Person of the Year Award at last week’s Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence Awards Gala.

This was the 27th awards night for the chamber and the 2022 event was held at the historic Jubilee Pavilion at Lakeview Park. Trent University Durham GTA was the title sponsor this year.

The black-tie affair drew more than 150 local business leaders, entrepreneurs, political dignitaries, city officials and guests – a who’s who of the Oshawa and Durham business community – to celebrate not only the success of the Oshawa business community, but also their involvement in the success and growth of Oshawa as a whole.

“A vibrant community is always key to business success. Whether it is in terms of attracting customers or being able to offer the amenities that attract talent,” said Trent University Durham GTA Dean Dr. Scott Henderson. “I’m glad to say that Oshawa has it all, and that the future is bright.”

Businesses and business persons within the Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce catchment area were nominated by their peers to win one of eight awards in the areas of Business Excellence, Not-For-Profit of the Year, Sustainability, Innovation, Emerging Business, Business Person of the Year and the G.W. McLaughlin Award which has replaced the President’s Award.

Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce Board President Peter Bocking delivered the G.W. McLaughlin Award to a very surprised Doug Kirk, President of Durham Radio Inc., for his years of commitment and support not only to the local business community in Oshawa but also his support of charitable efforts all across the city and Durham Region.

Other big winners included YWCA Durham for Not-For-Profit of the Year, Korechi Innovations – fittingly – for the Innovation Award, Hamilton-Oshawa Port Authority (HOPA) earned the Sustainability Award and Durham Broadband celebrated their first year in business by winning the Emerging Business Award.

Paradisaic Building Group won the Business Excellence Award for organizations with 1 to 30 employees, while CRCS DKI celebrated their 43rd anniversary by winning the Business Excellence Award for 30+ employees.

This year’s Business Excellence Awards charity of choice was Friends of the Second Marsh and, through contributions from attendees, the event was able to raise much-needed funding to support conservation and restoration efforts at The Second Marsh Wildlife Area. (For more information on Friends of the Second Marsh and The Second Marsh Wildlife Area, visit www.secondmarsh.ca.)

The Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce was established in 1928 and serves and advocates for a membership of more than 500 businesses of various sizes, as well as building community relationships between members, post-secondary institutions, city staff, local elected officials and the residents of Oshawa through many initiatives including networking opportunities and events.

For more information on The Greater Oshawa Chamber of Commerce, please visit www.oshawachamber.com.

Dr. Elaine Popp (Durham College) with Sougata Pahari and Jim Clark of Korechi Innovations

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