B.C. bakery up for small-business award

Dec. 22, 2014, Vancouver — The Top 10 semi-finalists have been selected for the 12th annual Small Business BC Awards, and among them is Victoria’s Origin Gluten-Free Bakery Ltd.

The Small Business BC Awards acknowledge the contribution that over 400,000 small business owners and entrepreneurs in the province make to their local communities and the global economy.

From Oct. 1 to Nov. 30, British Columbians were asked to nominate and vote for their favourite small businesses. More than 460 nominations were received, from over 70 communities across the province, including 36 nominations from Vancouver Island.

Nominated companies were given two months to gain as many votes as possible through word-of-mouth, social media, e-communications and other creative means. Those who activated their communities and received the most votes have been named the Top 10 semi-finalists.

These extraordinary small businesses will now move forward to face a panel of judges, who will review their applications, and based on the award criteria, narrow down the competition to the Top 5 finalists in each category.

The Top 5 finalists in these categories will be announced on Jan. 30, 2015, and invited to give a Dragons’ Den-style pitch on why they should be named the best in British Columbia.

The winners will be honoured and celebrated on Feb. 26 at the Small Business BC Awards Ceremony in Vancouver. The night will include messages from Premier Christy Clark and the Honourable Minister Naomi Yamamoto, among others.

More information on the semi-finalists and the Small Business BC Awards can be found at www.sbbcawards.ca