CENTRE WELLINGTON – The Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce (CWCC) is holding the 21st Awards of Excellence online.
There are fifteen awards being presented, with 86 nominations.
In past years the awards have been a gala, and last year to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions the event was run like a drive-in movie.
But with the pandemic still here, for the first time ever they will be hosted online via Facebook live.
“We wanted to build an event plan that was resilient to the ever changing restrictions,” said general manager Sally Litchfield.
The event, usually ticketed, will be free and open to the public this year.
The awards will run from June 14 to 18, with three awards being presented each day.
Viewers can tune in at 1pm, and the ceremony will be short, around 15 minutes per day. Litchfield said once the event was set to go virtual, planners wanted to avoid hosting one massive broadcast that would drag on.
“It’s easier to hop on and hop off,” this way, she said.
Each day the event will come from a different location, hosted by community businesses Ecclestone Financial group, the Wild Tart, McDonalds, Grand River Agricultural Society, and Skyline Group of Companies, with Litchfield as the event host.
The nominated parties will tune in for their events, with the winner able to give a speech online, and volunteers ready to deliver their awards as soon as possible.
CWCC has found other ways to bring the usual event feeling, preparing celebration boxes equipped with food and drink from the community for nominees, and anyone who wants to purchase one.
The boxes will be available for pickup prior to the events.
In this difficult year, Litchfield said Awards of Excellence are even more important
“The event exists to recognize… [those] who have done great things in the community,” she said.
