Congratulations to Citizen of the Year Mike Turcotte and our Community’s Shining Stars at the Cornwall Chamber Business Excellence Awards 

Friday, October 3rd 2025, found me once again surrounded by glitz and glamour at the Ramada by Wyndham where the Cornwall and Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the 37th Business Excellence Awards & 53rd Citizen of the Year of 2024.

There were a lot of familiar faces around the room and Simon McLinden was MCing the evening that honours outstanding businesses and exceptional individuals in Cornwall, Akwesasne, Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry!

Before the awards commenced thanks went out the sponsors. Title Sponsor: Cogeco, Partner Sponsor: ACCFutures, Location Sponsor: Ramada by Wyndham, Photobooth Sponsor: Mini Mall Storage and Community Sponsor: Stang Electric.

The awards began with the “New Business Award” sponsored by: Cornwall Business Enterprise Centre. Nominees were: Cornwall Connector, Mo Events and On a le choix.

and the winner of the “New Business Award” is On a le choix. When I asked Delphine to describe in one word how she felt when she found out that the couple had won the award, she answered “Happy” and Raphael’s answer was “Proud”.

The awards continued with the “Tourism Excellence Award” sponsored by Cornwall Tourism. Nominees were: Akwesasne Powwow, Cline House Gallery and Glengarry Highland Games.

and the winner of the “Tourism Excellence Award” is Akwesasne Powwow. Again, I asked, please describe how you felt when you received the award and the words were “”Overwhelmed and very honoured”.

Next was the “Inclusion and Diversity Award” sponsored by Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien. Nominees were: Farhana Meghji, Peace Machine Tattoo and Rachel’s Kids Park of Hope.

and the winner of the “Inclusion and Diversity Award” is Peace Machine Tattoo. Kayla’s words were “Still shaking and excited”. I did ask everyone for one word but as you can see most of the time there were more words than just the one!

Then we had the “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” sponsored by: Choose Cornwall. Nominees were: Joel and Summer Stang, Robert Martin and Jason Shoot.

and the winner of the “Entrepreneur of the Year Award” is Robert Martin. Robert’s words at receiving the award were “Shocked and excited”.

Next was the “Small to Medium Business Award” sponsored by: ACCFutures Nominees were: Bud’s Records, Ionic Electrical and Seaway Office Pro.

and the winner of the “Small to Medium Business Award” is Bud’s Records. Jason said “Feels great” and Emily said that “She really wasn’t expecting this”.

Followed by the “Community Impact Award” sponsored by: Desjardins. Nominees were: Business Sisters, Maison Baldwin House, W3 Girls & Co.

and the winner of the “Community Impact Award” is W3 Girls & Co. Again as with all the winners I asked Debbie for her reaction when she found out that W3 Girls & o. won, “Shocked and Grateful” was her reply.

Next was the “Young Professional Award” sponsored by: Eastern Ontario Training Board. Nominees were: Gina Scandrett, Katy Cartier and Kelsey Lee.

and the winner of the “Young Professional Award” is Kelsey Lee. Kelsey’s reaction to receiving the award was “Amazing to be recognized” and “Business women are the future”.

Then we had the “Environmental Impact Award” sponsored by: Cogeco Nominees were: Munroes Mills, Intertape Polymer Group and St, Lawrence River Institute.

and the winner of the “Environmental Impact Award” is St. Lawrence River Institute. “Great to be recognized” was the reaction of this group.

The “Large Business Award” sponsored by sponsored by: McDougall Insurance & Financial was next. Nominees were McDonald’s Restaurants, Olsonfab Metal Fabrication and St, Joseph’s Continuing Care.

and the winner of the “Large Business Award” is McDonald’s Restaurants. When I asked for a word to describe how this group felt the answer was “Surreal”.

Next was the presentation of the “2024 President’s Award” A career of compassion and care honouring Dr. Peter Tropea who said that he “was really surprised and very privileged, such an honour.”

Next came the “Lifetime Achievement Award”. There were no nominees listed for this award. Quoted from the program “Cornwall boasts an enviable group of longstanding professionals. These individuals have not only made their mark in the world of commerce, they enhance the community as a whole”. This award was presented by MNP and the recipients were Emard Brothers Lumber. Celebrating 100 years in business, Chris Emard said it “has taken a lifetime to get here and it feels terrific”.

Finally the moment that we were all waiting for – the “Citizen of the Year 2024 Award”. This award was presented by Tom Hughes of Weaving Baskets Group and the much deserved recipient of this award is Dr. Michael Turcotte. When I asked Michael how he felt to receive this prestigious award he said it was “very humbling and he thought of his sister who he had recently lost to cancer and how proud she would have been of him at this moment.”

Congratulations to the Cornwall and Area Chamber of Commerce for organizing this glamorous event and congratulations to all the Award Nominees and Winners.

To find out more about the Cornwall and Area Chamber of Commerce, please visit: cornwallchamber.com