THE finger-crossing for nominees will end this evening when the St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture holds its 2016 St. Lucia Business Awards at the Johnsons Centre in Rodney Bay.
Twenty nominees made this year’s impressive list. They are: AIM, The Independent Film Company, Juliana Destang, Tarriba do Nascimento, Baron Foods, Bay Gardens Resort, Splash Island Water Park, Mandissa Morrison, KPMG, Sandals Foundation, Ronald Ramjattan, LUCELEC, Coconut Bay Resort and Spa, BitbyBit& Associates, Shoe Rehab, Windjammer Landing Beach Resort, CPJ St. Lucia Ltd., Unicomer, KeranRosemond and Sandals Resorts International.
They will be vying for awards in the following thirteen categories: ISL Investor of the Year, Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Service Exporter of the Year, Goods Exporter of the Year, Prime Minister’s Award for Innovation, Award for Service Excellence, Idea of the Year, Green Award, Entrepreneur of the Year, Award for Excellence in Human Resource Development, Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, Award for Marketing Excellence, and Award for Corporate Leadership.
At its core, the awards scheme serves to highlight the best in local business. As in previous years, the ceremony also provides the platform on which local stakeholders list the challenges – and progress – of the local business climate.
Speaking to The VOICE at last year’s awards ceremony, Chairperson of the Business Awards Committee, Dr. Charmaine Gardner, said the awards set the tone that local businesses should strive for. The ceremony, she said, shows the global community “that we are proud of what we do and we need to recognize those who do what they do well in the private sector.”
Bay Gardens Resorts won big last year, taking home two major awards, namely Business of the Year Award and Award for Marketing Excellence.