Awards gala showcases best in the business

More than 500 members of Brandon and Westman’s business community gathered Thursday evening in the Manitoba Room at the Keystone Centre for the Brandon Chamber of Commerce’s 143rd Business Achievement Awards Gala.

At the event, the chamber celebrated local leaders, entrepreneurs and community builders.

The night’s top honour — 2026 Business Person of the Year — was awarded to Dale McKay, chief executive officer of Shur-Gro Farm Services.

McKay said receiving the award was both humbling and emotional.

“It’s really quite overwhelming, actually,” he told the Sun. “A lot of the folks that are also recipients are people that I looked up to and were mentors to me. To be part of that list is pretty nice.”

McKay reflected on more than four decades in agriculture and his years helping serve Prairie farmers through Shur-Gro.

“My life is agriculture,” he said. “I grew up in agriculture, and I got to spend the last 40 years at Shur-Gro serving farmers. Wonderful, wonderful way to have a life.”

McKay also spoke about the importance of the agricultural sector to the Prairies, describing the spring planting season as a “$20-billion mega project” happening annually across Western Canada.

“The risk-taking that they all do … The reward for that is hopefully you have a good crop to sell, and maybe a good calf crop to sell, and it lets you run for another year,” he said.

He paid tribute to the late Ron Helwer, founder of Shur-Gro and a longtime mentor and friend, who passed away last May.

“Ron taught me to think bigger,” McKay told the audience. “We never think big enough.”

He also encouraged business leaders to remain consistent, volunteer in their communities and “enjoy the journey.”

Another emotional moment of the evening came as the late Bob Mazer was posthumously honoured with the Lifetime Business Builder Award.

Accepting the award on behalf of the family, Bob Mazer’s son, Jonathan Mazer, said his father always believed people were the foundation of every successful company.

“He would have never viewed this as an award to himself,” Jonathan said. “He would have viewed it as a team award.”

Jonathan said his father took pride in mentoring employees and helping people succeed both professionally and personally.

“The legacy that he leaves behind lives through you guys,” he told members of the Mazergroup team in attendance. “Through your character, through your loyalty, through your work ethic and the leadership you help inspire in others.”

Among the other major winners of the evening were David and Jennifer Anning of Compass Coach Lines, who received the Outstanding New Business Award.

“It’s a tremendous honour,” David Anning said. “We have a great team, tremendous drivers and strong staff. They’re really the reason that we’ve had success.”

The Assiniboine Credit Union Community Impact Individual Award went to Tamra Rapsky, who said the recognition came as a surprise following her retirement last year.

“I’ve mentored lots of people, and I have seen them grow and develop,” she said. “It’s a combination of what I’ve done that I just felt compelled to do — not for any kind of award.”

The Assiniboine Credit Union Community Impact Business Award was presented to Greg Gingras, owner and operator of Sobeys West End.

“It’s nice to be recognized,” Gingras said. “My staff put in a lot of effort, and we enjoy being involved with all the causes that we support in the community.”

The BDO small business excellence award went to Reesor’s Jewellery.

The BDO large business excellence award went to Glenn Butt of Canadian Tire Brandon.

“I feel very honoured, very grateful and more than anything very humble,” Butt told the Sun. “I accept the award on behalf of my entire team.”

He also gave special recognition to general manager Stuart Cruz, who recently celebrated 50 years with the company.

Several young professionals were also honoured as Top 4 Under 40 recipients, including Kyla Neufield of Alair Homes Brandon, Courtney Matienzo of Mazergroup, Lindsey Raupers, founder of Loft Accounting & Advisory Inc., and Assiniboine College’s Chris Hunt.

Hunt said the recognition serves as encouragement to continue helping the region grow.

“Brandon is here to stay. We’re here to grow,” he said. “Being recognized this way feels like an opportunity to say we’re doing great work and to be inspired to go to that next level.”

The Scotiabank Young Entrepreneur Award went to Cassandra Jamieson, owner of McPhail Travels & Moonlit Canopy.

Chamber president Jennifer Ludwig said the evening was both uplifting and inspiring.

“Seeing the stories from all of the finalists and recipients really invigorates me as a business person,” Ludwig told the Sun.

She said that the gala drew just over 500 attendees, reflecting strong support from both chamber members and the broader Brandon community.

“These awards are an amazing way to showcase what talent is in Brandon and our business community,” Ludwig said. “Hopefully, they inspire those coming up and moving into the future.”

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