Recognizing the best in business
Paradise Physiotherapy and Pennecon winners at annual chamber awards
By Mark Squibb | Vol. 32 No. 48 (Feb. 13, 2020)
Two local companies took home hardware when the Mount Pearl – Paradise Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Best in Business awards January 30.
The chamber handed out ten awards, recognizing innovation, community impact, employment equity, customer service, and overall performance.
Paradise Physiotherapy won the Community Impact Award, while provincial construction giant Pennecon Ltd., which is based in Paradise, took home the prize for an Outstanding Business with more than 15 Employees.
Accepting the award on behalf of Paradise Physiotherapy was Michelle Sheppard.
“We want to thank the Chamber of Commerce,” she said. “It’s a great honour to be recognized here tonight. And a big congratulations to the other nominees. Most of the parents in the room would know the statement, ‘it takes a village,’ and that really does correspond to business life. It really does take a village to run a business, as you all know. If it wasn’t for our staff, our customers, our community, then we would not have a business. And without a group of businesses, we don’t have a community. So, it takes a village of great businesses, with dedication, to also grow a fantastic community.
Sheppard said the company has been in the community since 2003. “And we look forward to growth in Paradise,” she added. “We’ve watched it grow over a long, long time and we are very excited to be with the community in the future.”
Other nominees for the award included Belfor, Body Quest Health and Wellness Centre, RBC Paradise, and Young Drivers of Canada.
Accepting the award for Outstanding Business on behalf of Penencon was Brad Cole, the company’s executive vice president of its heavy civil division.
“Thank you, it’s a great honour to accept this award for Pennecon. All the businesses nominated in this category are respected and successful companies, and it’s a privilege and an honour to stand side-by-side with them this evening,” Cole said. “Pennecon has worked in the Town of Paradise for over 40 years. It’s our home, and we our very proud of the history we have built here. Over the last several years, we have expanded our business all across Canada. But we never forget where we came from.”
Cole acknowledged the employees as the heart of Pennecon.
“Our workers aren’t afraid of hard work. Often, they thrive on it, and this award is for them,” he said.