The business of awarding businesses
Taking a look at the award process of the West Shore Chamber of Commerce ‘Best of the Westshore’
Editorial analysis by Mary P Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
Saturday, September 1, 2018
WEST SHORE Business Analysis ~ LANGFORD. Just two days left now to vote in Best of the West Shore (a West Shore Chamber of Commerce event).
The WestShore Chamber of Commerce is once again presenting Best of the West Shore. It’s a contest shared with and featuring their main sponsor, Goldstream News Gazette. Contest voting online requires 20 selections that can be done from within 44 categories. Find the link here: www.westshore.bc.ca
WestShore Chamber of Commerce executive director Julie Lawlor says 20 selections (which takes a bit of time and initiative, especially if you don’t see your favourite business listed there) is intentionally a large number to try and avoid just singular or specialized vote-loading. But it can be a cumbersome process for busy people. Voting ends September 3, and the event will be held October 25.
Business participation is up to the businesses themselves. The checklists of business names therefore largely end up being comprised of who signs up as compared to shaping a reflection of the town’s economic skyline.
Lawlor has been hearing concerns from various businesses. For example, there is a Best Pet Clinic category but apparently pet retail stores felt left out. In the west shore there are several pet supply retail outlets (some which also provide grooming and also adopt out pets) including Bosley’s by Pet Valu both at Westshore Town Centre and in Colwood on Island Highway, Island Pet Store on Goldstream Avenue in town centre, and Pet Smart in Millstream Village. There’s always the Best Retailer category to consider, but that is broad and numerically diminishes the chance of winning for all business names entered into that category.
There is no overall sport category (other than Best Sport Team), but specific categories such as Best Martial Arts and Best Place for Fitness, as well as categories for golf, fishing, hiking, beach, and yoga. Other industries are split into different areas such as seeing Best Spa/Aesthetics as well as Best Hair Salon/Barbershop.
A grab-bag category is Best Professional Services which has a smattering of entrants from a wide range of business areas including HR, accounting, photography, plumbing, software, and news media — serving as a kind of catch-all where more appropriate categories were unavailable.
The contest does help promote local businesses. However, in future years the Chamber might serve members better after stepping back to review the growing variety and mosaic of businesses in Langford and revise the category format to help every business feel as though there’s a fair opportunity.
~ MPB
This item ran on page 3 in the Aug 24th print/PDF issue of West Shore Voice News.
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