Flagstaff Small Business Gala held Wednesday night, and the winners are…

Flagstaff County held its annual Small Business Gala and awards on Wednesday evening in the Killam Community Hall.

The Community Press, Lougheed Hotel (Haus Falkenstein), Forestburg Communities in Bloom, and Wild Rose Co-op (Killam) were the big winners in their respective categories.

There were five awards in all handed out, following supper and an informative presentation from Todd Hirsch, Chief Economist at ATB Financial.

Wild Rose Co-op (Killam) led the Community Spirit category, with nominees Main Street Medley and The Leaf Sports Bar receiving honourable mention.

Logan Grove and Curtis Miller both won awards for Outstanding Youth.

Service Group of the Year was Forestburg Communities in Bloom, winning out over Killam Lions Club and Flagstaff Food Bank.

The BRAED (Battle River Alliance for Economic Development) Succeeding Long Standing Business Award went to The Community Press, which happened to coincide with 105 years in business as of this past July. Fee and Sons Funeral Service were runners-up in this, their 100th year in operation.

Small Business of the Year was between six businesses, and Lougheed Hotel, with a newly minted World Record for Schntizel variety, came out on top. Status Hair, Benchmark Hearing Centre, Pedersen Cabinetworks, Wagon Wheel Motel, and Clan Malcolm Manor were the other nominees in the category.

For more on the event, read the upcoming October 22 edition of The Community Press.