The big crowd rose en masse to applaud as Lifetime Achievement winner Mike Coleman and his wife, Barbara, escorted by a pair of red-coated Mounties, led in all the finalists at the 18th annual Black Tie Awards Saturday evening on April 5. Organizers from the Duncan Cowichan Chamber of Commerce had put their backs into arranging the glamorous event in its newest venue: Brentwood College's beautiful Crooks Hall and they had their reward as a waiting list formed for the gala.
Right from the start, with emcee Jim Jackson and Chamber President George Gates parading about the stage modeling their party threads through all the awards, the fine meal and the superb silent auction, which featured nearly $21,000 worth of items, all the elements were there for a community celebration.
The winners if the 2014 Black Tie Awards are:
Customer Service: Jeff Downie (The Old Firehouse Wine Bar)
Volunteer: MaryAnn Deacon (Cowichan Valley Hospice Society)
Young Entrepreneur: Andrea and Daniel Hudson (Hudson's on First)
Business Achievement, one to 10 employees: Andrew Higginson (Higginson Consulting)
Business Achievement, 11-19 employees: Ivo Zanatta (Matrix Marble & Stone)
Business Achievement, 20 or more employees: Kelvin McCulloch, Robert Andersen and Allan Boer (Buckerfield's)
Green Business: Dan Armstrong and Karen Hallquist (Velocal Delivery on Facebook)
Art in Business: Gordon Smith (Cowichan Woodwork)
Lifetime Achievement: Michael Coleman, Q.C. (Coleman Fraser Whittome Lehan).