Surrey, B.C. – On Tuesday, November 6, 2018, the Surrey Board of Trade recognized seven winners at the 20th Annual Surrey Business Excellence Awards, with Presenting Sponsors BDC – Business Development Bank of Canada and TD Bank, and media sponsors CKNW, GlobalTV, the Surrey NOW-Leader Newspaper. Just over 420 people were in attendance with Master of Ceremonies Jay Janower of GlobalTV.
“The Surrey Board of Trade focused on the strength and innovation within every entrepreneur to take an idea and use it as the foundation for building a business. They are inspirational – from the very small business to the large business to the not for profit service organization to the very innovative student entrepreneurs,” said Anita Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade.
The judging team’s evaluation assessed the following competencies: Organizational profile, Leadership, Strategy Development and Planning, Customer focus and market knowledge, Employee Learning and People Focus, Process Management, Supplier/Partner Focus, Community Involvement, Overall business performance.
2018 Surrey Board of Trade, Surrey Business Excellence Award Winners:
BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR
Philip Aguirre, Newton Business Improvement Association and Old Surrey Restaurant Philip Aguirre is a Certified Professional Accountant with a Degree in Bachelor of Commerce from University of Victoria. He grew up in a typical immigrant family where hard work is emphasized. His parents opened the Old Surrey Restaurant in 1975, and at age 9, Philip was lucky to have gained his first experience at work as a dishwasher. From then on, Philip gained invaluable knowledge and experience working with people who inspired him to be a leader and a mentor, to work with passion and pride, work ethics and a consuming need to adapt to the everchanging environment. The Old Surrey Restaurant’s success over the last 39 years is a testament to Philip’s innovative, yet compassionate kind of leadership. Phillip is also the Executive Director of the Newton Business Improvement Association.
BUSINESS WINNER WITH 1-10 EMPLOYEES
Symbiosis Pediatric Therapy Inc.
Symbiosis Pediatric Therapy was founded and incorporated in 2009 by Sumanta and Shalini Das, two Pediatric Occupational Therapists, in response to a shortage of services for children with special needs and insufficient levels of support for their families in the Metro Vancouver and surrounding areas. Symbiosis initially started delivering full-spectrum private pediatric therapy services through a large, state of the art facility in Surrey. To cater to the growing need for their services over the next few years, the company has expanded to three more locations in South Surrey, Delta, and Abbotsford. Symbiosis has a multi-disciplinary team consisting of Behaviour Consultants, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, Physiotherapists, Behaviour Interventionists and Clinic coordinators, who are all passionate about providing excellent therapy services to children and their families. Over the past ten years, as a trusted therapy center for children with special needs, Symbiosis has transformed the lives of more than 2000 families by providing high quality, evidence-based therapy services.
BUSINESS WINNER WITH 11 – 40 EMPLOYEES
HealthTech Connex Inc.
This company routinely measures the body’s vital signs to evaluate a state of health (including blood pressure and heart rate); however, no equivalent measurement exists for monitoring brain function. With 1-in-3 Canadians experiencing devastating brain conditions in their lifetime, HealthTech Connex believes that bringing brain vital signs to the world is long overdue. HealthTech Connex is proud to be a Surrey-based health technology company bridging the gap between what’s capable in the laboratory and what’s available in the real-world. As a result, it has successfully developed the world’s first objective, physiological brain vital sign technology, that translates complex brain waves into easily obtainable and understandable markers of brain function. While the science and technology behind their innovation is complex, their vision is fairly simple, but ultimately important: Making brain health monitoring as accessible to the public as blood pressure monitoring is today.
BUSINESS WINNER WITH 41+ Employees
Silver Icing Inc.
Silver Icing is an innovative, social selling, fashion company that offers casual fashion and accessories through Independent Online Stylists. Silver Icing’s commission-based Online Stylist program is a “business-in-a-box” for people who want to be in the fashion industry but don’t want the burden of selecting, carrying or investing in inventory. Each Online Stylist receives a personalized version of the website, Facebook Page and access to the ‘Online Stylist Hub’ – the Company’s private online stylist community. Stylists share first hand product knowledge that can be used to tailor advice on size, fit and quality for each of their customers providing customers a level of confidence in selecting the right fit for them.
NOT FOR PROFIT WINNER
Surrey Hospital Foundation
Surrey Hospital Foundation is the largest non-government funder of healthcare for families in Surrey and surrounding Fraser Valley communities. They raise funds for facilities, programs and innovations that save lives and reduce waiting times. The Foundation supports the major health facilities in the region, Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH), Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre (JPOCSC), as well as numerous specialized programs for newborns, children, adults and seniors. As a teaching hospital affiliated with the University of British Columbia, Surrey Memorial Hospital houses the second busiest children’s centre in the province. As a LEED-certified facility, JPOCSC is a ground breaking medical centre, with over 50 clinics and programs. In total, the Foundation supports a campus that includes 12 buildings with over 5,000 employees – a healthcare campus that touches the lives of thousands of patients every day and cares for the whole family, from birth to end-of-life any everything in between. Their medical and professional teams work tirelessly to combine clinical excellence with human compassion for every family member in our growing community.
NEW BUSINESS OF THE YEAR WINNER
Maple Organics
Maple Organics is Canada’s first Organic Pharmaceuticals Company. Their mission is to make families healthier through their organic, pure and effective products while providing flexible career opportunities. They manufacture and sell organic body care, baby care, pharmaceutical and hair care products formulated with a very unique ingredient — Kokum Butter. Their products are USDA Organic-certified and their therapeutic products also carry Natural Product Numbers licensed by Health Canada allowing them to make medical claims on their efficacy. The business was conceptualized to ensure that families globally would have safe, clean and effective alternatives to commercial products.
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY RECOGNITION AWARD WINNER
This award was created to recognize a business working to improve the lives of their employees and to enhance the civic environment in which they operate, through participation in community programs, partnerships with community organizations, volunteering, educational and/or environmental initiatives, and/or for creating a positive environment for employees.
Silver Icing Inc.
This innovative, social selling, fashion company that offers casual fashion and accessories through Independent Online Stylists exemplifies Corporate Social Responsibility through:
Community Impact: react/execute in time of crisis, by sourcing inspiring fashion products & launch immediately on website with proceeds to cause (eg raised Fort McMurray fire $22k / Humboldt $46k 2nd top donation across Canada). Every Quarter a major donation / charity focus is launched
Inclusiveness: It’s not just about earning income, model is based on family first and staying connected
Environmental awareness: eliminate waste / packaging but offering bundle shipping (if multiple orders in a day or week, option to consolidate into one shipment); source products from ethical companies.
