Hard work is recognized in Swift Current with the Swift Current & District Chamber of Commerce's Business Excellence Awards (SCBEX).

This year, they have received a variety of nominations that will be up for consideration. In order to be nominated for the SCBEX, a business or person must be recommended by an individual from the community.

Karla Wiens, CEO of the Swift Current & District Chamber of Commerce, revealed that some businesses have even been sent in for nomination by more than one individual.

"We received a total of 132 nominations," explained Wiens. "Some of them, of course, were [duplicates] for the same individual. So individual nominations are 78."

Nominations have closed for the year, having come to a close on August 31. From there, the nominations are received by the selection committee. They process the nominees based on what was said about them by their nominators. They are each processed for each category, having a chance to win if not another.

In total, they have seven award categories to pick a top three for out of the 78 nominations.

"If something doesn't match up, then I will ask them to narrow it down a little bit more," said Wiens.

The one category the selection committee doesn't have input on is the 'Home Based' category. That one already had its three nominees and didn't require the committee's input.

"As well as the [chamber member] business of the year and the Hall of Fame inductee that will be announced later on this month," added Wiens. "That is proposed and secret ballot voted on by the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors."

This year featured a completely redone nomination form. While previous years form encouraged a larger return on nominations, it also resulted in a lack of information being passed along. Sometimes the only information on the form would be the business name.

The new forms require folks to name an individual, why they deserve to win, and for what category they are being nominated.

"We received some very high-quality nominations this year for various businesses and individuals," praised Wiens.

This year's reveals are being held at the Great Plains College gymnasium. The show begins with the reveal event which will be held on October 6 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The convention is invite-only for nominees and sponsors. At this leg of the awards, the finalists will be revealed to those in attendance.

After that, the awards will be handed out at the SCBEX being hosted on October 28. That's when people will be honoured with their awards, receiving them in front of peers and fellow business owners from the community. In years gone by, they have had hundreds of people in attendance, making the evening a great time to socialize, mingle, and do some networking.

"It shines a light on our local businesses," said Wiens about the event. "In various different categories, it highlights what these businesses do in, around, and for our community. That makes it better and makes Swift Current and the surrounding area a better place to live and work."