It was another successful night for the Swift Current and District Chamber of Commerce and the 22nd annual Swift Current Business Excellence (SCBEX) awards.

Modified a bit due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event which would have ostensibly taken place in the Living Sky Casinon Events Centre, was instead hybrid affair; part Livestream, part pre-recorded segments, and part live submissions from viewers with congratulations and well wishes to those nominated.

A few of the big winners on the night included Trevor Marion from the aforementioned as Citizen of the Year, Safeway as Large Business of the year, and the Canadian Mental Health Association as the not-for-profit of the year.

While in any event such as this, there needs to be winners and non-winners, Karla Wiens, the Chamber CEO would surely hesitate to use the phrase "winners and losers".

"We always have a fantastic group of nominees and finalists and winners. And we've been presenting awards this week and I can assure you that everyone is ecstatic and thrilled that they are nominated and recognized."

Speaking with Swift Current Online, Wiens said that since the finalist's announcement in September was pre-recorded, there was an extra element of "challenge" about potential technical issues when dealing with the hybrid event with live elements.

"So challenges; the logistics of doing an event like this. It was new to us. So it was a pretty steep learning curve, but I think we pulled it off pretty good."

Even with the added challenge, Wiens added that there are advantages to the virtual format; and while no one really knows what next year will bring, she isn't afraid to say that she would adopt this new form of award show again if need be.

"There are benefits of doing a virtual event in that we had far more engagement with a broader number of people. When we have a live event at the Event Centre, only 250 people can fit in that room. Whereas this one, we've had over 3000 people watch it thus far. And that may continue on as people can tune in."

The recorded version of the awards ceremony is still available on the Swift Current Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.