So many great businesses, it was difficult to choose

In just two years, Amy Dopson developed a business aimed at supporting and enriching the student experience within the education system, and today she is British Columbia’s Young Female Entrepreneur of the Year.

The BC Aboriginal Business award was presented to Dopson on Dec. 1 in Vancouver by the BC Achievement Foundation and Premier Gordon Campbell.

PAC10 Tutoring services heavily emphasize Math, English and Science and offer flexible programs that work within a student’s school schedule. The business provides a diverse set of options meeting the needs of each client and includes monthly group programs, private sessions and year-round tutoring services.

The developer of PAC10 Tutoring in Prince Rupert joined 18 other achievers in a variety of categories for a gala dinner. There were 18 business awards and one Aboriginal Business award for individual achievement, which went to Port Alberni’s Dolly Watts McRae.

McRae’s restaurant, the Liliget Feast House on Vancouver’s Davie Street, was open for 12 years. The 52-seat restaurant received a four-star rating from the New York Times for offering the best Aboriginal food in North America.

McRae has also garnered such awards as the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in 2001 and a gold medal in the Iron Chef competition, received at the age of 69.
McRae is now writing, and in 2007 published “Where People Feast: An Indigenous People’s Cookbook,” which she co-authored with her daughter Annie.

Young Male Entrepreneur of the Year is Robert Ellis of Nanaimo. His creation is Ellis Excavating Ltd. which provides excavation services to the construction industry with a focus on residential subdivision development. The work includes site clearing, road building, trenching, pipe and foundation laying. He’s developed his business over the last four years.

Ellis was all smiles and gave a thumb’s up as he accepted his plaque and citation from the premier for being one of this province’s top Aboriginal achievers.

The BC Aboriginal Business Awards were launched in October 2008 to honour and celebrate business excellence. Seven award recipients, one from each category, were selected in the 2010 awards. In addition, a further group of eleven Aboriginal businesses were noted for their outstanding achievement. An independent jury panel evaluated the submissions based on the viability, sustainability and competitiveness of the business.

The jury had a difficult task selecting the recipients from the many great businesses nominated in this year’s submissions, so in some categories there was an overall winner and then one or two honourable mentions.
For example, in the Community-Owned Business of the Year category, the winner was Coast Tsimshian Resources LP Terrace. In that category were two additional Outstanding Business Achievers—Quinsam Shell Service Station of Campbell River, and Tseshaht Market of Port Alberni.

“This year’s Aboriginal Business Award recipients represent the growing number of outstanding Aboriginal business leaders in British Columbia,” said Barry Penner, minister of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation.
“These role models will encourage the next generation of Aboriginal people to bring their entrepreneurial ideas to life.”

Business of the Year in the one to two person enterprise category went to Jeff Ward and Animikii Inc. of Sooke near Victoria on Vancouver Island.

Ward founded Animikii Inc. in 2003 and continues as its sole operator. The business provides its clients with Web site design, Web application development and Web hosting expertise. Animikii has clients from throughout North America and develops relationships with both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal partners.

The other 2010 Aboriginal Business Award recipients are:
Runner up in the Young Male Entrepreneur of the Year Award category was Michael Salto of Salto Waterworks.
Runners up in the Business of the Year - one to two person enterprise Jags Beanstalk and MUG Solutions
Business of the Year - two to ten person enterprise is Little Kingdom Gas and Grocery of Vernon with runners up or winners in Outstanding Business Achievement AJ Towing, Grizzly-Man Resource Management Ltd. and Theytus Books Ltd.

Business of the Year - ten or more person enterprise was Kekuli Café Aboriginal Foods and Catering of Kelowna. Outstanding Business Achievement in this category are DL Safety Consulting and Selkin Logging Ltd and Michell Enterprises.

Joint Venture Business of the Year was Stuwix Resources Joint Venture: partners Coldwater Band, Cook’s Ferry Band, Lower Nicola Band, Nooaitch Band, Shackan Band, Siska Band, Upper Nicola Band, Upper Similkameen Band of Merritt.

Stuwix Resources was established in 2004 and is the only First Nations company in the B.C. Interior to hold a replaceable forest licence. Stuwix is responsible for the overall management of the licence, including planning, developing, marketing, timber-harvesting, road-building and silviculture. A management committee, made up of representatives from the eight bands, operates the joint venture.

Outstanding Business Achievement in this category went to Katzie Coast Marine.

An award for Individual Achievement also went to John Harper from the First Citizen’s Fund loan program. Harper provided the oversight for the delivery of the FCF loan program through the Aboriginal capital corporations Tale’Awtxw (TACC); Tricorp; Nuu-chah-Nulth Economic Development Corporation (NEDC); First Nations Agricultural Lending Association (FNALA); and All Nations Trust Company (ANTCO).