The Brandon Chamber of Commerce announced the winners of its 2022 Business Achievement Awards (139th annual) at their Annual Awards Gala Wednesday evening. Business Person of the Year: Bernie Whetter (The Green Spot) Business Excellence (Large):  Kim’s Asian Restaurant Business Excellence (Small): GEM Services Outstanding New Business: Resurrection Auto Detailing Community Impact: Westman Communications Group Lifetime Business Builder: Paul Crane (Crane Steel Structures) Young Entrepreneur Award: Matt Berg (Livingstone Landscaping & Outdoor Garden Centre Young Entrepreneur Award: Marcel Kringe (Bushel Plus) Westman’s Top 4 Under 40: Ty Worthington of Pinnacle Event Rentals, Cassandra Jamieson of McPhail Travel Brandon, Amber White of Anytime Fitness, Nirmal Thakar of Shreem Systems & Solutions. The “awards recognize, celebrate and profile the accomplishments of member businesses and individuals” each year.

The Westman Cricket Association (WCA) is thrilled to receive $9000.00 from the Westoba Credit Union Inspire Program to create a much needed practice cage this summer at the J&G Homes Cricket Field. Construction of the J&G Homes Cricket Field in 2021 at Simplot Millennial Park gave the WCA a permanent home in Brandon. Association President, Kushang Patel said the Westoba Practice Cage will be a first for Brandon and will have a significant impact on attracting more cricket enthusiasts, high-level competitions as well as building the skills of existing and new players. “Cricket is a growing sport in Brandon, for adults and kids.” Said Patel.” The Westoba Practice Cage is the piece we needed to create a proper facility and limit expensive travel to Winnipeg for skill training.” The WCA includes a men's recreation league, as well as a youth program that is growing in interest partly due to affordable registration rates and the addition of cricket to the Brandon School Division athletic program. Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School is targeting 30 kids on their team this year with an additional 25 kids from Vincent Massey High School building a team and taking part in cricket training. “Ages from five to 19 are welcome to join for the summer 2022 season, “said Patel. “No prior knowledge or equipment is required to participate. The cost for the entire season is $50, which includes weekly training, competitive matches, full access to all the equipment and coaches, and a personalized jersey.” The WCA plans to increase the number of games this season to 70 from the 30 they played in 2021. The WCA also plans to host a tri-series between Winnipeg, Regina, and Brandon this year and is working with the Manitoba Cricket Association (MCA) to arrange for teams like the Brandon Bisons and Brandon Renegades to play six of their games in Brandon and six in Winnipeg. The WCA remains in talks with the MCA to finalize details on the Cricket Canada 2022 national tournament scheduled to take place in Manitoba this year. Work on the Westoba Practice Cage is expected to start soon with a completion date aimed at early summer.

New Beginnings Intimate Apparel celebrates their 40th Anniversary on May 3rd with great sales, draws and giveaways throughout the Month of May. The business, owned by Judy Andrews, is located at 601-18th Street.  Andrews has been a certified bra fitter in Brandon for nearly 40 years. In addition to offering personal fittings for bras, they also specialize in Mastectomy fittings.  Prima Donna, Elomi, and Fantasie are the store's top brands with others available as well. Working with females aged 13-90, they stock sizes from A-K cup and work with 30-52 band sizes. New Beginnings Intimate Apparel employs two staff who are all certified in Mastectomy fittings, and they are all about making women look and feel great about themselves. .

Grey Ridge Coffee has expanded into Shoppers Mall, offering a full drink menu and a selection of locally handmade goods presented by Made in MB. Grey Ridge Coffee has grown from a coffee trailer serving events in Westman to a well-loved roastery in the Town Centre in downtown Brandon. Chris Ridgen, the owner of Grey Ridge Coffee, decided to expand with a location in Shoppers Mall after the success of the Pop-Up Shop he shared with Tanya Baker, owner of Made in MB, in December 2021. Tanya Baker said, “we signed on for a pop-up at the Shoppers Mall in Brandon this past December to expand our customer reach, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results.” Grey Ridge Café + Gift Shop offers a wide selection of beverages to suit every coffee lover. The menu is a full selection of hot and cold coffee and tea beverages and blended Fraps. Special to the Shoppers Mall location only is soft-serve ice cream and milkshakes, including the recent popular addition of Cold Brew Milkshakes. Chris Ridgen has partnered with Tanya Baker once again to offer a curated selection of locally handcrafted items from the Westman area under the Made in MB umbrella. For their grand opening weekend (May 6th, 7th and 8th), Grey Ridge Café is offering free brewed coffee, and all specialty drinks are buy one, get one 50% off. The Grey Ridge Gift Shop is offering 10% off all purchases, and a chance to win a gift basket with every purchase made that weekend.

Brandon McDonald's franchisee Jason Ammar has partnered with Forrest’s Elton Collegiate to launch the McDonald’s Continuing Education Scholarship, an annual scholarship that will award one Elton Collegiate graduating student $1,000 towards post-secondary education or training. In his position as a McDonald’s franchisee, Jason Ammar leads with a community-first mentality. He believes everything starts and ends with people. As he took over the franchises of the four Brandon McDonald’s restaurants in early 2022, he brought these principles with him and specifically wanted to find a way to invest in the futures of local youth. This is what inspired Ammar to partner with Forrest’s Elton Collegiate. The inaugural scholarship will be presented this June during graduation. The four Brandon McDonald’s restaurants create more than 350 jobs in the community, many of which are filled by youth, and many of those youth are students or alumni of Elton Collegiate, making this a natural partnership. Each year, thousands of Canadian youths get their first job at their local McDonald's, which serves as a springboard to exciting, successful and diverse careers. The growth opportunities are outstanding, and this is what Ammar wants to continue offering to the youth in the Brandon area. “McDonald’s is a great first job for teens and young adults to build valuable skills in a safe, fun, and inclusive environment,” said Jason Ammar, Brandon McDonald’s Franchisee. “Whether they plan to be with McDonald’s for a long time, or just use their experience with us as a steppingstone, we want to give them the education, training and leadership skills that will be valuable throughout their future.” The McDonald’s Continuing Education Scholarship with Elton Collegiate is not exclusive to McDonald’s employees. Instead, the intention is to give Elton Collegiate students the chance to pursue their ambitions after graduation, whether that directly involves working at McDonald’s, or not. “On behalf of Elton Collegiate, I would like to thank McDonald’s Canada for their very generous post-secondary scholarship,” said principal Mark Geekie. “Our students are very fortunate to have another opportunity such as this one to receive help with funding for their continued education or training. We have many students that will be very deserving of this scholarship. Again, we are extremely grateful and thankful for this partnership with McDonald’s.” Along with the McDonald’s Continuing Education Scholarship, Ammar has spent his first few months getting involved with the local community. He is a sponsor of the Brandon Wheat Kings, Westman Dreams for Kids McDonald’s Classic, and plans to help raise funds for Ronald McDonald House Charities Manitoba. He is also looking to hire over a dozen people in the Brandon market. (submitted)