The Portage and District Chamber of Commerce hosted a successful award show that honoured Portage's outstanding businesses yesterday evening.

The night was one to celebrate the chamber's 135th anniversary of existence, an in-person event held by the chamber for the first time in 19 months and, of course, all the businesses that make Portage la Prairie such a special place.

The evening began at 5:30 pm when the doors opened, followed by a dinner at 7 pm and then the awards at 8 pm.

There were 17 businesses nominated, but the winners on the night were:

  • The Portage Rotary Club for the Outstanding Not-For-Profit Award.
  • Southport Aerospace for the Outstanding Contribution to the Community by a Business Award.
  • Pharmasave and Caitlin Giercke for the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award.
  • Shae Fust Fitness for the Outstanding Business of the Year Award.

Executive Director of the Portage and District Chamber of Commerce, Cindy McDonald, caught up with PortageOnline following the conclusion of the award ceremony to talk about how she felt the night went.

"Tonight was amazing. It was 19 months of no events." McDonald continued, "So, it was fantastic to see everybody in person again, and it was great; I loved it."

McDonald notes that the night was that much more special being back in person compared to last year when the celebration was forced to be done online.

Next week, keep it locked to PortageOnline for additional coverage from the 2021 Portage and District Chamber of Commerce business awards as we speak with and get perspective from the award recipients on what was a memorable night.