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President's Message


Welcome to the 2022 Northern Ontario Business Awards!

Village Media is proud to once again host this annual program, celebrating the incredible accomplishments of our inspiring Northern Ontario business community.

Last year, which was Village Media’s first year hosting what was supposed to be a live event, things took an unexpected turn: COVID-19 changed the world.

One thing I have thought about often during the past 15 months is that living in the North is a privilege. We are (generally speaking) safer than other areas. We have access to the outdoors, where the change of each season brings with it new adventures. We live in communities that come together in difficult times and as such we are resilient - as we always have been in Northern Ontario.

I can’t think of any other place I’d rather be during a global pandemic. Last year’s award ceremony was not quite what we had originally expected or planned for it to be. We were excited to host a “real” event (remember those?) in Thunder Bay. Instead, our team quickly scrambled to pull together a virtual event and set out to use the power of our province-wide network of sites to find and select an incredible roster of businesses and individuals. Each winner was then profiled by our Northern Ontario Business reporters and thanks to the support of Eastlink, had a video profile produced as well.

The winners were thrilled. They received recognition across the entire North. Sponsors were equally appreciative of the presence they received across a wide range of articles and ads on sites in Sudbury, Timmins, North Bay, Elliot Lake, Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay.

This year, things will remain the same. While we would love to celebrate in person with all of you, the pandemic continues to delay the opportunity to move forward with planning a major live event. And so, virtual it is!

One thing hasn’t changed though: we, as always, look forward to celebrating the many wonderful entrepreneurs and business leaders that are fortunate to call Northern Ontario their home.

See you soon (virtually),

Jeff Elgie

Jeff Elgie
CEO, Village Media