BUSINESS COMMENT 14 • April 2021 Coast River Business Journal CEDR awards event Nominations open until April 30 By Kevin Leahy Executive Director Clatsop Economic Development Resources What a year 2020 was. This past year has been like none of us have seen in our lifetime. The pandemic raged for most of the year, with periods of total business shutdown in the spring of 2020 that impacted businesses of all sizes, and other periods which we are still going through with a roller coaster of restrictions, clo- sures, reduced capacities, venue and events clo- sures, and much more. This was done to keep our citizens and com- munities safe, and as we continue the economic recovery and vaccinations are becoming more widely available, we want to take the time to celebrate the resilience of our business com- munity, and the entrepreneurs who had success against all odds. We look to honor leaders who stood above the crowd within their individual business, or CLATSOP ECONOMIC DEVELOPMET RESOURCES ANNUAL BUSINESS AWARDS JOIN US ON ZOOM MAY 20, 2021 - 5:30-6:30 PM Nomination form can be found at: https://www.clatsopcc.edu/community-resources/cedr/ NOMINATIONS DUE 4/30! • This past year has been one Iike none of us have seen in our lifetime, and we want to celebrate an individual business leader (or other leader) who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership over the past year. • Businesses who showed remarkable achievement in customer service, economic impact, innovation, job creation/retention and service (on the part of the business) to the community. • A “Spirit of Business” Community Supporter award - recognizing an organization of any type (nonprofit, service organization, government entity, or the like) that has gone above and beyond to support the economic vitality of the region. • Submit your nominations by Friday, April 30th and plan to “attend” the CEDR County-wide awards event via ZOOM on Thursday, May 20th at 5:30 PM. (Watch for registration information. FREE). were visionary in supporting the business com- munity in actions and deeds. We look to recognize a business, as a whole, that has demonstrated remarkable achievement in any of these following areas: customer ser- vice, economic impact, innovation, job cre- ation/retention or service (on the part of the business) to the community. There will also be a “Spirit of Business” award, the community supporter award, which recognizes an organization of any type (non- profit, service organization, government entity or the like) that has gone above and beyond to support the economic vitality of the region. Businesses of all sizes will receive equal consideration. For purposes of the nominations, we have categorized a new business as one that has been open for business less than two years, a small business is one that has between 1-10 employees and a large business has more than 10 employees. Past CEDR award winners are a who’s who of businesses throughout the entire county. (Prior winners can be nominated, too!) This is the only county-wide business recognition event, which normally rotates around the county year to year and is an opportunity for business owners, elected officials, leaders and citizens to get together to network and collectively cel- ebrate the winners and our diverse and robust economy. Businesses must maintain operations (primary or otherwise) in Clatsop County. Mark your calendar now for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. May 20. The format this year will be a Zoom event, but this is still an opportunity to get together, albeit virtually. The awards commit- tee is working to have this event be as memora- Kevin Leahy ble as always for the winners and the attendees. Advance registration is required. Watch for reg- istration information for this free event, thanks to our generous sponsors. Next steps? Nominate a business, a leader or an organization for the spirit of business award. Self-nominations are welcome! To access the nomination form, visit clatsopcc.edu/com- munity resources/cedr. Click on the online form (preferred) or print the nomination form and mail to CEDR. Details are on the form. IMPORTANT! There must be at least one letter of support to go with each nomination. All nominations must be received by April 30. For any questions, email us at cedr@clat- sopcc.edu or call 503-338-2402. ‘WE LOOK TO HONOR LEADERS WHO STOOD ABOVE THE CROWD WITHIN THEIR INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS, OR WERE VISIONARY IN SUPPORTING THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IN ACTIONS AND DEEDS. WE LOOK TO RECOGNIZE A BUSINESS, AS A WHOLE, THAT HAS DEMONSTRATED REMARKABLE ACHIEVE- MENT IN ANY OF THESE FOLLOWING AREAS: CUS- TOMER SERVICE, ECONOMIC IMPACT, INNOVATION, JOB CREATION/RETENTION OR SERVICE (ON THE PART OF THE BUSINESS) TO THE COMMUNITY.’