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4 Independent & Free Press, Tuesday,February 9, 2010 Chamber announces business award recipients Continued from pg. 1 There are 24 full-time employees and a part-time high school student who does delivery verifications at the paper. "Every week hundreds of local businesses and personal advertisers rely on timely and accurate presentation of their message to the public to help keep their businesses vibrant and to provide personal classified advertising from garage sales to birth/death/wedding notices," said the newspaper's nominator Finn Poulstrup. "Reporting on local events are part of the fabric of our community," he said. "The paper also features the number one real estate advertising section of all community papers in Ontario. They have shown innovation in their development of additional products such as In Focus, Here's My Card, Just for the Health of It, and Sideroads." Poulstrup said the paper's success "lies in a large part to its proactive community involvement, support and voice for many important causes." The newspaper is the media sponsor for the Relay for Life, inaugural and continuous sponsor of the Georgetown Hockey Heritage Council annual awards since 1979 and the Halton Hills Sports Museum Sports Hall of Fame gala, he said. The newspaper also led the way with the petition against the closing of the Canadian Cancer Society's Georgetown office and the planned closing of Georgetown Hospital obstetrics department in 2001, and extensively supports a myriad of non-profit community service groups. The newspaper has also won several provincial, national and North American awards of excellence. Downtown Georgetown business owner Kate Murray said Matthews surpasses her job description "and always with elegance." "She is the downtown's best ambassador and we are so lucky to have her," said Murray. "She soothes the roaring lions with her calm mannerism, and strategically maneuvers to achieve the BIA's objectives," said Judy Avery of Accountant on Main. Matthews has been with the BIA for three years and previously worked for the Streetsville BIA, Mississauga Heritage Foundation and Mississauga Arts Council. "I think downtown Georgetown is an absolute jewel," said Matthews. Entrepreneur of the Year "It's definitely an honour," said Brady Davies of The Cellar Restaurant, on being named Entrepreneur of the Year. In his nomination of Davies, Stephen Melville said he "has made it into a restaurant that we can all be proud of." "Brady encourages his employees and treats them fairly and with respect. He gets the very best quality foods available and is a gifted chef," said Melville. Davies took over the Cellar, on Main St., four years ago after returning to Georgetown from Alberta where he worked as a chef at five-diamond restaurant Eden at the Rimrock Resort Hotel just outside of Banff. "My specialty is everything," said Davies, who started his cooking career in the back kitchen of the North Halton Golf and Country Club. The Cellar's menu changes seasonally and the goal is food that's "as fresh as possible," said Davies. After earning his chef certificate at Humber College Davies headed to northern Ontario where he was sous chef at the Lake Joseph Club in Port Carling and the Grandview in Huntsville, before going out west. His wife Andrea does all the paperwork for the restaurant. Friends of Devereaux House earned the Chamber of Commerce's Green Award for the energy-saving measures taken as part of the ongoing renovations of the 150-year-old structure on Trafalgar Rd. Pictured (from left) are: Architect Marina Huissoon, facility manager Ann Lawlor, Sandy Mackenzie, Marilyn Serjeantson, Diane Hallett, Brenda Sisnett, former lead hand Marty Hughes. Photo by Eamonn Maher Green Award Friends of Devereaux House is the recipient of the Chamber of Commerce's first Green Award, which replaces the Civic Pride Award. Recipients are recognized for environmental preservation through their conservation efforts in areas such as energy, water, waste, green procurement and protection of natural heritage. The non-profit group will receive the award for its success in saving from demolition, and then retrofitting, a circa-1860 heritage building on Trafalgar Rd. with state-of-the-art conservation and renewable energy measures. The recently opened house is now decorated in late 1800s style and is available for use by the public. The house has an energy-efficient geothermal heating system, insulation values above minimum standards, and professional restoration of the original wooden windows and custom storms. On-demand water heaters have been installed on each sink, and the home is lit with compact fluorescent light bulbs and low voltage LED lighting fixtures. "These energy saving measures have reduced the HVAC, water heating and lighting costs to approximately $3,600 per year. This compares with projected costs without these measures in the order of $10,000 to $12,000 per year," said nominator Walt Dixon. Facility administrator Ann Lawlor said, "what I feel best about is there is recognition that heritage properties can be `greened' without losing their heritage Employee of the Year Kay Matthews, manager of the Georgetown BIA was shocked when she learned she had been named Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce Employee of the Year. "I'm totally honoured by people who thought enough of me to do that," said Matthews. Brady Davies of The Cellar Restaurant was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the judges for the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce. Photo by Eamonn Maher characteristics." She said the philosophy behind the Devereaux House renovation was conservation. "We were conserving history and conserving energy," said Lawlor. The award recipients will be honoured in a ceremony March 10 at Blue Springs Golf Course beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are $65 each and are available by contacting the chamber office at 905-8777119 or email mary@haltonhillschamber. on.ca. Kay Matthews, manager of the Georgetown BIA, has been named the Chamber of Commerce's Employee of the Year. Photo by Eamonn Maher