We are excited to utilize the Awardify platform to ensure all nominees are evaluated professionally, confidentially, equally, and without bias through independent judging.

There will be no public voting.

All completed nominee packages received by deadline on Tuesday, August 13, 2024 will be passed onto the judging panel for review.

The judging panel is comprised of diverse business and community leaders from the community. 

Independently, they assess each eligible submission in their designated award category using the award criteria and judging matrix.

It is important to know that all judges volunteer their time. On average the process is about 20 - 30 hours.

The Penticton Chamber staff help coordinate the logistics of the judging process, but are not involved in selecting the nominees, finalists or winners.

Scoring is based on merit and not a perceived reputation or popularity.

Only information provided in the submission will be judged.

Each judge will be provided the list of nominees to and identify any conflicts of interest including, but not limited to:

  • Related to the nominee biologically, through marriage, or close friendship;
  • Work or volunteer with the nominee at the same place of employment or organization, serve on a Board together, or any scenario in a professional setting that creates a real or perceived conflict of interest.
  • In any case where a conflict of interest exists, may exist, or would appear to exist, the judge will recuse themselves from evaluating a Nominee.
  • Judges also have to identify other conflicts of interest to recuse themselves from judging a specific category.
  •  To avoid any conflicts of interest if a judge or judges' business is nominated for an award, the judge will be recused from judging that award category and will not have access to view the award applications for that award category. 

Guideline for Chamber Board, Staff and Sponsor: To ensure a fair and unbiased evaluation process for the Business Excellence Awards, all nominations, including those involving Chamber board members, staff, or sponsors, will be assessed impartially by an independent Judging Committee using the Awardify platform. This process guarantees transparency, accountability, and the integrity of the awards.

Conflicts of Interest:

  • To maintain the integrity of the awards, board members, Chamber staff, and sponsors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest.
  • Any individual with a conflict of interest will recuse themselves from discussions or decisions related to their nomination.
  • Judges will follow guidelines and criteria to evaluate each nomination based solely on merit.

Important Dates: 

Aug 13 - Sept 15 ONLINE JUDGING ONLY Judges only have access to the nominees completed submission, award criteria, matrix, social media, website, google reviews etc. There will be no contact with the nominees during this process.  

September 17 Nominees Reception - where the finalists will be announced, with each award category featuring three finalists.

Sept 19 - Oct 9 ??IN-PERSON JUDGING with the finalists in each award category to learn more about the business, organization or individual. This will be an in-person visit or zoom. It is important that the finalist allow the judges to visit - estimate 30 minutes. 

Oct 10 - 11 Judges independently review, score and judge the semi-finalists after their visits.  

October 19 Business Excellence Awards Gala where the award category winner announce.

Additional Information:

At any point during the Business Excellence Awards process a nominee may be disqualified for the following reasons, including but not limited to:

Does not return a completed online submission by deadline on Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Moves away from or ceases to work within the Penticton and area; 

If it has been determined that the nominee's online submission misrepresents the  achievements, or employment in any way;

Where it is known that the nominee is under investigation for, charged with, or has been convicted of a criminal or civil act that would call into question the credibility of this program;

Tips for Judges:

  1. Know the Criteria: Understand what each category means and what to look for in nominees' responses.
  2. Stay Fair and Objective: Focus on facts and avoid personal biases.
  3. Look for Specifics: Pay attention to clear examples and measurable results.
  4. Consider Context: Evaluate nominees relative to their industry and resources.
  5. Be Consistent: Apply the same standards to all nominees for fairness.

2024 Selection Committee Judges will be recognized at the BEA Nominee Reception