Chamber awards coming up

The Hill City Area Chamber of Commerce awards are coming up.

The event will be held on May 1 at the Homestead at Prairie Berry and will have five categories: business of the year, employer of the year, employee of the year, Victor Jepsen Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Business of the Year award is awarded to a business that has made an impact on the Hill City community through business expertise and community service. The Employer of the Year award is given to a business that has made a significant impact on Hill City through community involvement and provides a positive working environment, which includes concern for safety, health, living and family.

The Employee of the Year is new for this year. The purpose of this award is to recognize a chamber member’s employee, associate or front-line staff member who has “gone the extra mile; above and beyond” and who demonstrated initiative during the past year, especially during the pandemic, who took extraordinary efforts to keep guests, visitors and customers safe, who recommended or implemented safety protocols and who consistently exhibited outstanding customer service and hospitality to both residents and visitors alike making them feel welcome in the Hill City community. It can also recognize a team member who performed extraordinary services in assisting a customer, visitor or guest that transformed a good visitor experience into an exceptional one. Hill City Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Janet Wetovick-Bily said the chamber “really encourages our chamber members to recognize one of their own.”

The Victor Jepsen Award is the chamber’s highest honor and recognizes a person whose spirit and attitude exemplify the best in business, community and family and has demonstrated concern for and significantly contributed to the community and the chamber.

The Lifetime Achievement Award is not awarded every year. The purpose of this award is to reward an individual for his or her long-term commitment to Hill City, whose creative and innovative business ethics set a standard for the community.

All chamber members and anyone from the Hill City community can nominate an individual or business. All nominations must be submitted in writing and include a summary of the nominee’s qualifications. Forms are downloadable in the chamber’s weekly email newsletter and are being made available for members.

Hard copies of the form are also available at the chamber office and can be emailed, as well.

Nominees should be members of the chamber, and submission forms must include the name of the individual submitting the nominee candidates.

Deadline for nominations is April 9. Forms can be mailed to the chamber at PO Box 253 or can be dropped off at the visitor information center.

They can also be returned via email to director@hillcitysd.com

The night of the awards will feature several different parts.

“The Annual Dinner Meeting and Awards Banquet usually follows a standard format beginning with a social hour, dinner and program,” Wetovick-Bily said. “The chamber reviews and highlights the previous year, the business meeting is conducted, followed with the presentation of awards. This year will be exceptional for our attendees as last year our meeting was held virtually due to COVID, and our members are looking forward to re-connecting with each other again in person. Best safety and health practices will be encouraged.”