Best of Estevan has become a highlight for the Mercury each year.
It's something we look forward to bringing to our readers. It engages them because they are thinking about and voting for their favourite businesses in the many different categories. The businesses are looking forward to the results and seeing where they stack up.
But above all else, this is a celebration of our business community, all that it has to offer, and the hard-working entrepreneurs and employees who go the extra mile to make our experiences so great.
It's easy to forget just how diverse our business community really is. You think about those favourites of yours that provide specific services or merchandise – clothing, groceries, gas, a food-of-choice at a local restaurant – but when you go through the categories, and you see who finished in the top three for each, you see how much we really have to offer.
(Perhaps the best example of this would be the energy sector. You might be aware of the presence of these businesses in the community, but you might not know the services they offer, or you might not be aware of the depth of their competition).
You might have your favourite business for shopping, or your favourite restaurant for a particular food, but you might not know about some of the other options in the community.
And you might not be aware of the depth of services for these businesses.
Our business community plays such a vital role in the success of Estevan. Business owners get a chance to live out the dream of being an entrepreneur, so they are eager to make you happy. After all, word travels fast in a small city or a small town, and a handful of dissatisfied customers will turn off others.
The employees are eager to meet the needs of the customers as well. And many of them are so proud of where they work.
These businesses play an incredible role in the community's economy by creating employment, adding to the tax base and providing services to residents and visitors alike.
They also support various causes in the community. When you go to a fundraising dinner, it's the local businesses that are purchasing items in the live auctions. When you watch the United Way telethon, many of the donors are businesses and entrepreneurs.
They sponsor our sports teams, our recreational causes, our cultural groups, our schools, our non-profit organizations and our events, among others.
When a business closes, it often leaves a big hole in the community.
And it's not just businesses that we're celebrating. Best of Estevan also includes such categories as favourite event (it seems like people really like the Downtown Business Association's Street Dance), top non-profit organization and best customer service. Yes, we really do have a lot to offer.
The businesses and organizations that win through Best of Estevan are proud of the achievement as well. A lot of them who won last year still have their certificates. Many of them still show off their first-place finishes from 2020 or even 2018. You might find a few from the first year the promotion ran in 2011.
They celebrate because this is voted on by the people of this community. And showing off the certificates is a way to say thanks for the votes and thanks for your continued support.
As we've stated countless times before, the Estevan Mercury is this city's oldest business. It's a distinction that we're very proud of. We're not the only business in this community that has stood the test of time; there are those that have been around for 50 or even 100 years.
We marvel at the success, the longevity and the commitment of so many of our fellow businesses. We hope that you do, too.
Judging by the response to the latest edition of Best of Estevan, there are a lot of people who share our admiration for the local business community.
