This is the second nomination for Fiddleheads in both categories for these awards, one of which was previously won in 2007

Kamloops Chamber 2021 Business Excellence Awards

The Business Excellence Awards

Rhiannon Nachbaur and her business Fiddleheads Violin Studio have been nominated for the 35th Annual Kamloops Chamber & MNP Business Excellence Awards. The two categories are the Environmental Leadership Award and Small Business of the Year.

The awards are sponsored by the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce and MNP (formerly Meyers Norris Penny), one of the largest full-service chartered accountancy and business advisory firms in Canada. Long considered to be the premiere business event of the year, the awards provide an opportunity for outstanding businesses to be recognized for their successes.

Rhiannon is no stranger to these Business Excellence Awards as she was a finalist in 16 categories (1 in Kamloops, 15 in Salmon Arm) and a winner in 3 categories (Salmon Arm) since 2002. [See details]

Two brilliant green fiddlehead ferns in the woods

Environmental Leadership Award

In particular, this is the second environmental award nomination for Fiddleheads, who won the "Green Award" in the Shuswap Business Excellence Awards at her former town, Salmon Arm, in 2007. [Read Green Award Win press release here]

The current awards criteria requires the business "demonstrates a commitment to sustainable practices and environmental leadership" in a range of areas such as:

  • Waste prevention
  • Recycling, re-purposing, re-using, circular economy
  • Purchasing and procurement policies
  • Energy and water conservation
  • Transportation
  • Operations
  • Stakeholder engagement and participation in development of environmental policies

Fiddleheads, under Rhiannon's passionate leadership, is a shining example in all these areas and more. She has run the planet's first eco-friendly violin shop for over two decades and is constantly strategizing and innovating to lessen her operations' impact on our planet.

She has invested much time and energy into every component of the business, including making the choice to operate from home to lessen her carbon footprint, commuting, and use of materials. Every decision made for the business must pass her green checklist. This means everything, from everyday operations to long-term expansion plans, and even the construction, packaging and shipping of her products is planned and weighed against environmental impact factors.

Most recently she and her husband upgraded to electric vehicles and, thanks to the very low carbon emissions from hydroelectricity, the vehicles produce only 2-3 grams (1/10 of an ounce) of greenhouse gases per kilometer, compared to a 2018 Ford F150, with emissions at 256.5 grams (more than half a pound) of emissions per km. [Her extensive Green Policy and Practices can be explored here]

three woman sitting together looking at a laptop with a fiddleheads violin on the screen

Small Business of the Year

The other category in which Fiddleheads was nominated, Small Business of the Year, is also not new to Rhiannon. She was a finalist in this largest class of nominations in the Kamloops awards in 2018. The criteria for this award is that it is a Kamloops-area, non franchised business, with 1 – 10 full time employees that has demonstrated success through:

  • Commitment to providing quality products and or services with a wealth of knowledge for customer/client benefit
  • Proven ability to demonstrate innovation and creativity, within business operations and/or organizational problem solving
  • Ability to develop excellent relationships with employees, vendors, suppliers and customers
  • Stable business operations or solid business plan ideas for growth strategy

Fiddleheads, with brillianty creative operation strategies, currently over 100 all-five-star reviews on Google/Facebook and over 1000 testimonials, and loyal customers around the world is well-positioned for the honour. The new sophisticated e-commerce website in particular, which is incredibly detailed and provides countless educational resources for users, is a significant expansion component and will boost Fiddleheads' and Rhiannon's ability to provide the most benefit to customers for years to come. Fiddleheads was a recent full-amount recipient under the province's LaunchOnline grant program for completing the site.

[Finalist status press release - Awards Gala photo gallery]

Thank you card over dark wood panels

Thank You!

Rhiannon thanks the kind customers and colleagues who put her business up for nomination and is excited to proceed to the second phase in the process. The next requirement is for her to complete detailed nominee submissions for each award by Friday, June 25, 2021. Three finalists in each category are chosen from the nominee submissions forms, which will be delivered to an independent Selection Committee for scoring. Presenting sponsor MNP will then tabulate the scores to determine the top three finalists in each award category. The finalists will be announced virtually Wednesday, July 28, 2021.

Comprehensive interviews of all finalists will be then conducted individually by the Selection Committee to determine the award recipients. The winners will be announced at the Annual Awards Gala & Ceremony on Thursday, October 21, 2021, the details to be clarified as Covid-19 regulations are updated. (Incidentally, Fiddleheads commences its 25th official years in business on November 1, mere days after Small Business Week in Canada.)

More information about the awards is available at Kamloops Business Excellence Awards or contact the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce at deanna@kamloopschamber.ca or 250.372.7722.