By Matthew Liebenberg
The buildup to the Swift Current & District Chamber of Commerce annual business awards night reached an exciting moment with the announcement of the finalists in nine categories and the award recipients in two categories.
There was a sense of expectation among the large number of nominees present at the Big Reveal event at the Great Plains College, Sept. 17.
“This is a very important night,” Chamber CEO Corla Rokochy said. “The Big Reveal is really a chance to honour the nominees, which come from the community. As the person who receives all the nominations, I get to read everything that’s said about them and I get to deliver it to our nominees, and it’s extremely impactful.”
While not all nominees will be selected to be among the top three finalists in their category, she felt it is certainly an honour to be nominated.
“It’s definitely a prestigious thing, because you’re chosen by the community,” she said. “It’s sent in by someone that really appreciated what you do in the community. It’s coming from your customers and your clients.”
This is the 28th year that the Swift Current Business Excellence (SCBEX) Spirit of Swift Current awards are presented to recognize business innovation and achievement in the community.
The Chamber received 188 public submissions during the nomination period, which was a significant increase over the approximately 120 nominations received last year.
These 188 submissions through the Chamber’s website represented nominations for 135 businesses, non-profit groups and individuals. Some nominees were nominated multiple times and in different categories during the nomination period between July 1 and Aug. 31.
“I think part of why we had so many nominations this year was we usually wait for that nomination season to finish and then we have about a week to go out and surprise the the Member of the Year and the Hall of Fame, and deliver the nominations,” she explained. “This year we made the decision to go out as they came in. We started putting pictures on social media and they were sharing, and I think that encouraged more nominations.”
Chamber membership is not required to be nominated in the nine different categories. However, only registered Chamber members can be selected in the Member of the Year and Hall of Fame categories.
A selection committee made up of the 11 SCBEX winners from the previous year had the difficult task of picking the three finalists in each of the nine categories. Thereafter the Chamber’s board of directors is responsible for selecting the winner in each category.
There is no public nomination process for selecting the Member of the Year and Hall of Fame recipients. The Chamber’s board of directors is responsible for identifying candidates and selecting recipients.
Fabro Ltd., a provider of custom machining and welding services for over 55 years, will be the 2026 Hall of Fame inductee. Company President Tanner Hyswick said the business was founded in 1965 and it has maintained continuous Chamber membership since the 1980s.
“It’s a pretty big recognition,” he noted. “My grandpa over the years have always stated that this is one that you would always want is the Hall of Fame. So, it’s a privilege to be able to accept that on his behalf.”
Fabro is a multi-generational family business operating with a core workforce of 15 to 20 skilled employees, including certified journeymen and experienced technicians. The company serves key primary sectors, including agriculture, oilfield, potash as well as industrial repairs and manufacturing.
The induction into the Hall of Fame comes at a poignant moment of transition for the company after the recent death of Cam Hyswick, who was the operations manager at Fabro. Tanner said it has been a difficult period for the company.
“It’s definitely a transition in the company and to be recognized in the business community like this is nice right now,” he mentioned.
Great Plains College was selected as the Chamber’s Member Business of the Year for 2026 in recognition of its broad regional impact, program development and infrastructure growth through the development of new student housing in Swift Current.
The college offers programming at six different locations with a core staff of approximately 90 full-time administrative and instructional personnel that can expand to over 150 employees during peak academic terms with contract faculty.
Keleah Ostrander, the interim president and CEO of Great Plains College, said the recognition from the Chamber reflects the collective dedication of the college’s faculty and administrative staff.
“On behalf of our staff, we’re certainly honoured to be acknowledged,” she mentioned. “While you don’t do your day-to-day work to gain recognition, certainly when it happens, it’s very appreciated. I think it’s a testament to the fact that we are so well connected to industry, nonprofit, other chamber members in the community and hopefully the work that we do day-to-day has impact.”
The 28th annual SCBEX awards gala will take place at the Living Sky Casino, Oct. 23. Below are the three finalists in each of the nine award categories that were announced at the Big Reveal event.
Start-Up/New Business of the Year: Neville Country Store, Thistle Be Dandy, TruHockey Development.
Small Business of the Year: Elmwood Grocery, Made Café, Prairie Flint.
Medium Business of the Year: Bumper to Bumper, Haubie Yards, K-Motel.
Large Business of the Year: Anderson and Company, Pioneer Co-op, Living Sky Casino.
Not-for-Profit of the Year: Southwest Homes, My City Cares, The Center.
Employer of Person(s) Experiencing Disabilities: Art Gallery of Swift Current, Salvation Army, New Beginnings.
Employer of the Year: Safeway, Innovation Federal Credit Union, The Center.
Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year: Ag 360 Tech Ltd, Rachelle Hodgins Photography, Sew What.
Community Impact Award: Dustin Vipond, Rogue Cruisers, Sputtergotch.
