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Business notes: Shawnigan woman gets prestigious award from ‘Pet Age’ magazine

Shawnigan Lake’s Michele Dixon has earned a prestigious award from Pet Age magazine.
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Save-On-Foods in Duncan raised more than $1,800 for the food bank, just at the time of year when supplies tend to get low. (submitted)

Shawnigan Lake’s Michele Dixon has earned a prestigious award from Pet Age magazine.

Petcurean, a leading manufacturer of premium quality pet food announced that Dixon, a health and nutrition specialist at the company, has been honoured with a 2019 ICON Award. This annual award honours pet professionals who have demonstrated a long-term commitment to the sustained vitality and growth of the pet industry.

Dixon was selected based on her expertise and contributions to pets and their families over the past two decades.

“Since joining Petcurean 20 years ago, thanks to Michele’s hard work, determination and expertise, Petcurean is widely recognized as a leader in pet nutrition, and for our company’s ongoing commitment to support specialty retail partners around the globe,” says Christine Mallier, PR and Community Relations manager, Petcurean Pet Nutrition.

“From helping pet parents determine the best possible diet for their furry family members, to her support in developing export regulatory and marketing materials, Michele’s ability to translate complex nutritional information into easy-to-understand formats makes her a valued and vital member of the Petcurean family. Our company, and our industry, wouldn’t be what it is today without her leadership.”

Prior to joining Petcurean, Dixon studied animal nutrition at Colorado State University and Companion Animal Sciences Institute. She also studied (Equine) Nutrition through the Equine Research Centre at the University of Guelph. As Health and Nutrition Specialist at Petcurean, Dixon develops and leads science-based nutrition training for Petcurean’s sales teams, which in turn benefits the company’s specialty retail partners.

Chosen from a large pool of qualified candidates across the pet food industry, including top manufacturers, distributors, retailers, PR firms and more, the recipients of this year’s Pet Age ICON Awards were selected based on their experience, integrity and leadership.

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The summer months can be challenging for the folks operating food banks in the Cowichan Valley and elsewhere.

With holidays and outdoor activities often taking priority, people often forget about the ongoing needs of food banks. So, a recent initiative by the staff at Save-On-Foods in Duncan was very timely.

Encouraged by store manager, Derik Sheers, staff raised $1,850 from the proceeds of the sale of Western Family Products sold in the store over a one week period. They presented the cheque to Cowichan Valley Basket Society in late July.

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The Better Business Bureau (BBB) serving Vancouver Island is proud to announce the launch of their inaugural BBB Spark Awards honouring new socially impactful businesses.

The Spark Award is the first awards program to recognize young entrepreneurs and new businesses that exemplify innovation, community engagement and BBB’s three pillars of trust: character, culture and community. This new annual award program seeks to identify entrepreneurs age 35 and under and new business owners with less than three years in operation. These “trust-makers” are the future of the trusted marketplace.

Any business in any industry is eligible for an award. The BBB is looking for a great story, about an amazing, cutting edge new social enterprise with a youthful spirit. Both BBB Accredited Businesses and non-accredited businesses are eligible to win a Spark Award. Self-nominations are also being accepted.

The deadline for online nominations is Aug. 31. Visit www.bbb.org/vancouver-island or call 250-386-6348 for more information.

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Shawnigan Lake’s Michele Dixon has earned a prestigious award from ‘Pet Age’ magazine. (submitted)