Entrepreneur of Year and Boivin Memorial Awards Presented Last Week at the 2023 Bridges to Better Business Event

Prescott – The 2023 Leeds Grenville Entrepreneur of the Year and Paul D. Boivin Memorial Award was presented at the annual Bridges to Better Business event last Thursday, October 26. Leeds Grenville – Small Business, in partnership with the St. Lawrence-Rideau Immigration Partnership, celebrated the entrepreneurs and their success.

This year’s theme was “Igniting Growth Through Community,” and featured keynote speakers, Ruth and Lisa Lockett, owners of Tim Hortons in Prescott and Iroquois.

The winners of the annual Immigrant Entrepreneur Award, Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Paul D. Boivin Memorial Award were also announced at Thursday’s event.

Winners of the Immigrant Entrepreneur Award were Harsh & Kanisha Patel, owners of Parkedale Pharmacy. Born in India, Harsh and Kanisha have been in Canada for nearly 20 years. Despite the hardships of needing to do multiple exams to have his qualifications recognized, Harsh persevered and finally became a certified pharmacist in Ontario.

This allowed the couple to eventually open their own business, Parkedale Pharmacy, which has become a staple of the Brockville community. Apart from being dedicated business owners, they are committed to the well-being of their community. Harsh and Kanisha have contributed funds to the Palliative Care Telethon and the Brockville CPHC, among other charities. Harsh has served on the Upper Canada Health Care Team Advisory Committee. This award is presented by the St. Lawrence – Rideau Immigration Partnership.

The winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award was Jody Lundrigan, Pangea House Bed & Breakfast in Gananoque.

Jody and her partner, Geoff, moved from the GTA to Gananoque in 2021 during the pandemic. They visited the house of their dreams, bought it and started a bed and breakfast in rapid succession. Jody’s background is in non-profits, and marketing/communications and Geoff is a professional chef. Each guest room is modelled after a modern-day continent so you can rest your head anywhere in the world.

The winner of the Paul D. Boivin Memorial Award was Cody LaFrance, owner of Distinct Lawn Works in Brockville.

Cody started Distinct Lawn Works in the spring of 2020. In his first summer, he knew there were aspects of running a business that he needed to learn like finance, hiring practices, and operations as a whole. He also wanted to make a commitment around mental health and addiction and providing a place for others who struggled to heal and have a purpose.

Congratulations to the winners!