A pair of Regina business owners have won awards at the Indigenous Prosperity Forum Gala earlier this month.
Miyosiwin Salon Spa owner Jennifer Dubois was honoured with the Indigenous Woman Entrepreneur Award of Excellence at an award ceremony in Gatineau, Quebec, while Jacob Sinclair’s Anytime Fitness won an award for their COVID-19 Business resiliency award.
“It’s amazing, it really does help small businesses like myself and our community to say ‘Hey, we’re here’ and now we have a bigger platform to work with and be able to be recognized on,” said Dubois, a member of the George Gordon First Nation.
Dubois was happy to win the award and said the kind words and support of the community helped them get through the pandemic.
“With any business you struggle, but those little things, those words of appreciation that you get from others in the community just uplifts you enough to say ‘This is more than just value to myself, this is valued by the community,’” she said.
In addition to pandemic difficulties that many businesses faced, water and smoke damage from a nearby fire forced her to close for a year in 2018. Exactly one year later, the business re-opened its doors at their new location at 434 Broad Street.
Both Dubois and Sinclair each received a trophy, the trip to Quebec and $5,000.
Sinclair’s business has increased 20 per cent since the beginning of the pandemic despite the shutdowns and difficulties that a pair of gyms open 24 hours, seven days a week faced. His gymjs operate in northwest and southeast Regina.
The event was hosted by the National Aboriginal Capital Commissions Association (NACCA), an umbrella organization for a network of over 50 Aboriginal financial institutions across Canada, including the Saskatchewan Indian Equity Foundation (SIEF) that nominated Dubois and Sinclair.
