{"id":607594,"date":"2026-04-26T14:49:42","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T14:49:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/607594\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T14:49:42","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T14:49:42","slug":"local-businesses-residents-honoured-at-24th-annual-mjbex-awards-discovermoosejaw-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/607594\/","title":{"rendered":"Local businesses & residents honoured at 24th annual MJBEX Awards – DiscoverMooseJaw.com"},"content":{"rendered":"

Local businesses and entrepreneurs were recognized for their contributions to the community and economy at the 24th annual MJBEX Awards on Wednesday night at Temple Gardens Centre.<\/p>\n

The event, hosted by the Moose Jaw & District Chamber of Commerce, featured a reception, dinner, and an awards presentation. Craig Hemingway served as master of ceremonies.<\/p>\n

Chamber president Doug Young highlighted the importance of the event for the local business community.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s quite important for the business community, especially for people who are really trying to get to the next level,\u201d said Young. \u201cThis is a way to acknowledge them and give them a bit of encouragement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Young added that the chamber continues to grow, with about 625 registered members.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Moose Jaw and district, there\u2019s a lot of business and community engagement and a lot of collaboration. Everything is moving in the right direction,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Related Stories:\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002<\/p>\n

Top awards presented<\/p>\n

Awards were handed out in 14 categories, ranging from agriculture to entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

Among the top honours, Elyce Simpson-Fraser, president and CEO of Simpson Seeds, was named Business Leader of the Year.<\/p>\n

Simpson-Fraser said the recognition is meaningful given the strength of the local business community. She is also a second-generation recipient of the award.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad was one of the previous winners as well. It\u2019s nice to have that generational legacy,\u201d she said. \u201cThe community is a big part of who we are, so it\u2019s special to be recognized in this way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SimpsonElyce Simpson-Fraser, president and CEO of Simpson Seeds, was named Business Leader of the Year.<\/p>\n

Chute Farms Joint Venture was named Business of the Year, a result that surprised part-owner, Rhett Chute.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an honour just to be nominated at the beginning of the night,\u201d said Chute. \u201cBy the end, we were getting ready to leave, and then they called our name \u2014 it was a huge shock. It\u2019s a huge honour.\u201d<\/p>\n

The operation also received the Agricultural and Agri-Business Excellence Award.<\/p>\n

\"ChuteChute Farms Joint Venture was named Business of the Year.
\nPeople\u2019s Choice winner<\/p>\n

Studio Orange, led by Kate Bookout, was selected as this year\u2019s People\u2019s Choice Award recipient, recognizing a locally owned business with strong community support.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very excited on behalf of my team,\u201d said Bookout. \u201cIt shows how much effort and passion we put into the classes we teach and how we try to impact our community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"StudioStudio Orange, led by Kate Bookout, was selected as this year\u2019s People\u2019s Choice Award recipient.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

A full list of award winners is available below:<\/p>\n

Agriculture & Agri-Business Excellence Award – Chute Farms Joint Venture\u00a0<\/p>\n

Business Innovation Award – Nanan STEM Academy Inc.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Community Involvement Award – GATX Rail Corporation\u00a0<\/p>\n

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Award –\u00a0Kinsmen Cafe<\/p>\n

“Hell Yeah” Award –\u00a0Southwest Day Care and Early Learning Centre Inc.<\/p>\n

Impact Award – Moose Jaw Family Services Inc.<\/p>\n

Marketing Award –\u00a0Lions Creek MJ Retail Inc.<\/p>\n

New Business Award –\u00a0Saskatchewan Retro GameCon<\/p>\n

Pillar of the Community Award –\u00a0Emerald Custom Creations<\/p>\n

Service Excellence Award –\u00a0Winmar Moose Jaw<\/p>\n

Young Entrepreneur Award –\u00a0Jasmine Kohl – Kohl’s Yard Care<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Local businesses and entrepreneurs were recognized for their contributions to the community and economy at the 24th annual…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607595,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[28,158],"class_list":{"0":"post-607594","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entrepreneurship","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-entrepreneurship"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}