Best of the best honoured at KW Chamber of Commerce business awards

Surprise, gratitude, and messages of optimism in the face of the trade war, were all heard as the best of Kitchener-Waterloo businesses were honoured.

The 2025 Business Excellence Awards Gala were handed out at Bingemans, Thursday night.

Scott Macleod from Libro Credit Union accepted the first award of the night, winning for Employee Engagement.

“We’re already hearing….doom and gloom about tariffs and everything else, but we get to be here tonight to celebrate the awesome local businesses that we have, so I don’t think we should lose sight of that,” he said.

One of the biggest laughs and cheers of the night came when Rochelle Williams, of The Dessert Artist, accepted her Young Professional of the Year award.

She thanked her mom and sister as her top unpaid interns, adding, “And I’d also like to thank myself for believing in me, doing all the hard work, and being fuelled by my stubbornesss to prove all the haters wrong.”

Many winners thanked their families and loved ones for their support; some winners were clearly taken by surprise, and a few were fighting back the emotion of winning.

The 2025 award winners are:

• Business of the Year (1-10 employees): Fo’Cheezy

• Business of the Year (11-50 employees): CASS Construction

• Business of the Year (over 50 employees): NDI, Northern Digital Inc.

• Community Leader of the Year: Amber French

• Young Professional of the Year: Rochelle Williams, The Dessert Artist

• Volunteer of the Year: Shanon Shaw, Talbot Uniforms and Promotional Products

• Non-profit/Charitable Award: The Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo and Stratford Perth

• Community Builder of the Year: Grand Valley Construction Association

• Health and Wellness in the Workplace: AET

• Innovation Award: KidsAbility

• Service Excellence in Hospitality and Tourism: Charcoal Group

• Employee Engagement: Libro Credit Union

• New Business: Embark