TORONTO, ONTARIO (May 14, 2011). On the evening of Friday, May 13, 2011, the Canadian-Croatian Chamber of Commerce hosted its 9th Annual Business Excellence Awards Evening to honour those within the Croatian-Canadian community who have succeeded in the business realm and who have made significant contributions in our community. The event, which was hosted at Le Jardin Conference & Event Centre, was a huge success with over 400 guests in attendance, with coverage by Croatian Radio-Television (HRT), and in particular, Zvonko Božinović, editor of the Voice of the Homeland (Glas Domovine) TV program.

Honorable guests for the evening were, among others, Canadian political representatives, including Minister of State, the Honourable Julian Fantino, MPP (Wellington-Halton Hills) Mr. Ted Arnott, Councillor (Mississauga) Ms. Chris Fonseca, and Councillor (Kitchener) Mr. Barry Vrbanović, representatives of Republic of Croatia, including Ambassador Veselko Grubišić and Consul General Ljubinko Matešić, two former Croatian-Canadian politicians, Mr. Janko Perić and Mr. John (Domagoj) Šola, and boxing legend, Mr. George Chuvalo.

Before the awards ceremony, Minister Fantino made a presentation of a certificate to Ivan Grbešić, Chair of the Chamber Committee on Education, Culture and Heritage in connection with a recent grant from the Federal Government to the Chamber in the amount of $29,000. In particular, the grant was received from the Community Historical Recognition Program under the Multiculturalism Program of the Department of Citizenship and Immigration and will be used towards a research project that will explore how Croatians were affected by immigration restrictions and wartime measures applied by the Canadian Government from 1896 to the 1950s. Minister Fantino also delivered a special address to this year’s Chamber event from the Honourable Jason Kenney, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the night was the speech delivered by keynote speaker Bob Bratina, the Mayor of Hamilton. It was an honour for the Chamber to present Mayor Bratina to the audience that enjoyed learning about the Mayor’s successful history in Canada. Mayor Bratina is a true inspiration; as he began his professional journey working at Dofasco and then in 1965 moved on to embrace an opportunity, which would fulfill one of his early desires to be a radio announcer, which eventually led to him having his own morning show on CHML in Hamilton. The very popular Bratina from there moved on to run for public office, which has brought him his current title and role of Mayor. In his speech, Mayor Bratina identified the importance of the Chamber, as the true leader in community which supports business networking, cultural and promotional efforts of the Croatian community in Canada.

The Chamber delivered awards acknowledging the success of its multiple recipients. Awards were presented to: 

Igman Electric Ltd. for the Small Business of the Year Award;
Marko Juričcic of Mady Contract Division Ltd. for the Executive of the Year Award;
John Grgurić, B. Arch., B. Tech., Architect, OAA for the Professional of the Year Award;
Dr. Lilly Rojnica, M.D. F.R.C.P. (C) for the Professional of the Year Award;
Wanda Srdoć of White Truffles for Entrepreneur of the Year Award;
Ana Ganza for the Community Achievement Award; and
Dr. Ivan Hrvoić for the Community Achievement Award.

Another main highlight of the night was the successful silent auction with the proceeds going towards the Chamber’s Scholarship and Bursary Fund, established for the purpose of assisting students of Croatian descent in annual scholarship funding.

Accompanied by great food, drink and music by T.S. Frajeri, the night’s celebration continued into the late evening.

The Chamber gratefully acknowledges our 2011 Business Excellence Awards event sponsors for their support:

Title Event Sponsor - CIBC
Keynote Speaker Sponsor - Vrancor Group of Companies
Communications Sponsor - Bell / Baka
Corporate Sponsor - Stikeman Elliott LLP
Beverage Sponsor - Tre Amici Wines
Media Sponsor - Likro Precision Limited

Table Sponsor

Altech Security Systems
Assante Capital Management Limited
Alpeza General Contracting Inc.
Baka Communications Inc.
CIBC
Coordinate Industries Limited
Croatian Sports & Community Centre of Hamilton
Draganjac Pressman
Drywall Acoustic Lathing &
Insulation Local Union 675
Ganza, Ana
I.T. Mission Inc.
Igman Electric Limited
Jitsu Manufacturing Inc.
Komand Contracting Inc.
Likro Precision Limited
Mady Development Corporation
MiR Construction Inc.
Mr. Rooter
Paint-Co Group Limited
Profile Communications
Royal Gold Construction
Stikeman Elliott LLP
Sutton Group – Signature Realty
Tampa Interior Systems Inc.
United Power
Vrancor Group Of Companies

Student Table Sponsors

Masters Insurance Limited
Pro-Art Dental Laboratory Limited

-Ivan Cosic-

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