It’s what the Prince Albert and District Chamber of Commerce calls the Grammys of the local business scene. While the pandemic played a major role in postponing the event last April, all will be revealed Thursday night when they celebrate the 2020 Samuel McLeod Business Awards (SMBA).
Not surprisingly, things will be very different for this, the 30th edition, of the popular show, which will happen with a much reduced human presence on the E.A. Rawlinson Centre stage, starting at 6:45 p.m. on the chamber’s YouTube channel. Up to 30 people only will be present in line with COVID protocols.
After being in limbo since its original scheduled celebration back in April, the Samuel McLeod Business Awards (SMBA) now have a set date. The awards will be presented on Feb. 25 on stage at the EA Rawlinson Centre, and will be live-streamed on Prince Albert & District Chamber of Commerce’s YouTube channel that evening at 7 p.m.
The event usually attracts around 300 people, but there will be a limit to 30 people on stage due to COVID-19 guidelines. There were 30 finalists, who will be asked if they would like to attend or to pre-record their acceptance speech.
Chamber CEO Elise Hildebrandt said the chamber’s Plan A is to put on the awards show as “a hybrid” between being on-stage, as well as using livestreaming and pre-recorded videos for the event. Should COVID-19 guidelines change and institute further restrictions, Hildebrandt said the chamber is prepared to run the entire show online to completely eliminate contact between the nominees.