The Morris and District Chamber of Commerce handed out its annual awards this week for Business of the Year, Volunteer of the Year and Community Contribution.

It was announced that the Morris Tim Horton's (which has been in operation for just over a year) was awarded Business Of The Year. The local Tim Horton's restaurant is co-owned by brother and sister Kathy and Keith Corbel.

Kathy Corbel said it was a very pleasant surprise.

From the inception of the new business in Morris the Corbel duo had to train staff from scratch with no experience, getting them ready for a fast paced environment. The restaurant quickly developed a strong response from residents and travellers, becoming a popular spot to come together while providing employment to those in and outside of the community.

Kathy and Keith were very active in the community throughout 2016 despite the need to build and run their thriving business.

Morris Bigway Owner Pat Schmitke

The Morris Chamber Volunteer Award was given out to a team that is very active in the community in so many ways, but curling was this duo's biggest impact. With many clubs in surrounding communities dwindling, Lorne and Chris Hamblin have raised the bar for curling in Morris.

The Morris curling club became the Cargill training centre in 2016 and holds curling practices and games at least four nights a week. Due to the work of the Hamblins the centre now has state-of-the-art technology to train youth and adults across the province in curling.

Lorne Hamblin tells us how the duo received the news.

The pair even dabbled in the Manitoba Stampede this year, seeing a need for a severe electrical upgrade for the stampede grounds. The Hamblins headed a $50,000 fundraiser throughout 2016 to assist the Valley Ag Society in covering the cost of the major upgrade.

Morris Bigway's Pat Scmitke has been awarded Business of the Year in the past for his support of the community. However, this year Scmitke received the Community Contribution award. Schmitke says supporting and being a part of the community was his plan from the get-go when he moved to Morris seven and a half years ago.

Morris Bigway has always shown a huge commitment to The Town Of Morris through avenues like minor hockey, the schools, the food bank, the curling club the golf club and the Manitoba Stampede. When the Twisters were facing some challenges in 2016 Scmitke got to work finding partners and hiring new staff to rebuild the team.

Lorne & Chris Hamblin and Dallas Oldcorn - Sales Manager Manitoba Region Cargill