After another difficult year for small businesses, Community Futures Oxford is proud to have an opportunity to recognize the winners of the annual entrepreneur awards. Each year, the organization recognizes three clients who demonstrated true entrepreneurial spirit and small business success. Three winners are profile below.
Young Entrepreneur of the Year: Allison Drost, Woodstock School of Dance and Yoga
Allison Drost, owner of The Woodstock School of Dance & Yoga has been named the Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Allison received the young entrepreneur grant back in 2019 as she was launching the business. Despite the challenges of being a new business owner, Allison has demonstrated determination, creativity and a commitment to business success.
Access to Capital Entrepreneur of the Year: Ellis Morris, Red Dragon Dairy
Ellis Morris, owner of Red Dragon Dairy has been named the Access to Capital Entrepreneur of the Year. Ellis arrived in Canada with his family in 2007 when they purchased a farm and started Quality Sheep Milk. Ellis and his family had a herd of sheep and goats, but mainly hired other cheesemakers to process their milk into cheese products. After much hard work and careful planning, Ellis completed the construction of their own processing facility and retail farm market store. The Red Dragon Dairy is located at 383747 Salford Road where you can purchase their cheese as well as a number of other local products.
Community Economic Development Project of the Year: Rural Oxford EDC, We Grow Together
Rural Oxford EDC is being recognized for their success as the project lead for the We Grow Together video series. This video series leveraged collaborative partnerships to profile small business success stories that displayed the entrepreneurial spirit of rural Oxford County. These videos have been use to promote the businesses themselves, highlight the benefits of owning a business in rural Oxford, feature staple industries in the local economy and share the service providers available to support small businesses. To view and share the videos, visit: www.ruraloxford.ca/wegrowtogether OR check out the playlist below.