Owner operator Alec Boyd was delighted to be named, but even more surprised.

"I was very surprised when I was told," said Boyd, "And very happy about it. Halton Hills is a very big area, so to be named Business of the Year is quite an honour for us."

Giant Tiger opened in Acton in September of 2003, and Boyd had been involved with the wholly-owned Canadian company for two years prior to opening his own store. When the opportunity came in Acton, he jumped at the chance, being the first Giant Tiger to open in the GTA.

To date, there are 183 Giant Tiger locations from coast to coast, many of them in the Ottawa area, where the company originates.

"We came into Acton to fill a gap," said Boyd, "The people of Acton in this end of town needed a place to buy socks, clothes and groceries, so it seemed like a good place to start."

The store boasts a diversified line of stock, from a fairly extensive selection of groceries and frozen foods, dairy and deli, as well as a lot of seasonal merchandise.

"Our fashion department, called GT Boutique, is probably the strength of our store," said Boyd, "We keep up, quite quickly, with the latest trends and have fresh stock coming in all the time."

Opening Giant Tiger, Boyd also provided employment to the town.

"We have 32 employees," said Boyd, "and 10 of them are full-time."

Boyd, who lives locally, enjoys 'giving back' to the town who has welcomed his business with open arms. He has sponsored the Acton Agricultural Society Fair Parade for the past four years, and last year Giant Tiger was a major sponsor to the Acton Agricultural Society Building Fund, donating $10,000 toward the cost of the new building in Prospect Park.

Boyd also sponsors many sports teams-- baseball, hockey, lacrosse, figure skating and soccer, as well as the Acton Aquaducks swim team.

He works closely with the Acton Food Bank, donating food to the facility, as well as gift cards which are distributed to the less fortunate as well.

In spite of the fact he owns the business, Boyd isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. He can often be found out on the floor, stocking shelves or unloading trucks out back, working hand-in-hand with his employees.

"I'm a sociable person," said Boyd, "I wouldn't have much luck working from a cubicle. I think it's a personality trait-- I enjoy working retail, having an opportunity to interact with my associates and the customers-- it's what I love doing."

When Simon Willis learned he had been chosen as the Junior Achievement Volunteer of the Year, he was both surprised and pleased.

The manufacturing engineer at CPI has been a driving force in the Junior Achievement (JA) program for more than five years, volunteering his time to share his business and manufacturing experience with kids in the Grade 5 JA program, entitled Our Business World.

"It's my opportunity to give back to the people in Georgetown," said Willis. "I grew up in Georgetown, I attended elementary and high school here, and played soccer here. I felt it was time to give back some of my experience."

In the Grade 5 program, Willis has the students set up companies, produce or manufacture items, and learn all about the steps in manufacturing and marketing as commodity.

"I use ball point pens as a tool," said Willis. "I have my son disassemble 30 pens, and I take the separate parts to the students and divide the class into small groups, then have them set up a way of reassembling the pens as an example of manufacturing. It's quite interesting to see how their efficiency improves as each group has an opportunity to become more efficient."

Willis has taught the program at three local schools-- St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Brigid and Georgetown District Christian School. In addition he is working on a Grade 6 program in the future.

Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce president Jamie Schumacker (who is also chair of the Junior Achievement Comm-ittee,) speaks highly of Willis.

"Simon is passionate about the Grade 5 JA Program," said Schumacker, "There is no one in Halton Hills who has delivered more of these Grade 5 programs than Simon. When we look to train new volunteers for the Grade 5 program, we call upon Simon to run these training sessions-- he gladly does it on his own time in the evenings."

When it comes to civic pride, the Chamber of Commerce had to look no further than Christ the King Catholic High School, with the accomplishments of the Club Green environmental club.

Led by Grade 12 student Emily Dimytosh, and her science teacher Shari Typer, the group of more than 30 students have tackled a number of environmental issues, and made the town a better place to live in the process.

"We started organizing the group in November of 2006, after I attended the E-POWER conference, put on by Protect Our Water and Environmental Resources (POWER)," said Dimytosh, "The conference talked about what we could do, as schools, to protect the Niagara Escarpment. That really awakened Ms. Typer and I to the need for more environmental consciousness leadership at this school."

The club was organized, beginning with 10-15 students, and from that, they learned of the ECO School certification, which the Halton Catholic Disrict School Board was a partner.

"We decided because that certification encompasses waste minimization practices, energy conservation, professional development and environmental education, we thought going after that (certification) would really round out our activities, so we started pursuing it," said Dimytosh.

"It gave a focus to the club itself," added Typer, "And it grew from that."

As a result of their environmental practices and activities, Christ the King was certified an ECO School.

During the past year, the club also took part in many community projects, as well as in-school projects, like distributing more than 1,000 energy efficient light bulbs through the Project Porchlight Program, as well as numerous Town of Halton Hills sponsored cleanups and other environmental activities.

"We even approached the high school administration here to have the exams printed on both sides (of the paper), instead of single sides," said Dimytosh, "And by doing so, saved the school more than 75,000 sheets of paper."

Dale Turnbull loves his job.

He feels he has the best job in the world, working at Food Basics for the past two and a half years, helping customers with their groceries, and making sure they have enough shopping carts in the corral.

And being named Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce Employee of the Year is the icing on the cake for him.

"I love helping people," said Turnbull, "The customers here are such good people, and I just enjoy helping them every day."

Rain or shine, Turnbull can be found in the parking lot, gathering up the shopping carts or lifting water softener salt into the trunk of a car, always with a smile,

"There are lots of people here who need help," said Turnbull, "The seniors, the pregnant moms, and those parents with little kids-- I'll help them all.

Turnbull was nominated as a result of two letters to the editor in The Independent & Free Press. Two individuals wrote in to express their appreciation at Turnbull's friendly and helpful manner.

Turnbull was surprised when he received news he'd been chosen as Employee of the Year.

"I was flabbergasted," said Turnbull, "I only wish my dad was around to see it happen, but Mom is pretty proud of me."

Turnbull's supervisor, Food Basics store manager Ken Ward, wasn't surprised at the announcement.

"I receive compliments about Dale almost every day," said Ward, "The customers love him, and he does a terrific job. His job, keeping the outside lot in order and helping customers, can be a thankless one at time, but Dale does it with so much enthusiasm, and we're lucky to have him here. The people love him."

Judy Avery of Accountant on Main admits she was a bit low key about being named Entrepreneur of the Year by Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce.

"When Nancy Wilkes (last year's winner) dropped by to tell me, she didn't get much of a reaction from me," said Avery, "But as I thought about it, it snowballed, and I became quite excited. I called my dad and said, 'Guess who is Entrepreneur of the Year?' I also received calls from my girlfriend and others-- it started out slow, but it became an amazing feeling to be chosen."

Located at 52 Main Street S., in Georgetown, Avery opened her office September 2006, after extensively renovating the building. She admits that opening up as a Chartered Accountant (CA) was a rather unique turn of events.

"I started out in retail, running a butcher shop, and a bakery," said Avery, "I received my business sense in that area, but discovered I didn't want to work in retail."

She started night school in 1994 to achieve her goal, and eventually started articling with a large Toronto-based firm, and was ready to branch out on her own after she gathered the experience.

Today she has three employees, and is quick to add that her husband Dale was instrumental in getting her set up in her newly renovated office.

"He helped so much with the renovation," said Avery, "I know what I have to do in my business, but he got me here, where I am today."

In addition to offering a service to her clients, Avery also believes in being involved in the area she works. She lives close by her workplace, and sits on a number of committees with the Business Improvement Association (BIA) to help maintain the beauty and quaint atmosphere of the downtown area.

She also likes to be involved with the community, taking part in such activities as a toy drive at Christmas, and joining in the fun during the downtown Christmas open house, handing out free hot chocolate to passersby.

"I have a philosophy," said Avery, "Do something nice for people and they'll come back to you."

"I really enjoy working on Main Street," said Avery, "The people here are wonderful, and the shops are great. I'm so pleased to be a part of it."