Arkhangelsk Honors Popular Entrepreneurs in Award Ceremony
In each category, ten of the best business projects were recognized.
A ceremonial awards ceremony took place at the government of Arkhangelsk Oblast to honor the 100 best companies trusted most by citizens. All of them became finalists for the People«s Prize 29.RU. The hall was filled with top representatives from their fields. Some have been in the market for a long time, others are just starting their journey. See how this large-scale event for the region unfolded for the first time.
The ceremony was hosted by Oksana Maklakova and Dmitry Vitkovsky from Shkulev Holding.
The People«s Prize 29.RU is held with the support of the governor and government of Arkhangelsk Oblast. It was created to support businesses trusted by buyers and clients: the best will be chosen by the people themselves. Currently, on the award»s website, voting is underway. Winners in each category will be announced on 26 February.
The companies that reached the final were congratulated from the stage by First Deputy Governor and Chairman of the Government Alexey Alsufyev.
Nominees and guests learned about the voting process and how to campaign fairly.
«I am undoubtedly very pleased and sincerely happy for this opportunity to welcome you in this hall as those whom our residents have indicated as the most well-known, respected, authoritative people in the small and medium-sized entrepreneurship community, those who today make the life of our region»s residents a little better, a little brighter, and a little more joyful,« he said.
Alexey Alsufyev emphasized that making it into the top hundred is already a great success.
«You were chosen by the people. After all, it»s not about the award itself, it«s about the recognition you carry today, and people, by voting for you, made it so that you are here in this hall today. Therefore, I am confident that the subsequent stages of the competition will determine the most active, important, and responsible representatives of small and medium-sized entrepreneurship in Arkhangelsk Oblast.»
Alexey Alsufyev noted that dialogue with business is one of the main priorities of the government«s activities.
Partners of the award.
«And today, together with you, we are building this dialogue, establishing those mutual relationships, helping to accompany various projects in different spheres of entrepreneurship, removing unnecessary administrative barriers, and, of course, doing everything so that some additional support measures from the regional government, from the heads of municipal formations, can find you, to help you in this life, in this difficult world today, which is connected with our climatic peculiarities, economic challenges that we all feel today.
People«s prizes are held annually by the team of »Shkulev Holding« in major cities across the country, such as St. Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Chita, Tyumen, Perm, and Samara. For Pomorye (the Arkhangelsk region), this is the first such experience.
«I travel with our project to all cities where we implement it with the holding. But how exciting and how responsible it is for us to be here, in Arkhangelsk,» shared Oksana Maklakova, Director of Strategic Communications at City Media «Shkulev Holding». «And I want to thank first and foremost our main partner—the government of Arkhangelsk Oblast. I want to thank Governor Alexander Vitalyevich, who so quickly decided that he and his team are interested in co-organizing such a project for small and medium-sized entrepreneurship.»
The full list of companies that made it to the final.
The award provides an opportunity to highlight which businesses northerners are proud of and grateful for the product, to support the best in their field, and thereby make the service even better.
«I already want to congratulate all of you for having touched the hearts of your consumers, those who buy your goods and services. I believe that people who vote for you are voting with their hearts. We usually tend to leave negative reviews. Mostly everyone likes to complain: this is wrong, that is wrong, here it»s not clean, here it«s cold. Here, on the contrary, we encourage praising business. And I think this is very important,» noted Dmitry Vitkovsky, General Director of the portal FONTANKA.RU, Director of the «North-West» cluster of «Shkulev Holding».
About why such a large-scale award was entrusted to 29.RU, the site«s editor-in-chief Yelena Ionaitis spoke from the stage. She also addressed the finalists.
«Those who have proven to people through their work that you are doing a big, important thing have gathered here today. So thank you for coming. And we are here to convey this public recognition to you,» addressed the entrepreneurs Yelena Ionaitis, Editor-in-Chief of 29.RU.
Diplomas were presented to the finalists by volunteers from the Association «Resource Center for Volunteering of Arkhangelsk Oblast». In each of the 10 categories, representatives of 10 companies took to the stage.
Many acknowledged that in the top ten, they are colleagues and friends.
The award is conducted by 29.RU, but its scale is amplified by the support of information partners with a federal audience, these are publications «Vokrug Sveta» (Around the World), «Fontanka.ru», Woman.ru, Starhit, and other platforms of the huge network of city media Shkulev Holding.
Many of them expressed gratitude to the organizers of the People«s Prize and, of course, to the people who nominated them for it.
«I would like to thank the team of 29.RU, because this is such a boost for us, for doctors, for the organizers of this complex business,» said Inga Avaliani, General Director of AVA CLINIC. «And the gratitude of our patients is expressed through your large team. Thank you very much for organizing this event.»
Some of the entrepreneurs admitted that they did not expect to make it into the top ten.
«It»s very nice to be here. When they called me and said we won the competition, I call back my manager and say we were invited to the competition, we won. She says: «The main thing is not to name the code from the SMS»,« shared Alexander Iletsky, representing the hypermarket »Lenta«.
There was a lot of humor on stage, both from the hosts and from the award participants. The interaction was lively, human, and emotional.
«We are from the city of Severodvinsk. A 150-square-meter coffee shop between a kindergarten and a morgue. In February, it will be 5 years since we»ve been operating. And we are very surprised that we were invited here, as we almost never wanted to be associated with business, more with craft. That«s usually how it goes. You don»t want to, but everything turns out the opposite,« noted Denis Zvontsov from the coffee shop VID.
Besides the friendly atmosphere, a sense of healthy competition was also felt from the stage. It is possible that we are in for a heated battle for victory in the People«s Prize.
«We are very pleased that we won this stage. We thank our colleagues, we thank our guests, our clients for choosing us. We will strive to continue working on providing quality services, creating a pleasant atmosphere for our northerners. The team, I can say right away, is ready for the swim,» said Nadezhda Synchikova, chief physician of the «White Alley» Center for Beauty and Health.
But the award is not only about competing for the right to be the best, but also about unity. Many finalists noted that everyone is doing one common thing and each company is making its contribution.
«For us, it was also a surprise and very pleasant that we won in this competition. Now we will actively fight for the best place. And I am also very pleased that we have such an interesting palette of educational services, I will be happy to communicate, create some interesting community,» shared Olga Veselkova, head of the «Lingua Plus» foreign language school.
«It»s incredibly nice to stand on this stage. Not with colleagues, with friends, because in our hospitality field, it«s only like that. We are where it»s warm, where close ones are, where family is. And a word like hospitality—that«s the very meaning of the North. Since we are standing here on this stage, it means we are doing everything right. But there is no limit to perfection. Let»s move forward,« said Anna Goncharova, representing the tourist complex »Malye Karely«.
Both the ceremony hosts and the finalists noted how unique Arkhangelsk Oblast is and how important it is to develop its tourism potential, to ensure that residents« love for their native land only grows stronger over the years.
«In addition to gratitude to the organizers, gratitude to those who know us, who don»t know us yet, I want to urge you—travel. Travel naturally, travel architecturally, travel across Arkhangelsk Oblast. Here, as you see, there are many wonderful people who are developing, learning to give you great, good service, putting a lot of soul into it, money into their education, into their development. In Arkhangelsk Oblast, believe me, there is a lot you haven«t seen yet and that will very, very surprise you. Truly. Beauty is close by,» said Mikhail Kononov, head of the tourist center «Yandova Guba».
Support for the audiovisual design of the event was provided by the team of the innovative personnel center INKA.
After the official part, guests were treated to a buffet, where they could interact with the press and each other, take memorable shots.
All photos from the diploma awards ceremony are available in the photo album of the 29.RU group on «VKontakte». You can go there from the widget below. Or via this link.
What«s Next? Time to Vote
Together with you, we have chosen 100 people«s companies, now they are competing for leadership in each category. It»s time to cast your vote for those who, in your opinion, deserve victory. Voting will last until 25 February, make sure to participate!
The final of the award will take place on 26 February not only in a ceremonial but also in a businesslike constructive atmosphere: after the awards, the voting leaders will participate in a public talk with the region«s top officials. This is an excellent opportunity to communicate with Governor Alexander Tsybulsky, to speak about yourself, your plans, and even difficulties.
Earlier, Oksana Maklakova, Director of Strategic Communications at City Media «Shkulev Holding», explained why the award was decided to be held in Arkhangelsk, and Yekaterina Kuznetsova, head of the Center for Tourism and Culture Development of Arkhangelsk Oblast, explained why entrepreneurs and residents of the region should take part in it.
Fellow countrymen were also urged to participate in the People«s Prize by famous TV host Alexander Belkovich. To note worthy business representatives is considered important by the head of Severodvinsk Igor Arsenyev.
The system is transparent and honest, you cannot buy victory.
29.RU also discussed with the governor of Arkhangelsk Oblast Alexander Tsybulsky how the economy and business are coping with sanctions and why it is important to support the People«s Prize 29.RU.
