Thursday night, all their hard work and commitment to keeping a family business thriving for 77 years now was honoured with a Legacy Award from the Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade.
The Chaffeys took over the business in 1990 from Ann’s father, Lou Alteen. Her uncle, Nick Alteen, first opened the shoe store in 1939.
David Chaffey said he is proud to be the third torchbearer, so to speak, of National Shoe Store and winning the award means a lot to him and the family.
“There’s a lot behind me that brought the company to where it is,” he said after accepting the honour. “Amongst your peers in the community, to receive an award like this is really special.”
He figured the award, selected by a panel of Corner Brook business leaders, is not just based upon the store’s long presence, but its accompanying reputation for being a community supporter.
“We’ve been involved in the community for a long time and that was just keeping up with the tradition of what my father-in-law did for years and years and years,” he said. “Lou was always involved in everything around the community and supported it.”
The Legacy Award is not always given out annually and sometimes, as was the case this year, there are multiple winners. The other two were posthumous honours, recognizing the contributions to more than just the business community by Rosemary O’Reilly and Ted Reader.
O’Reilly, who owned City Motors, showed her civic pride through, among other things, being an avid supporter of the Rotary Arts Music Festival and serving as chair of the Western Memorial Hospital Foundation.
She died in 2013.
Reader, who died in 2015, owned Pennyworth on Broadway. He, too, gave his time to many community-minded efforts, including the United Church Men’s Service Club, the Lions Club and the board of trade. He also helped form the Marble Mountain Development Corp. and was the first chairperson of the Corner Brook Downtown Business Association.
Chaffey, who is also a former chair of the Corner Brook Downtown Business Association, was flattered to win an award with two businesspeople he greatly admired.
“These were people who gave me advice and direction,” said Chaffey. “I catch myself repeating their words sometimes to people who say, ‘You’ve been in business a long time, what do you think I should do?’
“It’s not my words of wisdom I give them.”
The following is a complete list of winners from the Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade Awards handed out Thursday:
• Beautification Award: Health and Performance Centre;
• Customer Service Award: Newfound Sushi;
• Rising Star Award: Newfound Sushi;
• Online Presence Award: Dru Kennedy (photographer);
• Community Impact Award: Coleman Group of Cos.;
• Youth Business of the Year: Marble Zip Tours;
• Business of the Year: Village Music;
• Qalipu Business of the Year: Mala;
• Student of the Year (Grenfell Campus, Memorial University): Alice Bessoni (freelance artist/illustrator);
• Student of the Year (College of the North Atlantic): Tammy Kennedy (Premier Child Care);
• Legacy Awards: National Shoe Store; Rosemary O’Reilly (posthumous); Ted Reader (posthumous).
Source: Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade
Thursday night, all their hard work and commitment to keeping a family business thriving for 77 years now was honoured with a Legacy Award from the Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade.
The Chaffeys took over the business in 1990 from Ann’s father, Lou Alteen. Her uncle, Nick Alteen, first opened the shoe store in 1939.
David Chaffey said he is proud to be the third torchbearer, so to speak, of National Shoe Store and winning the award means a lot to him and the family.
“There’s a lot behind me that brought the company to where it is,” he said after accepting the honour. “Amongst your peers in the community, to receive an award like this is really special.”
He figured the award, selected by a panel of Corner Brook business leaders, is not just based upon the store’s long presence, but its accompanying reputation for being a community supporter.
“We’ve been involved in the community for a long time and that was just keeping up with the tradition of what my father-in-law did for years and years and years,” he said. “Lou was always involved in everything around the community and supported it.”
The Legacy Award is not always given out annually and sometimes, as was the case this year, there are multiple winners. The other two were posthumous honours, recognizing the contributions to more than just the business community by Rosemary O’Reilly and Ted Reader.
O’Reilly, who owned City Motors, showed her civic pride through, among other things, being an avid supporter of the Rotary Arts Music Festival and serving as chair of the Western Memorial Hospital Foundation.
She died in 2013.
Reader, who died in 2015, owned Pennyworth on Broadway. He, too, gave his time to many community-minded efforts, including the United Church Men’s Service Club, the Lions Club and the board of trade. He also helped form the Marble Mountain Development Corp. and was the first chairperson of the Corner Brook Downtown Business Association.
Chaffey, who is also a former chair of the Corner Brook Downtown Business Association, was flattered to win an award with two businesspeople he greatly admired.
“These were people who gave me advice and direction,” said Chaffey. “I catch myself repeating their words sometimes to people who say, ‘You’ve been in business a long time, what do you think I should do?’
“It’s not my words of wisdom I give them.”
The following is a complete list of winners from the Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade Awards handed out Thursday:
• Beautification Award: Health and Performance Centre;
• Customer Service Award: Newfound Sushi;
• Rising Star Award: Newfound Sushi;
• Online Presence Award: Dru Kennedy (photographer);
• Community Impact Award: Coleman Group of Cos.;
• Youth Business of the Year: Marble Zip Tours;
• Business of the Year: Village Music;
• Qalipu Business of the Year: Mala;
• Student of the Year (Grenfell Campus, Memorial University): Alice Bessoni (freelance artist/illustrator);
• Student of the Year (College of the North Atlantic): Tammy Kennedy (Premier Child Care);
• Legacy Awards: National Shoe Store; Rosemary O’Reilly (posthumous); Ted Reader (posthumous).
Source: Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade
