The Crescent City-Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce has added some new categories to its lineup of awards this year honoring volunteers in the community and businesses that have thrived during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chamber members initially had until Monday to submit their nominations, though Executive Director Cindy Vosburg said she’d likely extend that deadline. The banquet will be held March 19 at Lucky 7 Casino in Smith River.

Award categories include business leader of the year; community volunteer of the year; new business of the year; non-profit of the year and survivor business. That last category includes businesses that have shown innovation during the pandemic, Vosburg said.

“The ability to pivot on the drop of a dime and be able to keep people employed and our community serviced through the COVID period,” she said.

Other new categories include business of the year, which honors a company’s entire team not just its manager or owner, Vosburg said.

There’s also a special category for community volunteers, which could be anyone, Vosburg said.

“It doesn’t have to be a nonprofit they’re volunteering at,” she said. “It could be anyone from those who walk the pound puppies to those who’ve given injections (at COVID vaccine sites) and anything in between. We have quite a few unsung heroes in our in our community and we’d love to start recognizing them at least once a year through the annual dinner.”

Though COVID cases have increased in Del Norte County since the beginning of the new year, Vosburg said the chamber’s board of directors was encouraged that the omicron variant didn’t seem as deadly as the previous delta surge.

She also pointed to Del Norte County’s vaccination rate of near-55 percent as another reason the chamber felt that holding an awards ceremony would be safe.

For more information about the chamber’s awards dinner, click here.

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