Supplied by the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre…
(Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) – November 15, 2017: The 12th annual SSMARt Innovation Awards hosted by the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC) were held at Grand Gardens Downtown Sault Ste. Marie earlier today, November 15, 2017. The sold-out luncheon event honoured companies and influential individuals for their innovative contributions to the science, technology and agriculture sectors of the Algoma District. Eight “Innovation of the Year” awards were awarded at the ceremony.

“Today was an opportunity to celebrate and appreciate the exceptional work being done by talented individuals within the Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma region, all contributing to local growth in the science, technology and agriculture sectors,” said Don MacLennan, Acting Executive Director, SSMIC. “We are proud of the nominations put forward and of our SSMARt Innovation Award winners, as well as the community support in celebration of innovation over the past twelve years.”

With over 120 people in attendance, awards were presented by community partners and sponsors, unveiling videos to announce each winner. Guest speakers included The Honourable Patricia A. Hajdu, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Labour with the Government of Canada; Sault Ste. Marie Member of Parliament, Terry Sheehan; Sault Ste. Marie Acting Mayor, Sandra Hollingsworth; and a special video message from Sault Ste. Marie Member of Provincial Parliament, Ross Romano. Awards were presented by community partners and sponsors, including SooToday.com, Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Business Development Bank of Canada, Sault Ste. Marie City Councillor Steve Butland, Dr. Gayle Broad with NORDIK Institute, and SSMIC staff.

This event is made possible by sponsors, including Platinum Level Sponsor SooToday.com, Gold Level Sponsor Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Silver Level Sponsor Scotiabank, and Bronze Level sponsor DOI Compass Imaging Group.

Nominations were submitted over a two-week period, with candidates either being nominated by their peers or self-nominated. Five judges with diverse skill sets and areas of expertise reviewed qualifying nominations and determined winners based on how each nominee met or exceeded innovation award standards.

This year we saw a multitude of high-caliber nominations, which speaks to the depth of talent in science, technology and agriculture sectors. Nominees include: Maker North, Mike Sacchetta, Sault College and Ellis Design, Wishart Law Firm and the Wishart Municipal Law Group, Createch 365, Scoutr Sports, Stormer Santana, Jeronamo Solutions and Vibe Eatery, Shabby Motley, Brrnanas, Kevin Rusnell of DIG, Food Bank Farm, StartUP Sault, Youth Odena, Jonathan Budau, Jenna Caputo, Mark Carlucci, Jordan Winter, Marek McLeod, Kyle Farwell, Penokean Hills Farms, Tech Tutors on Site, and Black Fox Fishing.

Winners were awarded custom designed and locally made 3D printed trophies, created by Maker North, a local tech company specializing in 3D printing. Read more about this year’s winners below, and check out www.ssmic.com/awards where winner videos will be posted within the next 24 hours.

Congratulations to the 2017 SSMARt Innovation Award Winners!

Innovation Company of the Year – Penokean Hills Farms
In 2005, a group of local family farmers from Algoma decided to collectively sell a high quality, healthy, and locally produced brand of beef native to Northern Ontario, giving local consumers increased access to a clean product. Since that time, the company was consolidated and bought by two of its members who are local farmers with a deep family history of farming high-quality products and a passion for the community.

This company adheres to strict beef raising guidelines, working with a beef scientist from the University of Guelph on best farming and beef raising practices. Products are processed in Algoma and distributed across Ontario. In 2015, the company purchased the local abattoir located in Bruce Mines. As the only abattoir in the entire Algoma district, it serves not only as an important asset to their farms, but to many other local farmers in the community.

Learn more at https://www.penokeanhillsfarms.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/penokeanhillsfarms/.

Innovation in Digital Media – Jeronamo Solutions for Vibe Eatery & Juice Co.
Through the deployment of a strictly digital campaign using a mix of social media, web advertising, website creation, online videos and email marketing, this award recipient developed a comprehensive campaign for the grand opening of a new restaurant in Sault Ste. Marie, which opened in the spring of 2017.
All of this lead to the restaurant selling out of almost all menu items and having to close in order to restock within days of launch, quickly becoming a highly popular and favourite stop for healthy and delicious food in the Sault.

Learn more about Jeronamo Solutions here https://www.jeronamo.ca/ and https://www.facebook.com/jeronamosolutions/.

Learn more about Vibe Eatery here https://vibeeatery.ca/ and https://www.facebook.com/vibeeatery/

Steve Butland Innovation Educator of the Year – Mark Carlucci, Teacher and Robotics Mentor with White Pines Collegiate and Vocational School
This educator is passionate and innovative in and out of the classroom. He displays a passion for robotics and all aspects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and encouraging participation from all students. He received the VEX Robotics Volunteer-of-the-Year Award with White Pines for his instrumental role in creating a robotics program at his school which has produced and mentored over 20 teams in the past three years. Recently, he led a Girl Powered event, a day for young girls to learn and engage with inspiring women in tech and spark an interest in the science, math, or technology sectors.

Innovation Leader of the Year – Kevin Rusnell with Digital Intelligence Group (DIG)
This leading digital strategist is always working to go above and beyond for his clients and team. Constantly keeping up to date on training and certification, he is key to maintaining his organization’s status as a Premier Google Partner – a status which only 2% of agencies achieve.

He is continuously working to maintain the organization’s vision and leadership in a competitive and ever-changing landscape. He works day to day delivering measurable results for clients and strong working relationships, and is known for being approachable, friendly, yet wise and proficient through his leadership and guidance.

Learn more about DIG here http://www.digdeep.ca/

Innovation Project of the Year – Wishart Law Firm LLP and the Wishart Municipal Group
The project saw the development of customized web-based tax arrears reporting software designed by this local law firm and its municipality division. The software supports an innovative IT membership-based solution for the delivery of legal services to municipalities.

When challenged with hundreds of physical files pouring in for a project, the demand for extensive tracking and manual processes created a need for improved interactivity, automation and efficiency. An innovative IT solution was envisioned and developed by a local software company, permitting software to work with clients and generate reports – quickly and accurately.
It was the first software of its kind, and now servicing over 10 municipalities with plans to become a provincial leader in the delivery of municipal law services.

Learn more about the Wishart Law Firm and its Wishart Municipal Law Group here https://www.wishartlaw.com/.

Innovation Startup of the Year – Black Fox Fishing
This business came up with an innovative solution to a problem, by creating a more efficient, simplistic and better engineered product that has one purpose: to help ice fishers catch more fish with a more reliable tool.

Incorporated in 2017, this Batchewana First Nations startup developed The Trigger, which is on track to triple sales since last year alone, from what was online sales based and has now landed in stores across Canada, including a partnership with Canadian Tire.

The business utilizes social media to its fullest and has garnered hundreds of thousands of video views on YouTube and Facebook, a strong following of fishing enthusiasts, and a network of ice fishing influencers across Canada and the US.

Learn more here https://www.blackfoxfishing.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/blackfoxfishing/.

Innovation in Social Entrepreneurship – Youth Odena and Food Bank Farm
This year’s Innovation in Social Entrepreneurship award was awarded to two different organizations.

Youth Odena
Since 2016, this award recipient has been a leading by-youth-for-youth advocacy group in Sault Ste. Marie who’s work concentrates on the health, arts, and culture sectors of the Sault. They work towards improving the socio-economic status of young people in the area. The group uses a variety of digital and social media platforms to reach and engage at risk youth in Sault Ste. Marie, and design their programs and workshops with youth needs in mind.
Learn more at https://www.youthodena.ca/ and https://www.facebook.com/youthodena/.

Food Bank Farm
This award recipient has changed the way food is delivered to food banks in the region, and is the only initiative of its kind in Canada. This local farmer and his business partner created a non-profit business in response to a need in the community for fresh produce to supplement the food currently provided to individuals and families via the current food bank system.

They produce a variety of high quality, nutritious produce items to those in the community who lack the financial resources to obtain food through traditional retail outlets. They grow, produce, and deliver the food, as well as provide education to community members about healthy food options such as how to cook and optimize produce on any budget.
Learn more https://foodbankfarm.ca/ and https://www.facebook.com/Food-Bank-Farm-823480071128548/.

Innovation Youth of the Year – Stormer Santana
This Sault Ste. Marie born and raised youth, now University of Denver senior student, has demonstrated a strong passion for entrepreneurship, technology, and mobile and web development. He is the Founder of Scoutr Sports, the first platform for athletes to anonymously rate and review their experience playing on competitive sports teams. The launch of this website garnered Canada-wide media attention, including a feature article in the coveted Hockey News and highly successful launch with users growing daily.

Following the launch of his business, he has maintained business operations in Sault Ste. Marie, recently hiring two interns to help with the business and returns home as often as possible.
Learn more about Scoutr Sports http://www.scoutrsports.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/scoutrsports/.

About the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre
The Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC) is a non-profit organization established in 1999 to function as a catalyst for economic development and diversification in the information technology and science knowledge-based sectors. SSMIC’s mission is to drive business growth, facilitate research and commercialize innovation in globally significant areas of science and technology through partnerships, expert advice, community development, business incubation, youth outreach and sector development activities. Key SSMIC business divisions include: the Community Geomatics Centre, Rural Agri-Innovation Network, Business Support Services, YouLaunch, Lottery & Gaming and Smart Energy.