Businesses are actively choosing to call Logan home and it’s not just because ‘it’s cheap’, says the organiser of the 2025 Logan Business Distinction Awards.
Almost 1000 businesses were nominated for an award this year, and were tasked with answering questions about their processes, achievements and future plans.
For a second year in a row, the application process included the question: why Logan?
“The overwhelming response is that people have actively chosen to have their business here, and it’s not just because ‘it was cheap to buy land at the time’,” Logan Chamber of Commerce president Arwen McGregor said.
“It is because they feel a genuine connection to the community, to the area and the way they can do business here.
“Yes, it’s obviously geographically good for a lot of businesses, but people have genuinely chosen Logan because they like the community and the access to major trade routes.”
The Business Distinction Awards has been running in its current format since 2017, honouring businesses of all sizes in a way that most awards don’t.
“It’s not a popularity vote,” Ms McGregor said.
“You have to answer questions about your business. The idea is that once you have completed that entry, you should have a business plan – forward planning, resilience planning and a record of what you’ve actually achieved in the past year.”
She said applicants this year were of a high quality.
“These people actually know their businesses – they don’t just tick and flick, they actually understand what their business is about and that shows the quality of the entries.
“They understand the processes and procedures, they already know where their risks are, they know where their business is going and how they want to get there.”
In the competition’s first years of operation, there were only three business leaders on the judges panel.
Now, with the awards so popular across about 20 categories, there are seven.
“The judges have all been blown away,” Ms McGregor said.
“Even last year, they were blown away with how innovative a lot of the businesses were, how connected they were to their community, and how willing they were to give back to their communities.
“That really shone through… Our businesses aren’t just doing it for themselves, they are there for the community as well.”
Ms McGregor hinted at the Chamber introducing more awards into the competition next year.
“We won’t say what they are yet, but there might be some new major awards.”
