Gold Winner Mountain Equipment Co-op
Silver Winner Aerobics First
Bronze Winner Sport Chek, Halifax Shopping Centre
Kent Walsh credits Mountain Equipment Co-op’s repeat success in this category to a “focus on service.” The manager of MEC’s Halifax store, he says the ability to focus comes from having a clear corporate mission to encourage and enable outdoor lifestyles. “For some that’s walking a dog. Others are more hardcore. It doesn’t have to be an epic adventure.” Walsh is similarly openminded on the question of how, exactly, MEC is pronounced. He is an “em ee sea” person—“that sounds better to my ear”—but he doesn’t have a problem with the “meck”s of the world. “If the name is on their lips, then it’s all good.”