Local Businesses Honored With SCORE Excellence Awards

Local businesses received honors on May 8 when the 30th annual SCORE Small Business Awards and Cape Cod Chambers of Commerce Excellence Awards ceremony took place at Family Table Collaborative in Yarmouth. Various chambers of commerce recognized their towns’ best businesses with their Business Excellence Award.

The Harwich Chamber of Commerce presented the Business Excellence Award to Cape Life Brand, a lifestyle and apparel brand based on the unique culture and experience of Cape Cod, offering comfort and quality in classically styled clothing and accessories for women, men and kids. Cape Life Brand is about to open a brand new flagship location on Main Street in Harwich Port. For more information about Cape Life Brand visit capelifebrand.com.

The Orleans Chamber of Commerce recognized Sea Howl Bookshop with the Business Excellence Award. Located on Main Street in the heart of Orleans, Sea Howl Bookshop offers a selection of new books of all genres along with a smaller number of used, vintage and out-of-print titles and periodicals. In addition to reading materials, the shop carries greeting cards, stationery and journals, along with puzzles and games. To learn more about Sea Howl Bookshop visit seahowlbookshop.com.

The Brewster Chamber of Commerce chose Green Road Refill to receive the Business Excellence Award. Launched as a mobile business in May 2018, Green Road Refill now offers earth conscious products from its Main Street storefront, with a focus on reducing Cape Cod's plastic footprint. Over 40 plant-based soaps, shampoos, lotions and cleaning products are sold by the weighed ounce and offered in refillable containers. By purchasing eco-friendly products from Green Road Refill, customers not only protect the environment but also reduce their plastic consumption, one bottle at a time. The shop also offers stainless steel straws, beeswax wraps, reusable produce bags and bamboo toothbrushes. For more about Green Road Refill visit greenroadrefill.com.

SCORE presented the Small Business of the Year Award to SmokeSygnals, an Indigenous creative production company. Founded in 2001 by Paula Peters and managed by Jennifer and Steven Peters since 2012, SmokeSygnals is known nationally and internationally for its ability to create environments that showcase Native American culture with authenticity. The means by which SmokeSygnals bridges history with contemporary life is innovative, with an approach that has created new curatorial practices for museums and educational institutions. SCORE has worked closely with SmokeSygnals to develop business strategies, marketing and sales, and organizational dynamics. To learn more about SmokeSygnals visit nativeamericancreative.com.

SCORE recognized the Cape and Islands Veterans Outreach Center (formally Nam Vets) with the Nonprofit of the Year Award. Cape and Islands Veterans Outreach Center just celebrated their 40th anniversary. The Center has transformed itself during that time from a social organization to one that offers life sustaining services to veterans and their families, including housing, food pantries, transportation, outreach and professional services. Today the Cape and Islands Veterans Outreach Center serves 263 families per week. Their state-of-the-art food distribution center serves 14 food pantries and provides home deliveries to house-bound veterans. In addition, the Center has 13 transitional housing units and is currently developing additional units on Martha’s Vineyard. For more information about the Cape and Islands Veterans Outreach Center visit capeveterans.com.

Love Live Local received SCORE’s Small Business Champion Award. Launched in 2013 to serve the small business communities on Cape Cod, Love Live Local’s focus has been on nurturing entrepreneurship through creating highly supportive stories to connect local businesses with customers and suppliers. The organization has succeeded with small businesses to help them achieve their goals, educate and inspire the community to buy locally and foster a strong sense of community. To support these goals, Love Live Local publishes 16,000 guides annually and over 18,000 attendees participate at their annual LoveFests event. To learn more visit lovelivelocal.com.

A resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration, SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals through education and mentorship. For more information on SCORE, its workshops or to schedule free one-on-one counseling visit www.score.org/capecod, email capecod@scorevolunteer.org or call 508-775-4884.