Vancouver – Keith Mitchell, chair of the BC Achievement Foundation is pleased to announce that Chief Clarence Louie is the recipient of the 2011 BC Aboriginal Business Award for Individual Achievement.

Chief Louie will be honoured on December 1, 2011 along with the juried competition honorees for the 2011 BC Aboriginal Business Awards. The Gala Presentation Ceremony at the Hyatt Regency in Vancouver will showcase the achievements of the Aboriginal business community in the province.

“Chief Clarence Louie is a leader with a vision”, said Mitchell. “He has dedicated his life to building economic self-sufficiency for the Osoyoos Indian Band by creating employment opportunities for present and future generations.  He is a contemporary example of success through hard work and determination”.

The Individual Achievement Award honours a person who has made a significant impact in the Aboriginal business community and in so doing, serves as an inspiration to us all.

Chief Louie was elected Chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band in 1985 at the age of 25.  Under his leadership, the Band has built a multi-faceted corporation that owns and manages nine businesses, including Nk’Mip Gas and Convenience Store, Nk’Mip Construction, Oliver Ready-Mix Ltd., Nk’Mip Daycare, Nk’Mip RV Park, Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, Sonora Dunes Golf Course, Spirit Ridge Vineyard Resort and Spa, Nk’Mip Cellars, the first Aboriginal winery in North America and most recently, the Senkulmen Business Park.

Previous Individual Achievement Award recipients are entrepreneurs, Dorothy Grant, Angelique Merasty Levac and Dolly Watts McRae as well as Aboriginal business champion, John Harper.

The BC Aboriginal Business Awards are presented by the BC Achievement Foundation in partnership with the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation, and generously supported by New Relationship Trust, BC Hydro, Teck, Encana and Spectra Energy.

The BC Achievement Foundation is an independent foundation established and endowed by the Province of British Columbia in 2003 to celebrate excellence in community service, the arts, humanities and enterprise.

For information on the BC Aboriginal Business Awards and Gala Presentation dinner tickets, visit our website at www.bcachievement.com or call 604 261-9777 or toll free 1-866 882-6088.