As a part of our ongoing bragging about being an Award Finalist for this year’s GVCC Awards, I’d like to share another letter of support from my mentor and good friend, Jim Ralph (former president of Roger’s Chocolates):

 

February 6, 2012

The Selection Committee

2012 Business Awards

Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce

Dear Committee Members

It is my pleasure to strongly support Smart Dolphins in the Business of the Year Category for the 2012 Business Awards presented by the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.

I first came into contact with Smart Dolphins at the2005 Business Awards. Dave Monahan was a finalist in the Young Entrepreneurs category, and Rogers’ Chocolates was a finalist in the Lifetime Achievement Category. The young and the old awards were won by Dave Monahan in the Young Entrepreneurs category, and my company at the time, Rogers’ Chocolates, won in the Lifetime Achievement category. Since that time I have kept up a friendship with Dave, and have followed the success of Smart Dolphins.

I have personally met most of the staff. The fact there has been very few staff changes over the years speaks very highly of the company. They believe in strong customer service along with an outstanding commitment to the community. Being past president and director of Big Brothers and Big Sisters, I can attest to the financial support and time that Smart Dolphins has given to the organization .Many of the Smart Dolphins staff are on boards, and can be found at many charitable fundraising events. A company policy to be actively involved with the community, and to run an honest and successful organization are the reasons Smart Dolphins have been so successful and respected. I have recommended Smart Dolphins to other companies and have heard nothing but praise for their service and IT support.

Over the past five years I have been a mentor and friend to Dave Monahan. I have developed a huge respect for his strong and ongoing focus on self improvement, and business excellence. It is very rare to find a CEO that is more committed to his business, family, company, and the community.

I fully support and applaud the nomination of Smart Dolphins in the Business Excellence Category.

Yours sincerely

Jim Ralph

Past President & General Manager

Rogers’ Chocolates Ltd.

Thanks Jim!

We’re still celebrating our position as finalist for the GVCC annual awards for the “Business of the Year (11-25 Employees)” and this week we’d like to share another letter of support from our customer: HART Legal. Thank you to the many wonderful folks at HART Legal for these “HART-felt” words!

February 7, 2012

To whom it may concern.

We write in support of Smart Dolphins nomination for a Chamber Award for “Business of the Year: (11 – 25 employees)”. We are a growing law firm in Victoria, British Columbia and have had the pleasure of working with Smart Dolphins for six years. Smart Dolphins meets all of our growing needs while exceeding expectations. The staff is a great group of friendly people that we have been able to build relationships with over the years. Their eagerness to help and dedication to excellent customer service puts them above all the rest. Below are a few quotes from associates and staff at our firm commenting on their experience with Smart Dolphins:

“Everyone I deal with at Smart Dolphins is always very calm and friendly. When you’re frustrated with an issue it’s always great to have someone come on the line that is confident in their ability to fix it.”

“Smart Dolphins have always been exceptionally timely, helpful, and professional every time I have ever dealt with them. They are incredibly knowledgeable about their field and are always very friendly when explaining it to those of us that aren’t as technologically inclined!”

“Smart Dolphins provides excellent service to our office. They are helpful and responsive.”

We look forward to our continued relationship with Smart Dolphins and are confident in their ability to grow with us and provide the same standard of service and dedication that they stand by today.

HART Legal

As mentioned last week, we have been honoured as a finalist for the GVCC annual awards for the “Business of the Year (11-25 Employees)”. As part of the application process, each nominee submission could be accompanied by Letters of Support.

Receiving these letters was one of the most rewarding parts of this process. Over the next few weeks, I will share some of the letters that we received.

A big thanks to Vicky and the folks at Hansbraun for this wonderful letter and so many great years of working together.

Enjoy.

February 6, 2012

To Whom it May Concern:

Re: Chamber Award reference letter

We are pleased to offer a whole-hearted recommendation for Smart Dolphins, to the Chamber of Commerce. Hansbraun Investments is a property management/real estate development company, operating in Victoria, BC. We formed a strategic partnership with Smart Dolphins eight years ago that has, and will continue, to serve us incredibly well.

We recognize the importance of technology and information in business today. While our business is not large enough to have IT support on staff, Smart Dolphins provides us with key competencies that allow us to maximize our effectiveness, efficiency and bottom line.

Smart Dolphins have earned a level of trust from us that I believe is rare in the business world. Quite simply, they provide us guidance, support and advice that we follow without hesitation. We don’t question their advice and we don’t question the cost. They have earned this trust through top-notch service and excellent communication; and because we know they value our relationship as much as we do. We are confident that they will always treat us fairly and work in our best interests. As I said, this is a rare sort of relationship in business; and Smart Dolphins is a rare sort of business.

In addition to what they do for our business, we love how much Smart Dolphins cares about, and gives back to, our community. As a business, and their staff on a personal level, we regularly see them working on different initiatives, such as fundraising for the Mustard Seed, to benefit our community.

Thank you for this opportunity to share our thoughts; we sincerely feel that Smart Dolphins deserves this award. If you would like any further information, please feel free to contact me at the above number, or at ###.

Yours truly,

Victoria Shannon, BCom
Vice President

HANSBRAUN INVESTMENTS LTD.