Getting Saskatoon businesses to put themselves "on the radar screen" to get some recognition is always a struggle, but the co-chair of this year's SABEX awards says a bit more of a hard sell this year helped fill out the list of nominees.

Cliff Wiegers says the SABEX nominating committee took a bit more of an aggressive stance this year in pursuing businesses to accept a nomination.

At times when a potential nominee would say to committee members "I want to stay below the radar screen," Wiegers said the committee used an Alberta reference to try to sell a business on filling out the forms.

Wiegers says he convinced several nominees to complete the process after arguing that Saskatchewan business owners have to be prepared to be more like their Alberta counterparts and talk up their success.

Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce president Laura Small, who has organized SABEX awards in the past, says she was thrilled to see some business names nominated this year that have never pursued the awards in the past.

"I think we got more nominations this year than last year," says Small, who also manages Women Entrepreneurs of Saskatchewan Inc. which co-sponsors the annual SABEX awards along with the chamber.

SABEX is short for Saskatoon Achievement in Business Excellence and this year's annual Celebrate Success banquet is May 11.

Companies related to health, medicine and fitness were among the nominees pursuing awards.

Brian Michasiw has two businesses in the running. His long-time Brainsport the Running Store is up for three awards while his new venture, Pedestrian Shoe Fitting is nominated for a marketing prize.

In launching a new store that focuses on walking shoes and special orthopedic shoes for medical conditions such as diabetes, Michasiw says it fulfills a plan he has had for about three years.

"A lot of people are intimidated by the idea of Brainsport because of its focus on running," he said. "It's a lot easier for a non-runner to come by the new store."

One thing that works out well for Michasiw and his managers at Brainsport is the new store is right beside the existing one on Broadway and they are working with the same landlord.

Full nominations for SABEX awards include:

New Business Venture -- 8th Street RV, Amanah Tech Inc., Traxx Footwear, and Wilson's Greenhouse and Garden Centre.

New Product -- Cronus Technologies Inc., Premala's Spicy Sensations Inc., and VCom Inc.

Innovation -- Mourning Glory Funeral Services, Prairie View Chapel and Crematorium, Today's Technology Marketing Group, and Wolfe Home Furnishings

Export -- Amanah Tech Inc., DraganFly Innovations, Great Western Brewing Co. Ltd., and Superior Cabinets

Marketing -- DraganFly Innovations, Pedestrian Shoe Fitting, Pine View Farms, Superior Cabinets, and Wolfe Home Furnishings

Customer Service -- The Bike Doctor, Brainsport the Running Store, Centennial Group of Companies, Independent Medical Rehabilitation Services, and Saskatoon Fastprint Ltd.

Community Involvement -- Brainsport the Running Store, CJWW/CFQC/CJMK radio stations, Co-operative Trust Company of Canada, Independent Medical Rehabilitation Services, and Sutherland Chiropractic Clinic

Growth and Expansion -- Cinepost Productions, Cronus Technologies Inc., Great Western Brewing Company Ltd. VCom Inc., and Wilson's Greenhouse and Garden Centre

Business of the Year -- The Bike Doctor, Brainsport the Running Store, Cronus Technologies Inc., Great Western Brewing Company Ltd. and Sangster's Health Centres.

Hall of Fame -- Saskatoon's Klombies family was nominated for the SABEX Hall of Fame. The Klombies have been in Saskatoon and area for 100 years and the founder of the firm's Saskatoon operations, Robert P. Klombies entered the real estate sector in Saskatoon in 1927. He purchased a real estate firm known as Saskatoon Agencies in 1936.

The company, with sons Ronald and Bob having moved into the business, moved into insurance in the 1960s. The real estate branch eventually became a Century 21 operation. Most of the businesses were sold by the family by the early 1990s when the two sons retired. The family was active in many community organizations including Kinsmen Clubs and Telemiracle.

Also at the Celebrate Success night is the Athena award which is an international award that recognizes exceptional leaders. Nominated this year are Cheryl Dougan, Nancy Hopkins, Peggie Koenig, and Laura Small.

The Award of Innovation for University of Saskatchewan inventors and researchers who bring ideas to the stage of being marketable products had three nominations.

Marianna Foldvari and Ron Verrall were nominated for a delivery system for DNA-based therapeutics and vaccines. David Maenz, Hank Classen and Rex Newkirk were recognized for work in fractionation of canola meal which has led to a new company MCN BioProducts, while Viv Ramsden and Jim Thornhill were recognized for a cooling arch which is described as a "novel device for administering cold therapy in the pre-hospital setting."