When Winnipeg’s elite come together for a night to honour those among them who have displayed excellence in their field, each event is presented with a touch of uniqueness.

It can be argued, though, that no such night was quite as unique as the awards banquet held by the Future Leaders of Manitoba Council (FLMC). Rather than the traditional table-dining, multicourse meal with speeches and presentations format, FLMC’s board chose, instead, to use a format for the Future Leaders of Manitoba First Annual Awards Reception where attendees roamed the floor with drinks and dishes in their hands, sampling the finest delicacies Manitoba has to offer, while paying tribute to younger businessmen and women who have made incredible strides in their respective fields.

By design, Lesley Hamilton, president of the FLMC, and her board chose this evening’s format to be a bit different.

“The council had always said that this is not to be a typical sit-down, stuffed-chicken dinner. Clearly, those events have their place; but the idea behind this,” she explains, “was that it was for existing leaders of the province, whether political, business or otherwise, to be proactively talking to young Manitobans, thanking them for staying here, asking them what they’re doing and saying ‘thanks; you’re the future of this province.’

“So it had to be a standup deal in order for it to be conducive to that type of interaction between existing and future leaders.”

The evening was not just the first opportunity for the fledgling organization to give out its first set of awards. Rather, for many attendees this was the first exposure to FLMC, an organization that’s mandate is, “to recognize and reward exceptional young Manitobans for their dedication to the social and economic growth of our province.”

The vision came from Hamilton, who, like many of us, tells a story of knowing many friends and colleagues that moved from Manitoba with the belief that greater opportunities lay in other markets. But, rather than make efforts to lure native ‘Tobans back, she looked towards doing more to promote and applaud what is being done here currently.

“Given that I was here and living here and was quite content, it kind of made me think, perhaps as a starting point, it would be more beneficial to recognize people that are living here, giving back and making a difference,” Hamilton explains. “The main thing is there are a lot of great people here. Before we get too bent out of shape, begging people to come back from Calgary, it just seemed to make more sense to me that we thank the people that are here.