Jasper Tourism chamber members gathered at the Amethyst Lodge on Dec. 11 to celebrate a successful year.

Dignitaries and business leaders from the community gathered to honour Jasper’s top entrepreneurs, which this year included two members of the accommodations sector.

The 2009 business award of distinction went to Pine Bungalows.

“This is just icing on the cake for me, man,” said Mike Wasuita.

Thanks to spearheading several eco-friendly initiatives at the resort, Pine Bungalows has been credited as an innovator in green tourism.

Wasuita credited the hard work put in by his parents to establish the business.

“This would not be possible without the hard work my father put in,” Wasuita said. “He left us with a great legacy. And my mother deserves lots of credit as well.”

He told the crowd all that was needed was a change in attitude in order to create a more sustainable business, and he thanked Parks Canada for helping him with several initiatives on the property.

It was the second big honour for Pine Bungalows, which recently won an ALTO award for sustainable tourism.

Chad Gulevich, general manager and owner of the Mount Robson Inn captured the individual award of merit. This was the born and raised Jasperite’s first chamber award.

“It’s a huge honour to receive an award from your peers.

Gulevich spearheaded the peddle pushers program, which helped teach the rules of the road to cyclists. He was also active in the SKAL club of the Canadian Rockies, which covers several mountain communities, and he served as president of the Jasper Hotel Association, and has also been actively working with the Jasper Destination Marketing Commission.

“I had an opportunity to be a part of a lot of teams that accomplish great things,” Gulevich said.

Gulevich took the time to thank his wife Alana for her patience during the past year, which he admits has been consumed with lots of meetings.

About 160 community members were in attendance for the evening.