Spirit of the Dragon, a martial arts school in Regina, perfectly exemplifies the dedication and value of the province’s small businesses, earning it SaskTel’s 2022 Small Business Spotlight award. The award is based on nominations from the public for small businesses that make a noticeable difference in the Saskatchewan community, have a forward-thinking attitude or business model, and demonstrate great marketing or customer service.

Kim Delesoy, co-owner of Spirit of the Dragon, accepts the award from Kristen Cozine, SaskTel Marketing Manager.

“We’re super proud to continue to work with all the small businesses in Saskatchewan,” said Cozine. “October is small business month and we wanted to put something fun together to recognize all the great small businesses doing great things.” A social media post invited SaskTel followers to nominate their favourite small business and comment on what makes them so great.

Spirit of the Dragon was chosen as the winner due to the hundreds of volunteer hours they dedicate to low income families and youth. Their actions give everyone a chance to live a healthy lifestyle and participate in camps or classes. They exemplify fairness and inclusivity, and are always working against bullying while promoting indiviuals’ self-worth.

According to Brian Parks, co-owner of Spirit of the Dragon along with Kim Delesoy, “We’ve been running Spirit of the Dragon for about 27 years now, and we’re very excited to win this award from SaskTel.” Delesoy added, “All of our phone services and internet services are through SaskTel, and it’s just great for us because everything works perfectly.”

There are more than 146,000 small businesses in Saskatchewan—the second highest per capita in Canada. They are key drivers in the province’s economy and essential contributors to the health of our communities. SaskTel is behind them every step of the way, celebrating and supporting their success not only during Small Business Month in October, but every day of the year.

“It was tough to pick a winner for the Spotlight Award,” said Cozine. “There are so many amazing small businesses out there. We’re especially proud to support and promote Spirit of the Dragon.”