Business Excellence Award
Jill Wilcox and Jill's Table
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Jill’s Table has been a downtown destination since 1999. Starting out in the Covent Garden Market, Jill soon moved her business to the other side of the street at 115 King Street. Her expertise and knowledge in the niche business of specialty foods, housewares, and cooking classes has been a major factor to her continued success. Not only does her shop offer customers a unique shopping and learning experience, but Jill and her staff provide patrons with excellent service. Their actions are a true reflection of their business values: respect, trust, kindness and loyalty for their customers, suppliers, and colleagues.
In 2012, Jill created the Jill Wilcox Foundation with the goal to support women and children in our community. 100% of the funds raised by the Jill Wilcox Foundation goes directly to local charitable organizations that help women and children in food related initiatives, such as Investing in Children, Crouch Neighbourhood Resource Centre, and YOU’s Joan’s Place, to name just a few.
Her desire to help people doesn’t end with her foundation, though. Often, you can find Jill sharing her knowledge and expertise with new business owners, always eager to be a mentor for our community. She never shies away from giving advice to those embarking on the nerve-wracking but exciting journey of starting a business.
Gerald Gallacher Heart of Downtown Award
Jim Yanchula
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Jim Yanchula is the Manager of Core Area and Urban Regeneration for the City of London. Jim’s academic knowledge as a Planner and Urban Regenerist, as well as his degree in architecture provides a unique understanding and appreciation of development and urban design. This coupled with his strong love of BIAs and his desire to improve the downtown make him the perfect person to fill his role at the City. Jim’s knowledge and skill has been sought after by other communities, both in North America, as well as internationally, to speak about revitalization.
Jim has sat on the MainStreet London board for many years, as well as being at the table as a guest to the LDBA board in order to provide a City perspective on many issues.
Over the years, Jim has been a strong advocate for downtown businesses as well as for the community that makes downtown what it is. When Dundas Place was first approved, Jim’s leadership in keeping the Dundas Street building and store owners involved continued from the planning stage through to the completion of the construction phase. Jim became known as ‘Downtown Jim’ and was available to listen to the merchants. He worked to address the concerns that were brought to him. He was also instrumental behind the scenes, such as in the creation of the Core Area Steering Committee which brought the different departments of the City together in order to best use resources. While many of these aspects could be seen as part of the job, it is apparent to all that Jim’s passion, involvement, positivity, and pride in the state of the downtown go above and beyond that of a mere job. As was stated in the nomination submission: ‘Some individuals quietly go about their business and effectively make things happen to influence outcomes.’ Jim is one of these individuals, and we know that Gerald would approve of Jim as the selection for the inaugural Gerald Gallacher Heart of the Downtown Award.
