Altona-based Red River Mutual was one of the big winners this past Wednesday at the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce MBiz Awards.

The company was named the Medium Business of the Year, beating out Winnipeg's Peak of the Market and Bold Innovation Group of Ile des Chenes.

President & CEO Brian Esau said it was a “special honour” to receive the award.

“When you look at our business, we are very much Manitoba in terms of where we built our business, where we do our business,” he said. “Our view is that our contribution to the community through things such as the Firefighters Burn Fund partnership and the safety trailer program. We've deployed 21 trailers throughout the province to allow very effective teaching programs for kids to get out of their homes if there is fire.”

Esau adds that his staff and company do a lot of work in the community, whether it's volunteering or raising funds for the food bank or organizations such as the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

On the business side of things, Esau says Red River Mutual is continuing to see growth.

“We still continue to outpace the premium growth over the industry, so we're gaining market share as we come along,” he said. “Last summer though we had a lot of hail and weather related events and we're rapidly paying those claims and getting those people's homes restored.”

Red River Mutual is the second largest property insurer in Manitoba, providing insurance protection since 1875.

Morden's Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre also brought home an award Wednesday, being named the Outstanding Not-For Profit.