Christopher Dang named Brockville’s 2024 Young Professional of the Year
Christopher Dang was “ shocked and caught off guard “ when he found out that he had been named Brockville’s 2024 Young Professional of the Year.
Dang has been progressing as an accountant with Burnbrae Farms for over five years, but his impact within Brockville reaches much further than that.
Pamela Robertson of the Brockville & District Chamber of Commerce announced the prestigious award on MOVE 104.9 with Bruce Wylie late last week. The Young Professional of the Year recipient was the last in a series of announcements leading up to the upcoming Awards of Excellence Gala on Sept.19.
Dang and other award recipients will be formally celebrated for this achievement at the Awards of Excellence Gala, a prestigious event taking place at the Brockville Country Club next month. This gala has been a staple in the Brockville community for over 65 years and gives the Chamber of Commerce an opportunity to recognize successful citizens and businesses in several categories, including Young Professional of the Year.
Brockville & District Chamber of Commerce launched a “Future Leaders” membership initiative in 2010, with the intent to drive engagement among young business owners and professionals in the local community by offering Chamber memberships at a reduced rate. The popular Brockville Young Professionals Network (YPN) derived from this initiative and has now amassed over 500 young professionals as members, including Christopher Dang.
Though not a member of the YPN himself, Dang was previously recognized by the network in 2022 as a “40 under 40” recipient. Since then, he has continued to grow his career at Burnbrae, while also remaining an active member of the community, Dang is a member of the Brockville Rotary Club and the Youth Services Committee. He also sits as a board member and finance committee member with the local United Way.
Brockvilleist spoke with the Brockville native to hear more about his journey leading up to this accomplishment, and what he has in store for the future.
Christopher Dang grew up in Brockville with his three other siblings, but temporarily moved to Ottawa to pursue his post-secondary education. He graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce with a specialization in accounting. When he moved back to Brockville, he got started in his professional career with Burnbrae Farms.
“I have been with the family business for a little over five years as a member of the finance team. I started as a general accountant and through hard work and contributions, I was then promoted to the role of intermediate accountant.”
In terms of the process leading up to his, Dang explained that he received a call in June of 2024 and asked if he wanted his nomination to stand.
“After that, the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors convened to evaluate the nominations to determine the finalists/winners for the awards. I received a phone call from Pamela Robertson in early July notifying me that I had been selected as the 2024 YP of the Year.”
Dang continued, “From the initial nomination call to being the recipient, I was kind of shocked and caught off guard that I was being recognized for this award. After being a recipient in 2022 of the Top 40 under 40 awards, I knew about this prestigious award soon after. It was on my radar, but I never expected to be recognized and be a recipient given my age and I was thinking of this as a long-term goal. My reaction at this very moment is still a surreal moment and hasn’t hit me fully yet.”
Dang is looking forward to celebrating this awesome achievement with his friends, family, and girlfriend at the upcoming Gala Awards next month. In terms of the future, Dang says he is simply focused now on devoting his time to help the community that he grew up in and would like to primarily focus on youth development.