By Candice Boyle
THE importance of business in the West has been highlighted with an early influx of nominations for the 2007 Greater Western Business Excellence Awards.
Organisers of the event received more than 30 applications in just two days following the opening of nominations last week.
Greater Western Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc (GWCCI) executive officer and business awards manager Janice Simpson said the awards had been well accepted in the past and this year looked to be just as strong.
“It is shaping up extremely well this year. We have already received 35 expressions of interest,” she said.
The opening of nominations last week coincided with the official launch of the 2007 awards at Cafe Sabroso in Seddon.
Ms Simpson said the launch was a strong way to get the message of the awards out into the community.
More than 40 business owners, judges, past winners and sponsors attended the launch.
While the awards are now entering their fifth year, this year was the first time the honours had been officially launched.
Powercor local regional asset manager Glen Smith said Powercor, the premium partner of the awards, was delighted to support the 2007 Greater Western Business Excellence Awards.
“These are a different style of awards, they are not bound by municipality boundaries,” he said.
“Businesses are not bound by municipality boundaries, so this will help promote growth and prosperity across the region.
Star News Group is the media partner for the awards, and general manager north west division Jim Lawrence said the honours recognised the importance of strengthening and awarding business achievements.
“We are supporters of any local awards that promote local business growth,” he said.
Following the launch, businesses from across the West have been encouraged to take part by signing up for the first workshop, How to Enter Business Awards, this month.
The workshop will cover how to prepare a nomination submission and a range of ways to best promote a business.
Mhairi Nicolson-Bigg, co-owner of Amante Jewellery, the winner of last year’s best start-up business, encouraged other businesses to be involved in the awards process.
“I would thoroughly recommend entering to anyone. The exposure we gained was exceptional,” she said.
“It gave us great confidence and the feedback showed we were on the right track.”
The first workshop will be held on Monday 18 June from 6pm to 8pm at the Hobsons Bay Civic Centre in Altona.
The same workshop will again run on Thursday 19 July from 6pm to 8pm at the town hall in Footscray.
For more on the workshops e-mail admin@gwcci.com.au or phone 0425 784 232.
Nomination forms and the terms and conditions of the awards are available on the GWCCI website, www.gwcci.com.au.
