I get to go to many business awards these days, many functions, and often (let me confess dear reader) they can rather blend into each other. But not the one I attended last Friday, the annual Wanneroo Business Association Awards.
It was clear from the outset people were in a celebratory mood. The surrounds, the Bridgeleigh Function Centre, popular for weddings/receptions, was well decked out in the black and white theme, and the excellent local band Proof, sensing the mood, got people up on the dance floor (well there wasn’t a floor, so people just danced around the tables) well before the night was even half way through.
13 local businesses were recognised for their achievements.
Big Brew Coffee Roasters had an exceptional evening as they took home 2015 Business of the Year and Best Tourism and Hospitality Business titles, John Young from The Pickled Herring and IGA in Two Rocks won Mayor’s Visionary Person 2015 for his contribution to the business community.
Burning Fruit were delighted to take Best New Business and Most Innovative Business after their first year in business and Oliver Kay Photography topped the Marketing Excellence category. Greenes Tyre and Brake Service won Customer Service Excellence, PSS Distributors were winners of Best Business: Over 5 and Under 15 employees and Talent Co Dance and Entertainment took away the Best Business: Small and Home Based title.
Hampers by Design won Online and Digital Excellence (the event Business News sponsored and you can see me in the photo above selfie-ing with the happy winners), and an almost speechless Jamielee Peary from Yanchep Central Dental was crowned Employee of the Year Award for 2015, closely followed by Gino Quilligotti from Chippy’s Beach Shack.
There were some running jokes as the web developers Burning Fruit mentioned that a tree was now connected to the internet. How? they asked. It logged on. (boom boom!) A few awards later Burning Fruit won again, and mentioned how a fish was now connected to the web. How? it got caught in the net. (owwww!).
It made me concoct a few others. How did a spider get on the Net? It just crawled onto the web. And dry clothes? They went on line.
Maybe I’ll stop there…
It’s important to keep supporting and celebrating local businesses, the back bone of the economy in our wonderful State. Well done Bev, Lauren and all at WBA; and thanks to all the sponsors, of which we were happy to be one.
