Entries for the 2021 Sunshine Coast Business Awards, powered by LPE, will open today after the official launch at the Sunshine Coast Small Business Month Breakfast.
Breakfast panelists and 2019 Sunshine Coast Business Award winners Peter Peter Kuruvita, Brigid Woolnough and Vicci Oliver – photo by Barry Alsop, Eyes Wide Open Images
More than 250 people will attend the sold-out celebration of Coast businesses “Bounce Back Better”, following one of the most challenging business years in living memory.
The Breakfast will see Sunshine Coast business people come together and give them the opportunity to hear from 2019 Award winners, Australian chef, restaurateur & media personality Peter Kuruvita from Noosa Beach House, Vicci Oliver from Wildlings Forest School, and Brigid Woolnough from Kokopod, about how to set themselves up for success with their applications for this year’s Awards and how they navigated COVID to “Bounce Back Better”.
Sunshine Coast Business Awards chair Jennifer Swaine said the Small Business Month Breakfast, sponsored by Sunshine Coast Council, Regional Development Australia, Maroochy RSL and the Queensland Department of Employment, Small Business and Training, was the perfect event to officially launch the 2021 Awards, with the national theme for the month, “Bounce Back Better” being particularly relevant as Sunshine Coast businesses have worked hard to not only survive, but thrive, the effects of COVID-19.
Mrs Swaine said this year’s Awards were an important opportunity to recognise excellence in business from across the region’s many different industries, with 16 categories, with small and large categories in most:
- Accommodation (Tourism)
- Building and Construction
- Clean Technology
- Creative Industries
- Education and Training
- Experiences (Tourism)
- Export – only available to those exporting internationally
- Festivals and Events (Tourism)
- Food and Agribusiness
- Health and Wellness
- Hospitality
- Manufacturing
- Professional Services
- Retail
- Social Enterprise
- Trades & Services
The Business of the Year winner is drawn from the winners of the categories. Hall of Fame Awards are also awarded to those who have won their category three years in a row.
Regional Development Australia Sunshine Coast CEO Paul Fisher will MC the event and welcome Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson, Sunshine Coast Chamber Alliance Chair Wallis Westbrook, Damien Glanville, CEO of LPE, the first naming sponsor in the Sunshine Coast Business Awards’ 26-year history and Sunshine Coast Business Awards Chair Jennifer Swaine.
Mrs Swaine said in a first for the Awards, a naming sponsor has come on board – LPE.
“The Awards are reliant on sponsorships to ensure we can deliver the program throughout the year, leading to our Gala Awards Celebration in November, and we are delighted with the support of all our sponsors this year, including the addition of naming sponsor, LPE.
“This is the first time in our 26-year history, we have had a major cash sponsor from the private sector, so this is a massive achievement for the Awards and recognition of the importance of them to the business community.
“LPE was founded on the Sunshine Coast and has its headquarters in the new CBD. In providing electricity to residential and businesses across Queensland, they support the regions in which they operate.
“For the Sunshine Coast that means creating local jobs, being active in the community and supporting the economy as well as providing the best and fairest electricity rates possible, with excellent, locally-based customer service,” Mrs Swaine said.
LPE CEO Damien Glanville said they were dedicated to supporting businesses in the region, so supporting the Business Awards was a natural fit.
“The Awards are about celebrating hard work, effort, teamwork and innovation – and we are thrilled to be supporting all the businesses involved this year.”
“We want to encourage as many businesses from across the region to enter as possible,” Mrs Swaine said.
To find out more about the Awards and enter visit https://sunshinecoastbusinessawards.com.au/. You can also follow the Awards Facebook page for updates @SCBusinessAwards.
