The excellent history behind the awards

IN 2019, Commerce Ballarat marks thirty-one years since the beginning of what’s now known as the Federation Business School Commerce Ballarat Business Excellence Awards.

The idea for the awards first sparked in 1987 when NZI Insurance Branch Manager, Mick Roberts was approached by his employer about potentially sponsoring a local business award program.

Mr Roberts approached the Ballarat Chamber of Commerce, now Commerce Ballarat, to get on board at a time when they wanted to draw attention to businesses experiencing success.

The former Secretary of the Ballarat Chamber of Commerce, Barbara Hughes said giving the Ballarat business community awards, as judged by a panel, was the way to go.

That inaugural year, the late Geoff Torney chaired the panel with the Chamber’s assistance, and in May of 1988, the first awards ceremony was held. It was a great success.

“We had quite a good list that were nominated by the public,” Ms Hughes said. “The judging panel went out and spoke to them, found out what they did, how they did it and what they had provided to their customers that had led to the recognition. That was how it started.”

The Business Excellence Awards have acknowledged a huge array of local names like Haymes Paint, the Ballarat International Foto Biennale, Messer and Opie, Sovereign Hill, McCain Foods, Fernwood Ballarat and the now defunct Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka.

Thirty years on from the first presentation, and one amalgamation of the Ballarat Retail Board and Ballarat Chamber of Commerce later, Ms Hughes has enjoyed watching the awards process change shape.

“I am impressed with the way the awards have evolved over time,” she said. “The Chamber has looked at the awards and tried to come up with something that’s a little bit different, a little bit more exclusive, and certainly a lot more rewarding for the people who are being interviewed in regard to the nomination.

“If you look back in time, the awards covered retail, manufacturing, hospitality, accommodation. A broad range of decisions needed to be made,” she said. “Then the main award was the most outstanding business in Ballarat.”

Ms Hughes said the excellence awards, especially the major gongs on presentation night, have excited Ballarat’s businesses, encouraging them to strive to be even better.

“The awards have been very sought after by the companies which were nominated and it’s probably the main reason they’re still around in 30 years,” she said.

A memorable moment for Ms Hughes was receiving her very own Business Achievement Award in 2013.

“That was very rewarding for me because, at times when you’re running something like [the awards], there’s always obstacles that come in the way.

“There’s a delight in finding a new business, promoting them and giving them a platform to go on and build growth in that business, which is really important if you’re a new business,” she said. “I think that’s where the awards process really shines.”

Now, it’s time to see the next cohort of excellent businesses shine. Awards applications opened last Tuesday, 16 April. Head to commerceballarat.com.au to discover more.

Other important dates include the closure of early bird applications on Tuesday, 4 June, the closure of applications on Tuesday, 11 June, the finalist event on Tuesday, 23 July and the gala presentation dinner on Thursday, 29 August.