{"id":120556,"date":"2026-03-20T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?p=120556"},"modified":"2026-03-19T01:11:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T14:11:57","slug":"celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating, acknowledging, and encouraging business excellence!"},"content":{"rendered":"

NOMINATIONS are now open for the 2026 Federation University Commerce Ballarat Business Excellence Awards.<\/p>\n

The aim of the program is to showcase, celebrate and support our local businesses in all they have achieved, from growth to creativity to innovation.<\/p>\n

Join the movement by nominating your business, you deserve to be acknowledged! Take it a step further by nominating others that you believe are worthy of recognition and reward.<\/p>\n

Hear what some previous applicants have to say\u2026<\/p>\n

Miree Hancock, The Well by Green Earth Kids2025 Finalist – AssistU Care & Support Services Accessibility & Inclusion Award<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Being a new business, we were surprised by The Well’s nomination and even more so when we became finalists in 2025!,” she said.<\/p>\n

“While the application process is quite involved, it is worth the effort. It gave us a chance to really deep dive into aspects of the business we don’t normally investigate or dissect and assess what’s working well and which areas need work.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Grantus were the 2025 Professional Services Business Awardees at the Federation University Commerce Ballarat Business Excellence Awards.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

“The awards give you a sense of joy and achievement that someone in the business world acknowledges you are doing a good job! An added bonus is meeting and workshopping with other business owners through the info sessions and gala night.”<\/p>\n

Jacqui Haylett, Alevo2025 Finalist – Power FM SME Business Award<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Participating in the Commerce Ballarat Business Excellence Awards for the first time was a meaningful milestone for Alevo,” she said.<\/p>\n

“As a Ballarat-based manufacturer that has been designing and producing treatment tables for more than 35 years, the process gave us the opportunity to reflect on the journey of our business and the legacy behind what we do.<\/p>\n

“Preparing the application encouraged us to look closely at our history, our innovation, and the impact our products have on healthcare professionals and patients.<\/p>\n

“It was also a great way to connect with and celebrate the strength of the Ballarat business community. We encourage other local businesses to get involved and share their stories.”<\/p>\n

Nominations close Thursday 2 April. Visit commerceballarat.com.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\/\/SPONSORED CONTENT <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NOMINATIONS are now open for the 2026 Federation University Commerce Ballarat Business Excellence Awards. The aim of the program is to showcase, celebrate and support our local businesses in all they have achieved, from growth to creativity to innovation. Join the movement by nominating your business, you deserve to be acknowledged! Take it a step […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":153,"featured_media":120560,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-120556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCelebrating, acknowledging, and encouraging business excellence! - Ballarat Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nominations are open for the 2026 Ballarat Business Excellence Awards. Celebrate local innovation and grow your business network.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Celebrating, acknowledging, and encouraging business excellence! - Ballarat Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Nominations are open for the 2026 Ballarat Business Excellence Awards. Celebrate local innovation and grow your business network.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ballarat Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-19T17:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/KU-7.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Times News Group\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Times News Group\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Times News Group\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795\"},\"headline\":\"Celebrating, acknowledging, and encouraging business excellence!\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-19T17:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":363,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/KU-7.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\\\/\",\"name\":\"Celebrating, acknowledging, and encouraging business excellence! - Ballarat Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/KU-7.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-19T17:00:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Nominations are open for the 2026 Ballarat Business Excellence Awards. Celebrate local innovation and grow your business network.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/KU-7.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/KU-7.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":630,\"caption\":\"Nominate your business, or nominate one of your faves that you believe is worthy of recognition and reward.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/news\\\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Celebrating, acknowledging, and encouraging business excellence!\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/\",\"name\":\"Ballarat Times\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Ballarat Times\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/BALT.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/prod\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/9\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/BALT.png\",\"width\":739,\"height\":98,\"caption\":\"Ballarat Times\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795\",\"name\":\"Times News Group\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\\\/ballarat\\\/author\\\/warick\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Celebrating, acknowledging, and encouraging business excellence! - Ballarat Times","description":"Nominations are open for the 2026 Ballarat Business Excellence Awards. Celebrate local innovation and grow your business network.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Celebrating, acknowledging, and encouraging business excellence! - Ballarat Times","og_description":"Nominations are open for the 2026 Ballarat Business Excellence Awards. Celebrate local innovation and grow your business network.","og_url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/","og_site_name":"Ballarat Times","article_published_time":"2026-03-19T17:00:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/KU-7.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Times News Group","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Times News Group","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/"},"author":{"name":"Times News Group","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#\/schema\/person\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795"},"headline":"Celebrating, acknowledging, and encouraging business excellence!","datePublished":"2026-03-19T17:00:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/"},"wordCount":363,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/KU-7.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/","name":"Celebrating, acknowledging, and encouraging business excellence! - Ballarat Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/KU-7.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-19T17:00:00+00:00","description":"Nominations are open for the 2026 Ballarat Business Excellence Awards. Celebrate local innovation and grow your business network.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/KU-7.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2026\/03\/KU-7.jpg","width":1200,"height":630,"caption":"Nominate your business, or nominate one of your faves that you believe is worthy of recognition and reward."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/news\/celebrating-acknowledging-and-encouraging-business-excellence\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Celebrating, acknowledging, and encouraging business excellence!"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#website","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/","name":"Ballarat Times","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#organization","name":"Ballarat Times","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/10\/BALT.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/9\/2021\/10\/BALT.png","width":739,"height":98,"caption":"Ballarat Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/#\/schema\/person\/a18f05ec53852f1d7d0528135e60d795","name":"Times News Group","url":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/author\/warick\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/153"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=120556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/120556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/120560"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=120556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=120556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=120556"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballarat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=120556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}