Agribusiness owner reaps award

By Lachlan Ellis

A local business owner has been honoured with a regional award, along with a $500 cash prize.

Asha Shanahan owns Crossroads Trading Ballan with her husband Bernie, and received the Agribusiness Achiever of the Year award at the Ballarat Rural Achiever Awards on Friday 28 April.

Though not one to boast, Ms Shanahan said she was proud to win the award as a woman in agribusiness.

“It’s nice to be recognised. There were four other finalists from all different areas, so it was a bit of a surprise to win,” she told the Moorabool News.

“We’ve owned the business for five years, and it’s been a great five years. Our business is going well because we have a broad range of products, we’re so diverse, from animal health, to fencing, and all those kinds of things.”

When asked what the response to her award win had been like from staff and customers, Ms Shanahan said she’d tried to hide the award to avoid attention, but had still been showered in gifts and congratulations.

“I’ve still got flowers and balloons sitting on my desk…I tried to hide my award and my staff pulled it out and sat it on my desk, but it’s nice. People appreciate what I do and see that I care, and all those kinds of things…so it’s been nice,” she said.

As for the $500 prize that came with the award, Ms Shanahan said she plans to use it “to invest in more professional development for me, so I can keep improving our team”.