It was an evening to remember…. especially for the 12 Finalists and eventual Category winners – not to mention the Monash Business Awards Business of the Year.
Anticipation built during the afternoon as the tables were set at the prestigious Huntingdale Golf Course and the band and MC arrived, along with our roving “papparazzi” to welcome the guests.
Sponsors, nominees and other guests mingled in the clubroom before proceedings got underway.
The Wise Foundation was the MBA Charity of Choice for 2018-9 and they sent us a video from East Timor where they are involved in creating safe drinking water for villagers and opportunities for barista training here in Melbourne. They were presented with a cheque for $2,500, raised from the raffles held at lunches during the year.
Each Finalist was presented with a certificate by our Gold Sponsors:
L -R: Samantha Allen, Kirsten Majidi, Anne Clark, Jade McKenzie, Melissa Hodge, Melinda Fear, Shashi Kochar, Michelle Kemp, Anne Ngo, Amber Hansen, Michelle James
After a delicious main course and some time on the dance floor, it was time to find out who the Category Winners were. These awards were presented by our Platinum Sponsors (photos below):
- Australia Post presented the award for Micro Business Category to Inchmeal Cafe
- Waverley BMW presented the award for Professional Services Category to Aus Career Coach
- Huntingdale Golf Club presented the award for Not For Profit Category to Friends of the Children Foundation
- Link Health presented the award for the Health and Science Category to Brentwood Gymnastics Club
- KOR Equipment Solutions presented the award for the Transport, Trades & Construction Category to A1 Testing & Tagging
- The Ross Group presented the award for Innovation to the Echo Group
L -R: Amber Hansen, Anne Ngo, Melinda Fear, Shashi Kochar, Michelle Kemp, Michelle James
After more dancing, networking and dessert the Business of the Year was announced. Each of the finalists was eligible for this, regardless if they had won in a category, so it was with great pleasure that the Mayor of the City of Monash got to open the envelope to advise the guests that Grants of Australia had won the coveted Business of the Year award for 2018-19.
L – R: Bianca Dakin-Davis, Melissa Hodge, Cr Shane McClusky
With 12 outstanding finalists, the nominations panel had a difficult decision to make regarding winners for categories and the overall award. Each finalist was assessed on their written application and their presentation at one of the lunches. Also taken into consideration was the contribution of the business to the Monash community as well as their contribution to a wider audience. All of the finalists have been pro-active in their endeavours and Grants of Australia stood out with their commitment to the health and wellbeing of not only their customers – both locally and internationally – but to the environment.
Congratulations to all the nominees and winners.