Awards recognise business excellence

The Great Cobar Business Awards rewarded a number of local businesses for their efforts over the past year in a ceremony on Saturday night at Cobar Bowling & Golf Club. The awards are an initiative of Cobar Business Association. One of the guest presenters on the night, CSA Mine’s general manager Pedro Quinteros (pictured far left), handed out awards to Tony Ellison (Cobar Mining Contractors), Kelly Trudgett (BRilliams), Heath Prendergast (As Per Plan Construction), Peter Patton and Molly Patton (Jemrok), Demi Smith (Cobar Bowling & Golf Club), and Michael and Jill Prince (KML Industries/BRilliams).

Gumnut Gifts & Homewares was voted the People’s Choice favourite local business by shoppers for this year’s Great Cobar Business Awards.

The winners of the annual Cobar Business Association awards were announced on Saturday night at the Cobar Bowling & Golf Club.

Gumnuts, a homewares and café business owned by Trudy Griffiths, was also voted by this year’s judges as the winner of the Tourism & Hospitality category with Cobar Bowling & Golf Club highly commended.

The Jemrok Cobar branch staff were thrilled with their win of the Excellence in Large Business title with KML Industries highly commended in this category.

A two-time previous award winner, Cobar Mining Contractors was again judged the best business in the Excellence in Small Business category (under 10 employees).

Retail menswear, workwear and now ladies wear, shoes, accessories and luggage store, BRilliams was highly commended in the Excellence in Small Business category.

The Cobar Weekly won the Marketing Award while Ellie Russell’s Darling Design Co picked up this year’s award for Business Innovation.

Murray Harland, principal of Murray Harland Electrical, was voted by the public as Cobar’s Favourite Tradie.

In the New Business category judges were impressed with winner Heath Prendergast’s construction business, As Per Plan Constructions and also Eden Coughlan’s new Copper City Dance Centre which was highly commended in the New Business category.

Secretary/Manager of the Cobar Bowling & Golf Club, Demi Smith received the Young Person in Business Award while Steven Lewis from Wells Constructions Pty Ltd collected the 2017 Invaluable Employee trophy.

The winners of the Customer Service awards were James Degn (J&K Butchery) and Pauline Shepherd (J&K Butchery and BRilliams).

The awards dinner also featured a presentation by Lachlan Sullivan from the Buckwaroon Landcare Group who spoke about the agribusiness industry in the Cobar region including current and upcoming opportunities for local landholders.

Cobar Shire Council’s general manager Peter Vlatko presented the award for Best New Business at the Great Cobar Business Awards on Saturday night. He is pictured with Eden Coughlan from Copper City Dance Studio (which was Highly Commended) and Heath Prendergast (As Per Plan Constructions), who won the category.

 

Cobar Bowling & Golf Club had plenty to celebrate at the Great Cobar Business Awards on Saturday night with the club’s secretary/manager Demi Smith taking out the award for Young Person in Business. The club was also Highly Commended in the Tourism & Hospitality category and received a certificate for Community Spirit. Pictured are staff and directors Alan Knight, Cassie Stephens, Jim Goonrey (club president), Demi Smith, Tara Arnold and Luke Anderson.