Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards winners

The Moreton Bay Region’s best and brightest businesses took centre stage at the gala 2022 Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards night this evening.

About 480 people from the business and broader community came together for the event at Eatons Hill Hotel’s grand ballroom, which shined a light on their achievements.

There were 68 finalists across 15 categories, including three new categories. The winners were decided by a panel of 44 judges from a mix of public and private sector organisations from across South East Queensland.

The categories added this year were: EPIC Assist Award for Accessibility & Inclusiveness Excellence; Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Excellence; and Bishopp Award for Marketing Excellence.

They have been included to acknowledge the strategic direction of the region and help foster a corporate culture of inclusiveness and social responsibility.

The Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards were presented by Moreton Bay Regional Council and delivered by Moreton Bay Region Industry and Tourism (MBRIT).

Sesame Lane Care and Kindergarten, which has 14 centres across the Moreton Bay Region and is based at Kippa-Ring, was named Business of the Year.

The business, which has been delivering quality child care and education for more than 33 years, was also a joint winner of the Moreton Daily Award for Customer Service Excellence category with North Lakes and Surrounds Electrical.

This occurred due a tie in the scoring, and is a first in the history of the awards.

Sesame Lane employs almost 400 educators, teachers and staff and cares for more than 2000 children from more than 1700 families.

Owner and founder Hilton Misso believes the people at Sesame Lane make the difference. His management team handpicks staff for their positive attitude, caring disposition and passion for supporting young children to thrive.

Sesame Lane also financially supports staff with ongoing professional development to ensure they continue to deliver quality learning outcomes for the children in their care.

During this year’s awards ceremony, Solar Bollard Lighting was the inaugural inductee into the Hall of Fame following years of achievements on the national and international stage.

The event also honoured the late Matt McCracken, who was an inaugural judge for the EPIC Assist Award for Accessibility & Inclusiveness Excellence.

Celebrating business success

Moreton Bay Regional Council Mayor Peter Flannery said: “As Mayor this is one of the events I look forward to most each year because when local businesses succeed, Moreton Bay succeeds.

“In fact, 90 per cent of businesses in our region are small local businesses, which is why Council is committed to being a top performing Queensland Small Business Friendly Council.

“It’s why we keep releasing products and services to help your business, like Ask Morty. This free, Australian-first, data-concierge service helps small business locate more customers.

“It’s why we ran ‘back a local’ campaigns to get everyone to eat, shop and support local businesses in 2022. And it’s why we’re asking businesses to sign onto our new ‘Moreton Money’ initiative in partnership with six local Chambers of Commerce, which will launch in 2023.

“Steve Jobs was right when he said: ‘innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower’, but that was in a pre-COVID world. Recent experience has taught us all that innovation alone is not enough; it also requires grit, determination, and even blind optimism in the face of seemingly impossible odds.

|“These awards are a celebration of not only the successes of those who took home a trophy, but the triumph that is surviving the COVID era.”|

MBRIT CEO and Founder Shane Newcombe said all 68 finalists should be proud of what they had achieved in challenging economic conditions this year.

“For many, 2022 has been the toughest year of all, which began with high COVID cases, staff shortages and floods. Each finalist continues to demonstrate their resilience and perseverance in the face of ongoing economic uncertainty,” Mr Newcombe said.

“The task for this year’s judges was challenging too, with such a high calibre of entries in all categories. This proves what we know, the Moreton Bay Region is emerging as a business and innovation powerhouse and the future is bright.

“Congratulations to the winners of this year’s Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards, particularly Business of the Year Sesame Lane Care and Kindergarten and the winners of our new categories.”

Brisbane Whale Watching’s Kerry Lopez won Businesswoman of the Year, while Tracy Johnson from SRJ Walker Wayland won the Akyra Award for Employee of the Year and Ellie Bakker from Splice Marketing won the Think2Be Award for Entrepreneur of the Year.

Full list of finalists and winners

Business Awards

EPIC Assist Award for Accessibility & Inclusiveness Excellence

Drone-Games

Lawnton Aquatic Centre

Oncall Group Australia Pty Ltd

Play Tech Australia Pty Ltd

Winner: Succeed Healthcare Solutions Pty Ltd

North Harbour Award for Advanced Manufacturing Excellence

Belco Custom Trailers

The Mural Shop

Winner: EJ

Award for Corporate Social Responsibility Excellence

Northshore Pet Resort

Richardson & Wrench Caboolture

Social Ocean

Wild Cherry Events

Winner: Ausbuild

Moreton Daily Award for Customer Service Excellence

Integrate PHYSIO

Lillybrook Dental Surgery

Springers Solar

Joint winners: North Lakes and Surrounds Electrical and Sesame Lane Care and Kindergarten

Award for Environment & Sustainability Excellence

Basilea Living Herbs and Edible Flowers

Bygreen/ Green Life Warehouse

Northshore Pet Resort

ONETIME

Winner: Moreton Bay Recycling

Solar Bollard Lighting Award for Exporting Excellence

ONETIME

Winner: Elexon Mining

Award for Food and Agribusiness Excellence

Bask & Co.

Little White Goat Cheese

LuvaBerry

Moreton Bay Kitchen

Winner: My Berries

Bishopp Award for Marketing Excellence

Lillybrook Dental Surgery

Splice Marketing

UnderSea Putt & Play

Village Motors

Winner: Cashmere Syrups

SRJ Walker Wayland Award for Not-For-Profit Excellence

Chameleon Regional Community Housing Accommodation and Welfare Association Inc

Stationery Aid

The Carers Foundation

THE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

Winner: Encircle Ltd

Visit Moreton Bay Award for Tourism Business Excellence

Bribie Beach Shack

Redcliffe Farmers and Artisan Markets

Sandstone Point Holiday Resort

The Store of Requirement

Winner: Ocean View Estates

UniSC Award for Youth Innovation Excellence

PHL Photos (Mt Maria Petrie - Yr 11)

St Benedict's College – MyCountry

Winner: Bray Park State High School – Shnoompy Boy Designs

RDA Moreton Bay Award for Innovation Excellence

Drone-Games

EJ

LuvaBerry

ONETIME

Winner: Concrete Data Sensors

Individual awards

Award for Businesswoman of the Year

Angela Moore - The Coffee Patch on Hasking

Ellie Bakker - Splice Marketing

Kerri Smith - Sesame Lane Care & Kindergarten

Susanne Jones - Just Better Care Brisbane North

Winner: Kerry Lopez - Brisbane Whale Watching

Akyra Award for Employee of the Year

Courtney Dowling - Wild Cherry Events

Karen Naylor - Sesame Lane Care & Kindergarten

Kym Lewis - Lillybrook Dental Surgery

Liam Mellor - Northshore Pet Resort

Winner: Tracy Johnson - SRJ Walker Wayland Pty Ltd

Think2Be Award for Entrepreneur of the Year

Barbara Armstrong - Sweet Peanuts

Daniel Nixon – ONETIME

Dr Selena Fisk - Selena Mary Fisk

James Sullivan - Chilli Coffee Pty Ltd

Winner: Ellie Bakker - Splice Marketing

Entries for the 2023 Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards are now open. Click here to find out more.