One month to enter business awards

Published 2:00pm 17 February 2023

Words by Kylie Knight

There’s just one month left to enter the 2023 Moreton Bay Business Excellence and Innovation Awards.

Entries for this year’s awards, which celebrate the achievements of businesses and individuals, close on Friday, March 17 at 11.59pm AEST.

A gala awards night to announce the winners will be held on July 7 at St Columban’s College, with expanded capacity to accommodate more guests.

The Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards is presented by Moreton Bay Region Industry & Tourism (MBRIT) in partnership with Moreton Bay Regional Council.

MBRIT Founder and CEO Shane Newcombe is encouraging businesses of all sizes to enter.

He says the online nomination form guides entrants through the process, with helpful prompts about information to consider including in an entry.

The 2023 awards program organisers have compiled key resources to support nominees in strengthening their submissions.

“We are well aware of the time commitment required to apply for the awards, but we don’t want this to be the primary reason why businesses don’t apply,” Mr Newcombe says.

“MBRIT has once again developed free online resources available on the awards website to assist business owners and individuals understand what judges are looking for and how to write a quality awards submission.”

Be part of the celebration

Mayor Peter Flannery says the annual awards event has become the Moreton Bay Region’s night of nights, with nearly 500 people attending last year’s celebration.

“Please nominate now, because it’s a real honour to be able to properly acknowledge the incredible business leaders and innovators in our community to celebrate their hard work and thank them for their contribution to Moreton Bay,” he says.

“Last year, we introduced three new categories - Accessibility & Inclusiveness, Corporate Social Responsibility and Marketing Excellence - so remember to look out for these if you’ve nominated in other categories previously.

“We know how busy businesses are, so to help make your application easy there’s an abundance of support available both online and in person.

“Nominee Briefing Sessions can be booked through the Moreton Bay Business & Innovation Awards Facebook page and there’s a wealth of information available on the awards website.”

The team from Sesame Lane Care and Kindergarten at the 2022 Moreton Bay Business and Innovation Awards.

Words from the 2022 Business of the Year

Sesame Lane Care and Kindergarten won the 2022 Business of the Year award and shared top honours in the Moreton Daily Award for Customer Service Excellence.

Head of Sesame Lane Kerri Smith says winning Business of the Year has been valuable recognition of her team’s contribution to the lives of children and families within the region.

“It’s greatly increased Sesame Lane’s brand awareness within the community and it’s solidified our long-standing reputation as a trustworthy company that delivers on our promises,” she says.

“Families in our region place their trust in us to love, care and educate their most precious asset, their children, so it’s important that our company culture and values are transparent and align with families within our region.

“Winning the award has been a great way to show what our company values are and what we stand for.

“The award sets us apart from our competitors and establishes us as a leader not only in the childcare sector, but also within the business community of the Moreton Bay Region, where we’ve been in operation for over 30 years.”

Kerri says her team is proud of the win, which has been recognition of their hard work and applauded by the families they care for.

She says the Moreton Bay Business & Innovation Awards are important because they acknowledge the contribution of businesses and individuals to the region’s economy and boost the region's profile as a vibrant centre of innovation and enterprise, providing a pathway to national and international award programs.

“The whole process is really rewarding. When we wrote our first Customer Service of the Year award submission, we were blown away by all the initiatives we had introduced,” Kerri explains.

“For the submission, we reflected on our business practices over the last five years and brought all our successes together in one document. As Australians, it’s not in our nature to ‘toot our own horns’ but our team has achieved so much over the last few years they definitely deserve to be recognised.”