This year’s Business NSW Regional Awards will be held at the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory on Friday, 27 September. Photo: Supplied.
There was a touch of Willy Wonka magic attached to the announcement of the Riverina Murray Business Awards, with the 2024 finalists receiving golden tickets in the mail, inviting them to gather at the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory in late September.
Business NSW’s Riverina Murray director Serina Hardwick said it was a fun way to add a thematic sparkle to the moment.
“Our region’s so big and, unlike the local chambers, we can’t do a finalist announcement night, so we thought this would be a way to put the excitement into what is a really special occasion for business,” she said.
“To be honest, it’s been a pretty tough year for local businesses, so we want to help them celebrate the achievement of being a finalist at a regional level.”
While there’s no promise that top hats or Oompa Loompas will be involved, this year’s awards gala will serve as the inaugural event in the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory’s new upstairs space.
“We’re very excited to be able to showcase that venue and their new capacity to host events like this,” Ms Hardwick said.
“They’re a great case study of business excellence in this region themselves with their success and the growth they’ve had, so they are a great business to be partnering with to do the awards this year.”
The Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory will soon unveil its new event space. Photo: Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory.
With more than 130 applications sorted through across the 17 categories, the finalists have been recognised for achievements in terms of growth, sustainability and innovation, as well as categories for individuals celebrating their leadership and contribution to industry.
“We’ve got more entries than in previous years and there’s some real diversity,” Ms Hardwick said.
“It’s exciting that we’ve had some hospitality businesses highlighted because the reality is that it’s an industry that is suffering at the moment.”
Ms Hardwick said resilience had been a big focus for Business NSW, and this Thursday and Friday it would be hosting its regional summit in Albury.
“We’ve called the summit The Future of Business and we believe that our Riverina Murray region should have access to experts and quality speakers that are representing numerous issues,” she said.
“We’ll be covering a range of topics, from industrial relations to creating a good culture, and our policy experts will be talking about productivity and the unspoken crisis that it is for business at the moment.
“The adoption of AI is also an interesting one in our region and we’ve got survey results that show a real variation in people’s willingness to adopt AI, which is quite unusual.”
On Thursday, Business NSW will also release the business conditions report for the state and speakers at the summit will offer local insights into what’s happening regionally.
The regional awards night at the Junee Licorice & Chocolate Factory will be held on Friday, 27 September, and you can check out the finalists on Business NSW, Riverina Murray social media.
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