ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS
of the
ENERGYAUSTRALIA BLACK ROSE EXCELLENCE IN BUSINESS AWARDS
It was a packed house at the Lithgow Workies on Saturday 26 November for the first Awards ceremony held in Lithgow for over 10 years. Forty-four finalists contended for eight awards celebrating resilience, innovation and excellence in business.
It was an all local celebration with nearly two hundred Lithgow regional business owners, sponsors and Chamber members present at the Gala Awards Night that featured local performers and supported local producers and other business suppliers.
Vice-President and BLER Program Director Steve Ring said, ‘we were delighted with the level of business participation, sponsorship support and attendance at the Gala Awards. All round, this was a very successful event for the business community. A night where we brought together micro, small and large businesses to celebrate the region’s achievements over the past several years.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW, the Hon. Paul Toole MP was a VIP guest representing the NSW Government through the funding body, the Department of Regional NSW. Pete Watson from 2LT radio, the special guest MC gave a great overview of the awards including informing the audience that judging was managed by Business NSW through the appointment of impartial judges from outside the Lithgow region.
Award sponsors announced finalists and winners and stayed after the formalities to enjoy the entertainment by local bands including the Lithgow Pipe Band.
The Chamber is proud to announce and congratulates the winners –
Excellence in Micro Business 2022
Sponsored by EnergyAustralia
Wolgan Valley Eco Tours
Excellence in Small Business 2022
Sponsored by EnergyAustralia
Tablelands Sports & Spinal Physiotherapy
Excellence in Large Business 2022
Sponsored by EnergyAustralia
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Westfund
Excellence in Innovation 2022
Sponsored by Centennial
Kel Lampton Building
Outstanding Start Up 2022
Sponsored by Ferrero Australia
Cafe Bar 128
Excellence in Resilience 2022
Sponsored by Greenspot
Killibinbin Native Nursery
Outstanding Community Organisation 2022
Sponsored by Family First & Westfund
Lithgow & District Workmen’s Club
Best Apprentice/Trainee 2022
Sponsored by Lithgow District Chamber of Commerce
Bayleigh Shead
Zig Zag Motel & Frankie’s Restaurant and Bar
The Chamber also thanks all of the other finalists for their participation in this year’s Awards, acknowledging their outstanding efforts and their standing within the wider business community.
The Awards were developed in conjunction with Business NSW and six of the eight winners of the Awards will automatically progress to the Central NSW Regional Awards.
The Black Rose Excellence in Business Awards 2022 is part of the Revive Regional Business in Lithgow project that has been funded under the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery Fund, co-funded by the Australian and NSW Governments.
The Chamber is grateful to EnergyAustralia, the Awards naming rights sponsor for 2022-2024, and other local sponsors in Centennial, Ferrero, Greenspot, Westfund and Family First.
PROCUREMENT AND CAPABILITI ES SEMINAR A FIRST FOR THE LITHGOW REGION
Thursday 23 June, the Lithgow District Chamber of Commerce, Lithgow held its inaugural Procurement and Capabilities Seminar at the Lithgow Workies.
The Seminar represents the initial step in supporting Lithgow region businesses in developing closer business ties with big employers in the region and to inform them about procurement opportunities available to them through Local, State and Commonwealth Governments.
There are a wealth of products and services required by the NSW and Commonwealth Governments through Defence and infrastructure contracts as well as through large employers in the Lithgow area and the Chamber wants our local sole traders and small to mediums sized businesses (SMEs) to learn about and make the most of the work opportunities available to them.
The morning’s sessions centred around State and Local Government Procurement with speakers from NSW Procurement, Local Government Procurement (organisation) and Lithgow City Council. Attendees found out how to register for supplier panels, how to find and navigate online procurement programs and how to source support services like tender writing training.
After lunch local area large employers Energy Australia, Centennial Coal, Westfund, Family First and Greenspot presented and informed attendees of the kinds of services they required on an ongoing basis.
Department of Defence and Transport for NSW imparted a wealth of information to attendees about the many services that are required by their departments, Transport for NSW specifically speaking about the Great Western Highway upgrade. Defence is the largest procurement agency in the Commonwealth government and Transport will have a very major role to play in the region over the forthcoming years.
Chamber President Peter Pilbeam said “We’re pleased that we could hold this inaugural Seminar for the Lithgow region business community. This is a first for the region and it’s our way of encouraging SMEs to not be afraid to put their hand up for larger contracts coming into the area.
We also want to facilitate the establishment of long-term ties between SMEs and the larger employers in the area. In this way we’re wanting large businesses to shop-local, that is, give our local sole traders and SMEs a more informed opportunity at bidding for work contracts before the employers seek contractors outside the region.
We know that all large regional businesses including Council have existing ‘prefer local procurement’ policies, but by making sole traders and SMEs more aware of how these businesses tender for work, and when and where they promote requests for quotes, local Lithgow area sole traders and SMEs have more of a chance of getting the jobs before the larger businesses seek workers further afield’, said Pilbeam.
As part of the Seminar and to encourage sole traders and SMEs to bid for larger contracts, the Chamber is running a workshop on ‘Alternative Business Models’. This late afternoon session spoke about how to set up Co-ops and Limited Partnerships. The session was designed for sole traders and small and SMEs to learn about how they’re able to combine their resources with other like-minded or complimentary businesses to put up their hand for larger contracts with public and private enterprises.
The Seminar is one of the first steps the Chamber is taking towards creating a Community Wealth Building model in the region. This is a take on the shop-local theme where the Chamber asks the large local businesses to, as much as possible, use services, products and supplies within the region. In this way they’re wanting the money that comes into the region to stay in the region.
Thanks to the Bushfire Local Economic Recovery funding, co-funded by the Commonwealth and NSW State and Governments, the Chamber was able to hold the Procurement and Capabilities Seminar and offered it for free to help sole traders and SMEs make the most of the opportunities that are coming into the region over the coming years.
The Chamber is also building a Capabilities Register and encouraged all local businesses to become part of the register which will be shared with large employers and large government contractors coming into the region
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