Carole Levy
When the three Jacometti brothers started out in market gardening in Werribee in 1986, they probably didn’t guess that by 2021 they and their now large crew would be supplying more than 300 million seedlings to growers across nearly the whole country.
It’s Boomaroo Nurseries’ approach to business and resultant expansion that earned them the gong in 2020 Geelong Business Excellence Awards (GBEA) in the Medium to Large Business or Division/Department – 21+ Employees category.
One of the younger generation of Jacomettis, Nick – the son of Theo – says the awards application process was definitely the most rewarding.
“This was our first entry into the awards and we put a lot of effort into the application,” he says. “It gave us a chance to make a frank evaluation of what we’ve achieved, rather than focus on the day-to-day challenges.
“Not only was the whole process a boost to team morale, it also instilled who we are and our values, and informed our marketing approach into the future. Developing this clarity has been invaluable.”
Members of the Boomaroo team each watched the awards night in their own homes, with messages coming in from the team and board members as the night progressed. Nick believes the virtual awards night was democratised in a way.
“We got the news as it happened, and everyone who wanted to could be part of the virtual excitement. No one was left out. It was great that the broader community got involved – it was really well run as well.”
With Boomaroo continuing its growth and investment in new innovations, Nick says that he looks forward to entering the awards again – perhaps one day doing one better and achieving the top award.
Quite an achievement, Boomaroo wound up the night as finalists in five other categories: Innovation, Research and Development; Sustainability; Health and Wellbeing Promoting Business; Safe and Healthy Business; and Business of the Year.
