Business awards are booming

AMUSED: Geelong Business Excellence Awards judges Sandi Kelly-Burton, Peter Temple and Keelie Hamilton share a laugh at last Friday's information expo.

Geelong will host an extra business awards expo this month due to “extremely high levels of interest”, the city’s chamber of commerce announced Tuesday.
More than 200 businesses have attended the three Geelong Business Excellence Awards Expos at the waterfront so far.
Geelong Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Bernadette Uzelac was thrilled by the response of the local business community.
“There’s been unprecedented interest from businesses across the region,” she said.
The expos are an opportunity for people to meet past winners and members of the judging panel.
“I’ve been impressed by the range of businesses interested in being part of this year’s awards process,” Ms Uzelac added.
“Some have entered in previous years while others are potential first-time entrants.”
Ms Uzelac praised the award judges for giving up their time to advise business owners on their entry applications and the judging process.
“Our awards team has worked extremely hard since nominations opened in January and we hope to turn a lot of those businesses nominated into entrants.
“We encourage every Geelong business, whether big or small, to enter and get behind the awards this year.”
The fourth information expo will take place on 27 March at Deakin University’s Waterfront campus. Entries for the awards close on 22 May.