Nominations for Geelong’s most prestigious business awards are now open.
The Geelong Business Excellence Awards (GBEA), established in 1986 and managed by the Geelong Chamber of Commerce, are now accepting nominations for outstanding businesses, leaders and young entrepreneurs.
Running from early May through to the presentation event on Thursday, October 30, the business awards process involves a series of information sessions, business coaching and mentoring, a review service and interviews and site visits for finalists throughout the year.
Chamber chief executive Jeremy Crawford said the awards were an important part of Geelong’s business calendar.
“The awards are really significant for us because it’s both celebratory and an opportunity for businesses to go through a program where they can learn and understand more about their own business,” Mr Crawford said.
“We get really positive feedback from businesses, whether they are nominated, they’re shortlisted, they win or they don’t win. Part of that is the feedback the program provides to businesses.
“There’s an expert judging panel that provides information to the participants, and what they’re doing is also reviewed by their peers. One of the great benefits of the design of our program is that you can go through all of the process, not win and still feel like there’s a lot of value there.
“We have so many businesses who enter every single year. Sometimes they win, sometimes they don’t, but what they get out of it, the connections they make, is really valuable.”
Mr Crawford, who has overseen the last two GBEA programs since stepping into the Chamber’s top job, said the 2024 program saw a “marked increase in the quality” of nominated businesses, submissions and individual leaders.
“We’re really looking forward to seeing what pans out in 2025,” he said.
“A lot of that is on the strength of nominations, so the more businesses and leaders we can uncover, the more people we can engage with and have as part of the program.”
Anyone can nominate, including businesses themselves, with the online nomination process taking less than 60 seconds.
Visit gbea.com.au to nominate a business, leader or young entrepreneur.
