It was literally raining awards over the Parkes Shire last week with local business super stars recognised at a gala event on Friday, while the Parkes Shire Mayor was honoured in Kiama.
More than 250 people in their best evening attire attended The Henrys gala presentation hosted by the Chamber of Commerce at the Parkes Services Club to support the nominees in 16 award categories.
The coveted Parkes Business of the Year award went to Regos Plus Tyre & Mechanical – one of four awards the business was presented with during the ceremony. Owner Patrick Lenehan said: “We couldn’t do it without our team and dedicated customers.”
He also accepted the Excellence in Manufacturing, Agribusiness, Mining, Industrial & Trade award, the Excellence in Small Business award and the Young Entrepreneur award.
The other award winners were: Station Motel – Excellence in Hospitality and Tourism Services award; Betta Home Living – Excellence in Retail; Safe Tasks – Excellence in Professional Services and Excellence in Business; La Bella Medispa – Excellence in Personal and Lifestyle Services; Parkes Shire Food Service – Excellence in Social Enterprise; Ray White – Excellence in Innovation; See Solar – Start-up Superstar; Kerin Physio Co – Highly Commended Start-up Superstar; Ashley Goulthorpe, Pink Orchid Florist – Outstanding Young Employee; Tracie Robertson, Ray White Parkes, Forbes, Condobolin – Business Leader; Rebecca Miller, La Bella Medispa – Highly Commended Business Leader; The Ken Birch Memorial Trophy was awarded to long time business owner Greg Peterson.
Meanwhile in Kiama Mayor Ken Keith OAM was honoured with the Cities Power Partnership (CPP) Ambassador Award at the inaugural CPP Awards. The Mayor was recognised for his commitment to renewable energy and his enthusiastic advocacy for solar power systems.
“I am overwhelmed to have been honoured with this award. Parkes was one of the founding member councils of the CPP, and I am delighted to see that it is going from strength to strength.”
The award was presented by Californian climate champion Rex Parris, who is the Mayor of Lancaster – the world’s first zero net energy city.
The CPP, an initiative of the Climate Council, was established to help Australian towns and cities make the change to clean energy. The awards celebrate the outstanding work of local governments in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport and community advocacy. More than 100 councils from across the country have signed up to the CPP.
Since 2011, Parkes Shire Council has installed 610kW solar systems across Council assets to reduce the organisation’s greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate rises in Council’s power expenses.
By Maggi Barnard