Healthy Tasmania wins ‘Excellence in Health’ award at Northern Tasmanian business's night of nights on Saturday
MARCH 20 2022 - 3:00AM
The Great Regional City Challenge walked away with a top honour on Northern Tasmanian business's night of nights on Saturday.
The initiative - which asks residents of the greater Launceston region and North East Tasmania to vote on community-led projects - won the coveted Business of the Year category at the Launceston Chamber of Commerce's 2022 Spirit Super Business Excellence Awards.
The GRCC's 2022 round of voting helped fund a variety of projects including a carbon-offset scheme for the Launceston Harvest Market, a website to help educate residents in the region in Aboriginal history and a "mental health lunch" initiative
Owen Tilbury, GRCC president, noted on the company's website that the aim of the program was to bring the community and regional developments together.
"Our vision is that the Launceston community play an active part in making Greater Launceston one of the great regional cities of the world; a city that is creative, innovative, livable, diverse and better connected," he said.
The shortlist for the awards was announced earlier this year and following a judging process by an independent panel, the winners were announced at the Hotel Grand Chancellor Launceston.
Other notable winners from the night included local butcher Casalinga Gourmet Meats for Excellence in Agribusiness and tech-to-farm start-up Enable Ag for Excellence in a Start-up.
Turning to hospitality, much-loved Princes Square eatery Geronimo Aperitivo Bar and Restaurant secured the Excellence in Hospitality award, while the Launceston Harvest Market's ecological focus was highlighted when it won for Environmental Excellence.
Service to the community was also on show on Saturday night, with Healthy Tasmania, the Launceston City Mission and the Royal Flying Doctor Service also nabbing honours.
Nameplate sponsor the prize was Spirit Super and chief executive Jason Murray said it had been an "absolute pleasure" to support the event this year.
"At Spirit Super, we're all about investing in a brighter future for our members. So it's our absolute pleasure to once again partner with the Launceston Chamber of Commerce for the Spirit Super Business Excellence Awards to recognise and celebrate the unique and innovative businesses that make Tassie's north the best it can be," he said.
Likewise, Launceston Chamber of Commerce's newly appointed executive officer Will Cassidy said the chamber had once again had some outstanding local businesses enter the awards.
"These businesses compete on the local, national and international markets and the award process shows the excellence of our local business community. The awards showcase the wonderful achievements of businesses within Northern Tasmania, especially after such a challenging year," he added.
Two other awards highlighted by Mr Casssidy were the inaugural Chamber's Choice Award, which was won by Tasmanian Hand Santiser, and the Hall of Fame inductee, which this year welcomed Bob Ruddick into its ranks.
"Bob is well known and respected throughout Launceston's business community. Bob has contributed significantly to a number of industries in Launceston and across the state as a consultant, director or mentor. Bob is a prime example of a highly respected, successful business person who gives back to the business community in a number of ways," Mr Cassidy added.
This article was originally published in The Examiner Newspaper and can be accessed here