Katikati Advertiser: Awards honour top businesses

Jacqui Knight (left) of Katch Katikati and Anita Schoreder of Waihi Beach Events & Promotions with the trophies to be awarded at the business awards.

The red carpet will roll out in November to celebrate the inaugural Katikati and Waihi Beach Community Business Awards.

The awards, hosted by Katch Katikati, will this year encompass Waihi Beach businesses and the community, moving away from the traditional OSKKAR Awards, in order to link the businesses and communities together.

Katikati town promotions manager Jacqui Knight says both Katikati and Waihi Beach Community Boards support the move.

"We have some fantastic sponsors coming on board, including Tourism BOP, More FM and service clubs. Every sponsor that's been approached in Katikati and Waihi Beach is keen.

"It's great that the two communities are pulling together on sponsorship and funding," Jacqui says.

Anna Schroeder, coordinator of Waihi Beach Events and Promotions, is excited to be working with Katch Katikati and connecting the two communities together.

"The event is not only in recognition of the award, it's about recognising our business community as a whole. Waihi Beach and Katikati have the same strategic alliances."

Anna encourages growth in the community and says any input from the judges during the process of the business awards will be valuable.

Business award categories include customer service, retail, manufacturing and processing, and horticultural and agricultural.

The community awards include best volunteer group and individual. Two new categories have been included in the awards - Best Tourism Business and Sports Coach of the Year.

With sponsorship from the Katikati Advertiser, a catalogue will be put together profiling all the finalists.

Jacqui says this means people can read the finalists' details for the People's Choice component of the awards.

Judges at the 2012 OSKKAR Awards - chairman Katikati Lions Club Don Mossop, Don Fraser from Fraser Farm Finance and Tauranga Chamber of Commerce operations, and events and training manager Anne Pankhurst - make a welcome return, working with newcomers Peter McCormick, Puma Darts managing director, and Waihi Beach business owner Peter Hughes-Hallett.

Entries for the Business Excellence Awards open on August 1, with judges reviewing and conducting site visits in September.

People's Choice voting takes place in October, with the category winners and overall supreme award winner being announced at a glitzy, black-tie ceremony on November 8.

Watch out for more information and nomination forms appearing soon in the Katikati Advertiser.