Northland's business community was out in force for the 2010 Northland Business Excellence Awards held on Saturday night.
The awards, staged at the Northland Events Centre, attracted hundreds of guests who were
formally welcomed by Whangarei's new mayor Morris Cutforth. Monty Knight, who was inducted into the Northland Hall of Fame, paid
tribute to the business owners who had struggled through the recession "many hanging on by their fingernails'' and dedicated the award to those who epitomised the advice of Winston Churchill to "Never give up, never give up, never give up."
The awards:
Sport Northland: winner of the New Zealand Refining Company Excellence in Business Category.
Smart Energy Solutions: winner of the Business Coaching New Zealand Best Emerging Business Category. The Judges also highly commended the Pear Tree Restaurant and Bar and Elevate CA in this category.
Super Sunny Store: winner of the Scene Magazine Excellence in Retail Category.
StaffCare Ltd: winner of the Argon Construction Excellence in Professional Services Category. The Judges also highly commended the Buchanans Amcal Pharmacy in this category.
Rintoul Civil Ltd : winner of the Golden Bay Cement Excellence in Construction Manufacturing and Trades Category. The Judges also highly commended Airzone Ltd
in this category.
Small Poppies: winner of the NorthTec Excellence in Technology, Education and Communications Category.
Waitangi National Trust: winner of the Destination Northland Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality Category. The Judges also highly commended Hell Pizza in this category.
Paper Plus Whangarei: winner of the More FM Customers Choice Category.
Independent Petroleum Laboratory: winner of the ACC Workplace Safety Category. The Judges also highly commended StaffCare Ltd in this category.
The Northland Regional Council: Sustainable Business category was awarded to Forest Protection Services.
Channel North took out the Massey University's Judges Choice Award.
The Northern Advocate Business Hall of Fame inductee this year was Monty Knight
of Okahu Estate Vineyard and Winery for his contribution to Northland business.
