Central Ranges : The Murrindindi Shire Committee

The Murrindindi Shire Committee

Murrindindi Business Awards 2006!

Business of the Year

Congratulations to the Eildon Bakery for winning the Murrindindi Business of the Year award at last nights Murrindindi Shire - AusIndustry Business Awards ceremony.

I can speak from personal experience when I say that the Eildon Bakery has some wonderful products! Next time you are in Eildon, the Bakery is must-visit destination!

The Central Ranges LLEN Board sponsored the first category awarded on the evening, the Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Switch Productions

This went to Switch Productions, a very well deserved award. Switch Productions is a new generation lifestyle company manufacturing a range of products and apparel for wake boarders, snow boarders, skaters and bmx'ers. Watch out for the upcoming wake board DVD!

We plan to detail the work of this enterprising group of young business owners in an upcoming article on our website. Congratulations !

Councillor Bob Flowers was the master of ceremonies for the evening and welcomed everyone to the beautiful Stonelea Country Estate, noting the the quality of the entrants for the awards put Murrindindi in an enviable position as a place to live and do business.

Mayor Lyn Gunter introduced the local member for McEwen and Federal Minister for Small Business and Tourism, The Honourable Fran Bailey. Minister Bailey indicated that she was delighted to have the privilege of making a number of awards to so many outstanding and highly competitive local businesses.

Minister Bailey also commented when the final award for the evening was being made to the business of the year, that one extra award criteria was self evident, and that was the passion and commitment that every business owner and award winner demonstrated when speaking about their work.

The theme of the evening was most definitely focused on the art, science and passion of running and growing a successful business and the importance of this for growing healthy and sustainable communities. The gathered audience was honoured to hear from two highly successful and dedicated guest speakers, in Mr. John G. Brown, Chairman of Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard, Pty Ltd and Mt. Larry Fallon, founder and director of Fallon's Bus Services based in Alexandra.

Both John and Larry provided a rare and insightful view of what it takes to develop and then continually grow a successful family business.

John Brown spoke of the importance of a clear vision and a focus on finding and keeping the right people, keeping staff engaged and aware of the business and making sure you make your enterprise an "employer of choice" by keeping the line of communication open at all times. According to John Brown, systems that allowed everyone on staff to see how the business was going and a real effort to share information is critical to encouraging innovation and getting the best from everyone. An inspiring presentation that was well received by all.

Larry Fallon provided an extremely valuable sneak peek in to the thinking that has led to a family business growing from strength to strength over the last 34 years. Larry highlighted the importance of relationships with key people along the journey of growing a business. Getting financial measures in place early and making sure that you pay attention to the relationships with key business partners such as solicitors, bankers and accountants were all important, but Larry's message was to ensure you always had one or two key mentors as well, so that you can continually think "outside the square" and grow your business by not asking "can I do this" but asking "how do I do this...".

Both presentations were very well received.

Congratulations to all the organisers, nominees and winners on the night. A highly valuable and worthwhile experience.

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