News

Geelong Business Excellence Awards to go virtual for Awards night 2020!

Published 2 June 2020

The Geelong Business Excellence Awards has announced its awards presentation evening will transform into an exciting virtual experience in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Geelong Business Excellence Awards is designed to recognise and celebrate our clever, creative and thriving business and business leaders.

The prestigious presentation evening will take place online on Thursday, 15 October 2020, 7pm. The night promises a highly produced, glamorous virtual event that celebrates the success of the Geelong business community.

The new format aims to engage viewers with entertainment, an in studio MC and home competition prizes. The night will allow guests to engage, communicate and connect with fellow business colleagues, peers and the wider Geelong community while dressing up in the comfort of their own home or workplace.
Geelong Chamber CEO Ben Flynn said “the event will deliver a much-needed boost of positivity for the Geelong Business community amid the COVID-19 crisis.”

“In the face of the current health pandemic, the purpose of the awards remains the same. We are creating a platform to shine the spotlight on our clever and creative Geelong businesses and business leaders.”
Whilst mass gathering restrictions may ease by October, the Geelong Chamber of Commerce believes it is important to continue with a virtual event in-case of another potential out-break. The safety of our guests is of most importance. Most of our counterparts in other local regional towns have cancelled their awards night. We are committed to bringing our community together this year virtually, to offer positivity in these challenging times and have been encouraged to do so.

The support of our partners makes this new format possible and it’s a testament to the resilience of the Geelong Business Community that we can adapt and enjoy our night together despite the challenges.
The Geelong Chamber of Commerce has run many successful online events and they are confident in delivering a memorable event to a much larger online audience.

This will allow the event to be more inclusive of families and colleagues so that more people can share in the excitement of the finalists on the night.

The awards team have spent weeks individually calling businesses who have been nominated or expressed interested in the program. It has been incredibly inspiring to hear despite the hardship, the Geelong business community are committed to adapt and forge ahead. During this period, many of the entrants are using the awards entry process to reflect on their business and plan for the future.

Entries for the Geelong Business Excellence Awards close on the 24 July 2020. You do not need to be nominated to enter the program. To learn more information or enter, visit www.gbea.com.au and follow us on Instagram and Facebook.

Changes to the Geelong Business Excellence Awards

Published March 2020

We’re excited to have launched the 35th annual Geelong Business Excellence Awards and look forward to continuing the tradition of celebrating those businesses who have gone the extra mile to build our thriving business community.

Like everyone, we’re adapting to the challenges posed by COVID-19 and the safety of everyone remains our number one priority. In these kinds of circumstances, recognising businesses who are adapting and doing things well is even more important and providing the platform for telling all of your good news stories enables us all to better support each other during this significant disruption.

To support those businesses entering the Awards, we are extending the submission deadline and the Presentation Dinner. We are confident these changes will ensure a successful program and give you and your team more time to uncover the great things that makes your business stand out!

The new dates are as follows:

26 February – Entries are open. Businesses and Individuals are able to view the entry criteria and enter.

Your entry submission response is to be based on the period 1 April 2019 to the 31 March 2020.

4pm, Friday, 24 July 2020 – Entries Close (submissions are only required online and not handed into the office as previous years).
Thursday, 15 October 2020 – Awards Presentation Dinner, The Pier Geelong

The writing and presentation workshops have evolved and we are now conducting online workshops to assist you during this period. Please continue to keep an eye on our communications and socials for up to date sessions.

All information in regards to entering the Awards including Entry Criteria, Judges, Tips and more can all be found at within our website. We will also continue to regularly update this site.

Click here to understand the entry process overview, questions, entry criteria, and submitting your entry – FOR BUSINESSES

Click here to understand the entry process overview, questions, entry criteria and submitting your entry – FOR INDIVIDUALS (Business Leader of the Year or Young Entrepreneur of the Year).

The extended Awards time frame will give you and your business more time to prepare. We hope that by pushing the dinner back, we can still host the event and continue to support all those other businesses who are integral to making the night a spectacular event.

The awards team will regularly post information on the categories, insights from previous winners and tips on our Facebook and Instagram pages.

You are welcome to email us on gbea@geelongchamber.com.au or call 5222 2234 if you have any questions.

We look forward to inspiring you with some great stories and we think now is the time for your business to enter. We think you are ready!

Kind regards,

Tennille McInnes
GBEA Manager

Cathy Harper
GBEA Coordinator