In a welcome change to the current COVID normal where one cancelled event rolls into another cancelled event due to the pandemic, Business Hunter has announced and set the date for the 2021 Hunter Business Awards.
Embracing this positive step, Business Hunter CEO, Bob Hawes has used the NSW Roadmap out of lockdown to schedule the Awards for an in-person event, set for Wednesday 17 November 2021 in the City of Newcastle’s iconic Civic Theatre.
“We’re delighted to be able to give Hunter businesses, the respective sponsors and the community who continually support them with what may possibly be their first social outing since July,” Bob said.
“We had an overwhelming response to our call for nominations. As a result, the quality and calibre of business and industry finalists in the Hunter is something we absolutely want to celebrate.
“After almost two years of disruption to our community’s way of life, the team and the Business Hunter Board really wanted to deliver a celebratory atmosphere and bring people together.”
The 2021 Hunter Business Awards will be guided by the same NSW Roadmap principles that all NSW businesses will need to apply up until 1 December 2021 and Business Hunter says capacity caps will need to be implemented to support the COVID Safe Plans required.
“We will be guided by the venue’s and the government’s policies around density rules, vaccination status and mask-wearing, however our advantage is that we pivoted last year’s Awards to in-person, theatre-style so we know what worked and what we can build in this format this year to make this occasion a memorable one,” Bob said.
“We’re grateful the Finalists and our sponsors have been patient and supported our plans to do our utmost to host a live event. It says a lot for the desire for business to support each other when it counts.
“This year’s Awards will be a real moment to bring their award-winning teams out for the night to celebrate everything they have achieved together and for the region.”
Second round tickets to the Awards will be offered to the public shortly after finalists so that as many of community members can join the celebration as possible.
“We’ve been close to the government’s decision-making processes throughout the lockdown, so we’ve been able to prepare and respond to what’s in and what’s out in terms of restrictions. Now it’s time to plan and we’ll be drawing on the creativity of our region to ensure that we can stage the knees-up people have been so patiently holding out for,” Bob concluded.
A list of finalists from each category can be found on their website.
IMAGE | Hunter Business Award ceremony attendees from 2020 at the Newcastle Civic Theatre.
