Page 3940 - Week 12 - Thursday, 29 October 2015
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I was very pleased to learn that the Entrepreneur Award was picked up by Karen Porter, owner of Solace Creations Double Glazing and fellow member of Canberra Women in Business. Karen is an exuberant and determined woman who in four years has grown her business from a start-up to one with over $3 million in turnover. She is passionate about energy-efficient windows and doors to save her clients money on their energy bills and cut their carbon footprint. Well done to Karen.
Philippa Moss, Executive Director of the AIDS Action Council, won the For Purpose and Social Enterprise Award. The judges were very impressed with her ability to thrive in a sector that can still suffer under significant stigma. Philippa made the point that winning the award would go some way towards dispelling that stigma.
ACT winners will proceed to the national finals in Melbourne on 18 November.
The night was filled with many exciting success stories. I was pleased to be able to speak at length with Samantha Kourtis, the 2014 ACT Telstra Business Woman of the Year. Samantha is the managing partner at Capital Chemist Charnwood. She also won the Private and Corporate Sector Award and the Business Innovation Award at the 20th Telstra ACT Business Women’s Awards. Her business is going from strength to strength under her guidance and I am sure we will see more of her in the future.
I would like to congratulate not just the winners, but all who were finalists and even those who nominated. To see so many inspiring women in one place at the same time was really powerful. There was so much support, encouragement and advice shared on the night. I encourage other businesswomen in Canberra to consider entering the Telstra Business Women’s Awards next year. Many women there on the night told me that the experience of going through the nomination process, the judging and potentially being a finalist and a category winner has been described by some as life changing. It is not just the prize pool that is available but opportunities for networking and personal growth. You can find out more at ww.telstrabusinesswomensawards.com.
Housing Industry Association awards
MR COE (Ginninderra) (7.05): Last Friday I was pleased to attend the annual Housing Industry Association awards for the ACT and southern New South Wales at the National Convention Centre. The HIA awards are an opportunity to recognise and congratulate excellence in design and construction in the building industry. A number of awards were presented to those who excelled in the housing, kitchen and bathroom, apprentice and host trainer categories.
HIA is the largest residential building organisation in Australia. Nationally the HIA represents over 40,000 people in the building industry including members who are builders, carpenters and joiners, bricklayers, plasterers, tilers, electricians, painters, roofing contractors, kitchen and bathroom specialists and more. The HIA assists its members through advice, training, professional development, advocacy, legal assistance and technical support.
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