Business had a chance to celebrate the "guts and determination" of getting through the past few tough years at the business awards, Be.Bendigo chief executive Rob Herbert said.
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The awards were a chance for everybody to kick up their heels and relax after a four-year period in which businesses had weathered a COVID-19 pandemic, cost of living crisis and a war in Europe.
Mr Herbert said there would always be challenges for Bendigo businesses to overcome.
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"A lot of [challenges] are outside the control of the business community, so it just reinforces the level of optimism that businesses have and that you need to be able to survive and thrive in business," he said.
"The guts and determination that's required to survive and hopefully thrive in business is something to celebrate so it's great to come together and take a bit of a collective breath and enjoy an evening together."
About 700 people turned out to Red Energy Arena for the awards on July 17, with the mood kept high throughout the night.
Mr Herbert said Be.Bendigo made the decision to introduce five new award categories this year - social procurement, national/global footprint, technology and digital and volunteer of the year.
The events and tourism category was also re-introduced.
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"We had so much diversity in terms of who the winners were in terms of whether they be individuals or small, medium or large businesses," he said
"The highlight for me was just the range of achievements across all of those categories was a great thing to be part of."
The awards will return next year at the same venue, with an agreement between Be.Bendigo and Red Energy Arena reached for the next two years.
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Jonathon Magrath
Jonathon has been living and working in Bendigo since March 2021, currently working as a general reporter. Contact him on jonathon.magrath@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
Jonathon has been living and working in Bendigo since March 2021, currently working as a general reporter. Contact him on jonathon.magrath@austcommunitymedia.com.au.
