2013

1 THE AWARDS

The Combined Regional Chambers of Commerce and Regional Council are proud to invite businesses and individuals to nominate for the Scenic Rim Business Excellence Awards 2013.

The Scenic Rim Business Excellence Awards aim to foster and celebrate excellence in business activities throughout the and seek to recognise business, industry and individuals for their exceptional contributions to the Scenic Rim region.

The objectives of the Awards are:

. To recognise the important role the business community plays in the Scenic Rim

. To encourage innovation, business excellence and good corporate citizenship

. To present businesses with the opportunity to be rewarded for excellence and business success.

All Scenic Rim business operators and their employees located within the Scenic Rim local government area are eligible to nominate themselves, or to be nominated for an Award in any of the Award categories (all businesses must be operating legally).

These categories allow for a wide range of business activity to be judged against criteria relevant to the Nomination.

There is no cost to enter the Awards and all business operators in the Scenic Rim, no matter how large or small, are eligible to enter.

To nominate, submit a completed Business Nomination Form and your response to the nomination questions. All entries will be assessed by an independent panel of judges.

The winner of each category will be announced at the Scenic Rim Business Excellence Awards Dinner & Presentation Night on Friday 29 November 2013. We look forward to receiving your Nomination and to seeing you at the Awards night.

2 IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Eligibility All Scenic Rim business operators and their employees located within the Scenic Rim local government area are eligible to be nominated or to nominate themselves for any of the Award categories (all businesses must be operating legally).

Cost and Entry There is no cost to enter the Awards. To enter please submit a fully completed Business Nomination Form, addressing all of the nomination questions. Note: Applicants are able to nominate in more than one category (please submit a separate Business Nomination Form for each category. Pages 6 – 9 plus attachments).

The Nomination Process a) A member of the public can complete a Public Nomination Form which appears in the local newspapers and on-line to be posted or delivered to Council. The business or individual is notified that they have been nominated and invites them to submit a Business Nomination Form which is entered into the judging process b) Alternatively, a business or individual can self nominate or be nominated by submitting a Business Nomination Form (the nominator must have the consent of the nominee to submit a Business Nomination Form) c) A business or individual does not have to receive a public nomination in order to submit a Business Nomination Form. The number of public nominations received for a business or individual has no bearing on the judging process. Each category is judged purely on the information provided in each Business Nomination Form d) A Business or Individual does not have to be a member of a Chamber of Commerce to submit a Business Nomination form.

Judging All fully completed Business Nomination Forms will be judged by a panel of independent business and community representatives. In addition, there are two Encouragement Awards. The winners of these Awards are chosen from the Business Nomination Forms by the Mayor and CEO of Scenic Rim Regional Council. The judges will also choose one overall winner for the Mayor’s Platinum Award. The recipient will be chosen from one of the category winners.

Awards Dinner and Presentation Night Winners will be announced at the Awards Dinner & Presentation Night to be held at The Centre, 82 St, Beaudesert, QLD 4285 on Friday 29 November 2013. Attendance at the Awards Dinner & Presentation Night is open to anyone wishing to attend, you do not have to be a nominee or with a nominee to attend. To purchase tickets please go to www.liveatthecentre.com.au, The Centre, Beaudesert or The Boonah Cultural Centre when ticket sales open. Tickets will be sold on a first come first served basis.

3 Terms and Conditions

1. To enter the Scenic Rim Business Excellence Awards 2013 all nominees must submit a fully completed Business Nomination Form with responses to the relevant nomination questions. Nominations open on Wednesday 4 September and close at 5.00pm on Friday 11 October 2013. Entries will not be accepted after this date

2. All Scenic Rim business operators and their employees located within the Scenic Rim local government area are eligible to nominate themselves, or to be nominated for an Award in any of the Award categories (all businesses must be operating legally)

3. Nominees must submit one full copy of the completed and signed Business Nomination Form for each category they are nominating in (Pages 6 – 9 plus attachments). The Business Nomination Form is available to be downloaded from the Scenic Rim Regional Council website www.scenicrim.qld.gov.au/businessawards Note: Hard copies are available from Scenic Rim Regional Council Customer Service counters at Boonah, Beaudesert and , Canungra Library, Mobile Library, your local Chamber of Commerce or by contacting Cherie Fletcher [email protected] or telephone 07 5540 5314

4. The completed Business Nomination Form must be presented on A4 sized paper, unbound (one staple or paper clip only) and no longer than 10 pages - inclusive of answers, summary and supporting information. Please ensure you tick the category you have nominated in on each Business Nomination Form (Page 7). The Business Nomination Form begins on Page 6 and concludes on Page 9 plus attachments. It is not necessary to include the information provided on Pages 1 – 5 with your nomination form

5. A business may submit a Business Nomination Form for a category they have won in previous years, however they must demonstrate in their Business Nomination Form improvements/changes in the area that the category relates to

6. Only fully completed Business Nomination Forms will be included in the judging process

7. No alterations to Business Nomination Forms will be permitted after the closing date

8. The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into

9. All nominees are automatically eligible for the Encouragement Awards and all category winners are

automatically eligible for the Platinum Award

10. Entries will not be returned, applicants are asked to keep a copy for their own records

11. All information submitted is strictly confidential. All judges will be required to sign a confidentiality

agreement

12. To ensure consistency and fairness in judging, the rules for entry must be met

4 13. By submitting a Business Nomination Form, nominees accept these Terms and Conditions

14. All entries must be received by 5pm AEST Friday 11 October 2013

Post to: Scenic Rim Regional Council PO Box 25 Beaudesert QLD 4285 Attention: Cherie Fletcher

Or hand deliver to Scenic Rim Regional Council Customer Service counters at Beaudesert, Boonah and Tamborine Mountain, Canungra Library or the mobile Library (note please check the opening and closing times of these offices to ensure you do not miss the submission deadline of 5.00pm Friday 11 October).

For further information please contact Cherie Fletcher 07 5540 5314 or email [email protected]

5 BUSINESS

NOMINATION FORM

Nominee Details

Business/Individual Name

Address

Telephone No

Email

Website

No of Employees

Your name/name of Person Submitting Nomination Your contact Details (tel & email)

Nomination Questions

ALL NOMINEES PLEASE RESPOND TO QUESTIONS 1 – 4

QUESTION 5 - please choose your nominated category and respond to the corresponding question/s in the nominated category section on page 8 (eg if you are nominating in Category 5A Business Innovation, you will answer Question 5A Business Innovation on page 8)

Question 1: Overview (Mandatory question – all nominees must respond)

Provide a general overview of the nature and history of the nominated business. Important note: Maximum length of this answer is one page

Question 2: Product (Mandatory question – all nominees must respond) Your response may include the following, please feel free to expand:

What services and/or products does this business offer?

Question 3: Business Plans (Mandatory question – all nominees must respond. Note: you are not required to submit a copy of your business plan or to include any financial information)

Your response may include the following, please feel free to expand: a) Describe the mission and vision of this business b) Describe the key features of its business plan including goals, strategies and targeted outcomes

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Question 4: Professional Development (Mandatory question – all nominees must respond)

Your response may include the following, please feel free to expand: a) Describe how this business commits to the professional / personal development of its staff b) Explain how this business determines training or skill development needs of staff c) Describe any training and skills development programs undertaken.

Question 5: Your Nominated Categories

Please tick the category below that you are nominating for & respond to the question/s in the Nominated Category Questions on page 8:

5A. Business Innovation (see Nominated Category question/s page 8) 

5B. Business Marketing (see Nominated Category question/s page 8) 

5C. Corporate Citizenship (see Nominated Category question/s page 8) 

5D. Customer Service (see Nominated Category question/s page 8) 

5E. Employer of Choice (see Nominated Category question/s page 8) 

5F. Environmental Sustainability (see Nominated Category question/s page 8) 

5G. Young Apprentice/Employee of the Year (see Nominated Category question/s page 8) 

5H. Young Business Person of the Year (see Nominated Category question/s page 8) 

5I. Business Person of the Year (see Nominated Category question/s page 8) 

The response/s you provide to all questions will enable the Judges to assess your Business Nomination Form against each category you have chosen, therefore it is essential that you answer all questions.

7 Nominated Category Questions (please respond to the question/s below for your chosen category)

5A. Business Innovation: describe what the business innovation is and how the innovation has increased business productivity and/or benefits to customers or the wider community

5B. Business Marketing: describe what marketing tools/strategies the business uses to attract customers/clients and how it excels in this area

5C. Corporate Citizenship: describe how the business demonstrates leadership and excellence through community involvement. This may include supporting staff to be involved in community projects

5D. Customer Service: describe how the business provides exceptional service to its customers

5E. Employer of Choice: describe how the employer demonstrates its commitment to staff in areas such as leadership, providing opportunities for staff to grow professionally and personally, enabling an appropriate work/life balance or in other ways

5F. Environmental Sustainability: describe how the business demonstrates excellence in environmental sustainable business practices. This may be for a single initiative or an overall business strategy

5G. Young Apprentice/Employee of the Year: (strictly less than 30 years of age) a) Describe how the apprentice/employee has shown exceptional dedication to the business (and for Apprentices, to their training) b) Describe how the relevant business and wider community has benefitted from the nominee’s achievements

5H. Young Business Person of the Year: (strictly less than 30 years of age) a) List the key achievements of the nominee as a young business person in the Scenic Rim b) Describe how the relevant business and wider community has benefited from the nominee’s achievements

5I. Business Person of the Year: (30 years of age and over) a) List the key achievements of the nominee as a business person in the Scenic Rim b) Describe how the relevant business and wider community has benefited from the nominee’s achievements.

Note: Judges reserve the right to nominate a business for a more suitable category if deemed appropriate

8 Declaration

Declaration I certify that I am authorised by the above-named business/individual to provide the information in this application. I understand that the judges’ decision is final and that no correspondence or discussion will be entered into.

Privacy The information collected for the Scenic Rim Business Excellence Awards 2013 will be used for administrative and contact purposes only and will be provided to the 2013 judging panel for the purpose of judging this Nomination. The contact details of category finalists for Awards may be provided to the media for promotional purposes only. These details will not be disclosed for any other purpose.

Terms and Conditions I acknowledge that I have read and agree to the terms and conditions set out in this document.

Media Consent I agree that any photos I supply within this Business Nomination Form may be reproduced for presentation requirements for the Scenic Rim Business Excellence Awards 2013. I also agree that the Award coordinators may use publicity photos taken during the Awards Dinner & Presentation Night for Scenic Rim Business Excellence Awards publicity.

Name ______Date ______

Signature ______

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