Awards closing date still stands

Darrin Walsh

The Rotorua Chamber of Commerce is aiming for a bumper turnout of entries and attendees at this year's Westpac Rotorua Business Excellence Awards, says chief executive Darrin Walsh.

"There's certainly much more interest at this time than there was last year," he said, adding that it was the 25th anniversary of the awards.

Mr Walsh said there had been some confusion because the initial announcement had wrongly cited a closing date for entries of July 24, but the entry forms contained the correct date of July 31.

"We haven't postponed anything - we're just standing by the correct date at the end of July," he said.

The response so far had been good, he said, with about 35 entries or intentions to enter received and most of the categories attracting four or five companies. Usually firms put forward an intention to enter, then the chamber was inundated with formal entries as the deadline rolled close.

Evergreen Landcare won the Rotorua Business of the Year Award at the 2014 event, which attracted around 520 people. This year's awards are scheduled for Saturday, October 10 at the Energy Events Centre. At its peak, the awards have attracted some 700-plus people.

Mr Walsh, who took over the chief executive role a year ago, said he had made some changes to the format in 2014, and said he was keen to get more than 600 attendees this year.

Steve Pinder, area manager Central Plateau and East Coast for Westpac, which is the main sponsor for the 11th year, said the bank wanted to support local business excellence and thank firms in the area for helping Rotorua grow. "Rotorua stands out for longevity of the sponsors involved and a really strong chamber membership, which make these sort of awards fly."