Get your new business award nominations in. Photo / Getty Images
The Tauranga Chamber of Commerce is encouraging Bay of Plenty residents to nominate a deserving business for its inaugural People and Culture Award in the Westpac Tauranga Business Awards 2020.
Sponsored by Lysaght Consultants and The Culture Co, the award wants to recognise those businesses that have gone above and beyond to create a positive workplace culture – one that encourages employees to have their say, helps them develop and grow, and acknowledges and champions their diversity.
It will also be a chance to recognise those businesses that have come through challenging times amid Covid-19, and have supported their team's mental and physical wellbeing.
Event organiser Anne Pankhurst said the award tied into the event theme, Love Local, and was about identifying and supporting great actions within a company – no matter their size or sector.
Fiona MacKenzie, owner and director of The Culture Co, said both The Culture Co and Lysaght Consultants were staunch advocates of great workplace culture and were proud to be joint sponsors of this new award.
The People and Culture Award is open to anyone to confidentially nominate a deserving business. All you need to do is complete a short entry form.
Nominations open from September 4 to October 2. The nominated businesses will then be put up for public voting.
Full details can be found on the website, businessawards.org.nz
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce's next BA5 event is an automotive theme hosted by TyreWorks Mega and MTF Finance Fraser Street.
The event will be at TyreWorks Mega on Hewletts Rd on October 7.
MTF (Motor Trade Finance) is celebrating its 50th birthday in 2020. New owner Lauren Silkstone joined the business in November 2019 and invites members to find out about how MTF can help you and your business do more.
Tyre Works Mega has been a household name in the Bay for 22 years.
Current owners Keith Silkstone and Alistair Walker will talk about their top tyre tips, their journey with Tyre Works Mega through Covid-19 and the importance of supporting local.
There will be ample parking onsite at Tyre Works Mega and free tyre safety checks offered for attendees.
The Rotorua Chamber of Commerce is hosting a general election candidates forum for chamber members next week.
All Rotorua and Waiariki electorates will have a speaking slot, a question and answer session will follow, as well as the chance to mix and mingle with the candidates.
The forum will be at the Novotel Rotorua from 5.30pm on September 16.
Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology chief executive Dr Leon Fourie recently faced his fear and jumped out of a plane, all to raise money for charity.
Fourie took part in this year's Drop Your Boss Bay of Plenty fundraiser for the Graeme Dingle Foundation.
The 10,000-foot skydive took place in Tauranga on Saturday and has so far raised more than $5000 for the Graeme Dingle Foundation.
Fourie said he was apprehensive about the skydive, but once he was in the plane there was no turning back.
"I must admit I'm not a huge fan of heights and the prospect of a skydive was quite intimidating.
"The Graeme Dingle Foundation ethos is that the strength and mana you have on the inside is greater than any obstacle you may face, so this was great motivation."
The Graeme Dingle Foundation runs Project K, Kiwi Can, and Stars, reaching more than 3500 young people in the Bay of Plenty.
Fourie is one of 25 participants in this year's Bay of Plenty Drop Your Boss fundraiser and there is still time to donate to his online fundraising page.
The LINKT Goes To Zespri event will be postponed to September 23 because of alert level 2 restrictions.
The event will be a rare opportunity to go behind the scenes at one of Tauranga's stunning new landmarks: the new Zespri building.
Drinks and nibbles will be provided.
LINKT is a networking group for young professionals, with a view to connect and collaborate.
From school student to coffee entrepreneur, a Pāpāmoa College student has accelerated straight into small business success.
What started out as an after-school job for 19-year-old Caleb Rastovich has become a blossoming business venture.
Rastovich has combined two of his passions, cars and coffee, to create a new "coffee-on-the-go" bar called Nitrous Coffee located within the Carters Tyres store on Totara St.
Upon leaving school, Rastovich decided to expand his Barista experience gained at the Pasifika café in Pāpāmoa and branch out on his own.
He noticed the company, where his father worked Carter's Tyres, often had people waiting for their tyre change or service and wanted somewhere for coffee or something to eat.
"I had noticed people leaving the site to kill the half an hour or so it took to work on their cars and thought how great it would be if they could grab a coffee and a snack while they waited."
Carter's Tyres CEO, Matt Carter, was impressed with Rastovich's proposal and allowed him some space within the service centre to set up the café.
"It's not often kids leave school and jump straight into their own business and we are confident Caleb has done his homework to ensure this will be a successful investment for him."
Plans to set up worm farms and green waste composting has led to Pacific Lakes
Village in Mount Maunganui receiving a $10,873 grant from the Tauranga City Council Resource Wise Community Fund.
The annual $50,000 contestable community fund supports waste minimisation initiatives in Tauranga.
Pacific Lakes Village, currently under development, is one of the newest additions to the Generus Living Group of retirement villages and the first with a sustainable approach to design.
Central to the village is the creation of its own ecosystem via a series of waterways, fed from rainwater and natural aquifers that will support the regeneration of plant and birdlife. The village community centre, The Lake House, is designed to operate off the grid with its own solar and rainwater recycling systems.
The goal of the waste minimisation project at the village is to design and introduce good waste practices that can be used across the retirement village sector.
"The first step is developing the necessary infrastructure to support behavioural change," Generus Living Group director Graham Wilkinson said.
The project will include the establishment of worm farms for residential kitchen waste and large-scale green waste composting trials on-site, complemented by an ongoing educational programme and workshops for residents. Sustainable irrigation solutions will also be explored.
There are many other eco-friendly features within the village, including homes pre-wired for solar, electric vehicle charging stations, LED lighting, and community gardens and greenhouses.
Generus Living Group launched its first waste-minimisation pilot in October 2019 at its sister village, Pacific Coast, also in Mount Maunganui, with a focus on reducing operational waste to landfill and improving waste management efficiencies.
As a result, 100 per cent of landscaping green waste is being diverted from landfill from the extensive 16.2ha property, and glass depositories and battery separation bins have been installed.
Applications are now open for the Rotorua Lakes Council's $1m fund to help build community wellbeing to help address some of the medium to long-term impacts of Covid-19 on the community.
The one-off fund is part of Rotorua's Build Back Better recovery plan and provides financial support to help communities adapt and build resilience.
It is also intended to help grow the capacity and capability of local community organisations/ groups as they respond to local needs.
"The focus of this pūtea is to support our community groups and organisations to adapt, respond to needs and new opportunities, support new operating models, grow capability, collaborate and innovate, as part of Covid recovery," group manager of strategy Jean-Paul Gaston said.
Applications to the fund will be considered monthly until June 2021, or until the fund is fully allocated.
With the focus on equitable participation and increasing community resilience and social capital, the Te Rākau Tū Pakari fund is for community groups and organisations that come from a cross-section of the community sector within Rotorua.
"Essentially we're looking for kaupapa and initiatives that support the community sector to make a difference to those who need it, and help them to adapt to a new way of working whilst responding to needs and new opportunities."
There is no limit to the amount a group/organisation can apply for, although it is expected most successful applicants will receive between $20,000 and $60,000.
Funding decisions will be made by a committee made up of three elected members, one Te Tatau o Te Arawa representative and council officers.
The hīkoi is expected to arrive at Parliament around midday.