Tinui businesswoman seizes honour

ENTERPRISE: Bridget Canning, managing director of WIZwireless, pictured with her fibre backhaul core router.PHOTO/LYNDA FERINGA

A Wairarapa businesswoman has been celebrated nationally for her rural telecommunications enterprise in the region.

Bridget Canning, managing director of Masterton company WIZwireless, received a Certificate of Special Recognition as an Enterprising Rural Woman for her contribution to rural telecommunications services in Wairarapa.

The award was announced at the opening night of the Rural Women New Zealand national conference on Saturday in Nelson, where the 2015 Enterprising Rural Winners Awards were presented. Wendy McGowan, Rural Women New Zealand national president, said Mrs Canning was an outstanding businesswoman and the judges had "admired her dedication and ingenuity" and awarded her the certificate in recognition of her enterprise.

WIZwireless is a rural telecommunication company that offers an Internet Service Provider (ISP) service to rural, urban and remote users in Wairarapa. The firm also builds rural radio masts for wireless broadband.

Mrs Canning, who was not available for comment yesterday, says on the company website she and her husband John were farmers in Tinui and the plight of rural internet users had spurred the founding of the company. "I'm sure all of you have a story about someone on poor internet. We kept hearing about the slowness of dial-up and expense of satellite services, so we looked to solve this for all our rural residents. We chose to rise to the challenge and do something about it," she said.

Mrs McGowan said the awards judges had introduced the certificates this year as a way to recognise special contributions made by women in the sector.

Chanelle Purser, owner of Carvin Streetwear in Gore, was named as recipient of a Certificate for Emerging Enterprising Young Rural Woman after she had "impressed us with her retail success and commitment to youth in rural communities", Mrs McGowan said.

Joanne Taylor's rural lifestyle magazine Latitude won the supreme award, while other category winners included Bronwyn Muir, who took the Help, I Need Somebody Award for providing farmers health and safety advice through OnFarmSafety NZ based in Stratford; Love of the Land Award recipient Marie Taylor for her restoration of native plants through her nursery Plant Hawkes Bay; and Kate Belcher, who won the Stay, Play Rural Award for her Glenorchy outdoor adventure bike tour company, Revolution Tours.

"In the seven years of this competition we have seen vibrant rural businesses increasingly appeal to urban residents, tourists and the rural community. This has been reflected in the winning rural business woman Joanne Taylor, who has succeeded in pursuing her publishing dream, while also supporting New Zealand's rural communities," Mrs McGowan said.