Moree businesses urged to nominate for region’s Innovation Awards

Moree Plains Shire Mayor, Cr. Katrina Humphries with Regional Development Australia Northern Inland Project Officer, Kim-Trieste Hastings talking about the Prime Super Northern Inland Innovation Awards.

If your business has been innovative, diversified, or expanded to captured niche markets, or better meet customer or community needs through new approaches, then your time to shine is now. The Prime Super Northern Inland Innovation Awards are run by Regional Development Australia Northern Inland (RDANI). Due to strong interest, the deadline for nominations has been extended to Thursday 30 September, 2010.

Moree Plains Shire Council Mayor, Cr. Katrina Humphries is clearly proud of her local business sector. “The businesses and industries in and around Moree are extremely innovative and diverse. We’ve survived a drought for 10 years and we’re still going,” she said. “Our farmers are some of the world’s most innovative. Moree is a centre of excellence for engineering. We have a lot of innovative, imaginative people here, who I’m immensely proud to be associated with. These Innovation Awards are a wonderful opportunity for people in the bush to be acknowledged for what they are doing. It’s a great thing. Our stand out businesses deserve regional recognition and I hope they make the effort to nominate,” Mayor Humphries said.

A Moree small business person herself, Mayor Humphries said that thinking outside the square, being bold and branching out in a new direction is important. “If you’ve got an idea, have a go! Our ‘mistake slice’ is one of our best. People in the bush generally have a go and adapt – you have to,” she said. “I really hope some of these awards come to Moree.”
 

The Prime Super Northern Inland Innovation Award Categories are:

• Agriculture / Horticulture and associated services
• Tourism / Leisure and services
• Professional and Retail services
• Manufacturing and Engineering
• Research and Education

The 2010 Innovation of the Year Award will be presented to the leading innovator across all categories. Innovation is not necessarily invention. The RDANI Innovation Awards Committee will select the finalists, who will be invited to attend the gala awards evening on Saturday, 13 November at the Inverell RSM Club.

RDANI Executive Officer, Nathan Axelsson said the holistic development of northern inland communities needs innovative businesses. “Importantly, people nominating their business stand to inspire others in the region. Make your region proud of what you are doing and how you are doing it. Show others in the region that they can succeed commercially or make a real difference, through being innovative and taking a bold new approach,” he said.

RDANI Project Officer Kim-Trieste Hastings said that from Quirindi to Moree, and across to Tenterfield, the Prime Super Northern Inland Innovation Awards should see strong nominations from across the 13 Local Government Areas of New England North West NSW. “There are many businesses in this region, large and small, which are innovative, growing and succeeding. Their innovative efforts are important (often critical) to the economic and social development of their local communities and the region, as a whole,” she said.
 

For a nomination form, contact RDANI: 02 6771 2790 or download the nomination form via: www.niia.com.au