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Luke and Chrissy Houghton from Hamilton’s Cream Eatery, which won the Hamilton CBD Association’s Best of the Best Award for 2021.
You can now nominate your favourite local firm for this year’s Hamilton Central Business District Awards.
The added public involvement has flowed from the Hamilton CBD Association’s ‘Love the Centre’ drive to get people back to the central city as the country adapts to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The public can nominate businesses for the first time,” association general manager Vanessa Williams said on Wednesday.
The move was about helping drive people’s re-engagement with the CBD, she said.
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The awards, which have been running since 2010, recognise business excellence and showcase developments in the inner city.
But last year’s awards ceremony was postponed till early this year due to Covid-19 protocols in place.
Now nominations for the actual 2022 awards have opened this week, with the winners due to be announced at a yet-to-be-disclosed venue on October 12.
Nominations for the awards, sponsored by Spark Business and Mediaworks, can be made via lovethecentre.co.nz.
Kelly Hodel/Stuff
Hamilton CBD Association general manager Vanessa Williams says the business awards are important for the morale of local business “particularly in these challenging times”.
Categories include best promotion, best innovation, best established business, best new business, favourite experience, best eat and drink venue, best shopping and best customer service.
There’s also a doing public good category for businesses providing community benefit.
“We really want to recognise those doing public good,” said Williams.
Usually award nominations average 70-plus a year but Williams hopes opening things up to the public will help gather more.
“We would be delighted to have 70-plus again. But we’re hoping for even more given we’re open to the public now.”
The awards were important for local business “particularly during these challenging times”, Williams said.
“It’s really about celebrating and recognising what people come to our central city for.”
