Local finalists in the Sunshine Coast Business Awards, including Tewantin Noosa RSL, Youturn Youth Support, and RACV Noosa Resort, have celebrated their successes at a cocktail party at Noosa Springs Resort.
Noosa Mayor Clare Stewart said the calibre of businesses in Noosa was outstanding.
“Considering the challenges over the past two years, the success stories are exceptional and it fills me with enormous pride to see so many Noosa businesses in the mix to be recognised at the Sunshine Coast Business Awards gala event later this month,” she said.
Tewantin Noosa RSL general manager Julie McLaws said it was an absolute honour to be a finalist in the social impact category.
“Typically, you would think we would nominate for a hospitality category, but we wanted to showcase that we are more than a hospitality venue,” she said.
“Over the years we have supported our local veterans, community groups, children’s sport, people with disabilities and the community at large.
“In the past five years we have made total community contributions to the amount of $1,982,863.
“We are a community Club, and our main focus is to support our local community. If you or your organisation are needing assistance you can find our community support application form on our website or contact the club directly to get it emailed. The Community Support Committee meet on the second Wednesday of every month to process applications.”
Youturn Youth Support chief executive officer Dr Tanya Bell said their team was also thrilled to be a finalist for the social impact award.
“For us as a not-for-profit organisation, we always challenge ourselves to be responsive to what is happening in our local community,” Dr Bell said.
“When the Covid pandemic hit, many organisations had to close their doors because it wasn’t safe for their volunteers to operate, so we were one of the few services that were open across the coast.
“We innovated our little hearts out to make sure that we were here for those in the community that needed us.
“Nothing brings the community better than a crisis, which is unfortunate, but we were proud to be able to do that.
“I can remember being here by myself on a couple of days and having a woman on the front steps crying because she hadn’t had a shower in a week and was hungry. We’re not about all our accolades, it’s about what the people get from us.”
Dr Bell said the housing crisis in Noosa was a major issue that Youturn had been focusing on since 2019.
“It’s a huge issue across the nation that people aren’t able to find affordable housing,” she said.
“We’ve pulled together organisations and donations from across our community sector to fund two tiny homes and we have people about to move into them at the end of this year.”
RACV Noosa Resort resort manager Darren McClenaghan said they were humbled to be a finalist in the accommodation category in what has been such a tough period for the industry.
“It’s great recognition for their perseverance for my team to be recognised as a finalist, given the turbulent two years they have been through,” he said.
“For us, 70 per cent of our business is Victorian, so any changes that have happened over the past 20 months that have impacted the borders have had a significant impact on our business.
“We’ve got some certainty now that on 17 December the borders will open and when that announcement was made, the calls just flooded in.
“We’re really excited now that we’re going to get some consistent and steady business. We’re pretty much fully booked between Christmas and Australia Day.”
Sunshine Coast Business Awards Chair Jennifer Swaine said the cocktail party was a great opportunity for finalists to celebrate their success.
“All of this year’s finalists have not only survived but thrived and so it’s great to take a moment and reflect on their success and celebrate,” Mrs Swaine said.
