Winners of the 2008 Integral Energy Illawarra Busines Awards

Peoplecare Health Insurance was named the 2008 Integral Energy Illawarra Business of the Year at the Integral Energy Illawarra Business Awards Gala Awards dinner�on Friday�night.

Over 930 of the region�s business people from across the Illawarra gathered to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the region�s business community.

The WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong was transformed to provide a spectacular setting for what is now recognised as the largest celebration of business success and endeavour in regional Australia.

Les Dion, President of the Illawarra Business Chamber, paid tribute to all winners and finalists, and described the awards night as the best yet.

�Clearly the world economic climate has made it tough for business in recent times but when you look at the quality of the entrants in this year�s event, attendees were again inspired by how local business has continued to persevere and succeed through these tough times�, he said�

The judging process is a most important part to holding a Successful Business Award Event and without a robust judging process, entrants would not be fairly judged and the awards would hold no credibility. We are grateful to Warwick Shanks and KPMG for their management of the transparent process required for the judging of these awards.
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�The high standard of entrants did not make the judging task easy, and while every entrant could not be a winner the feedback from individual businesses was, their journey through the judging process was a rewarding experience in itself�

A special thankyou also needs to go to Professor Gerard Sutton for again leading our team of judges and let�s not forget all of our judges for the time and effort that they have put into the judging process.

��On behalf of the IBC, I would particularly like to thank our naming right sponsor Integral Energy who have supported this event for the past 14 years and to our Gold sponsor Telstra Country Wide, and to all our sponsors for their ongoing support.�

�Without our sponsors ongoing support, this event would not be possible�.

Winners in each category were as follows:

CATEGORY�WINNER
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Illawarra Business of the Year:�� Peoplecare Health Insurance
Business Person of the Year:�� Eddy De Gabriele, Edmen Group
Innovation:�� Commercial Diving Services Pty Ltd
Barry Smith:�� Dee Kramer Photography
Sustainability:�� Turfco Australia Pty Ltd
Building & Construction:�� Turfco Australia Pty Ltd
Professional & Commercial:�� Edmen Group
Property & Finance:�� IMB Banking & Financial Services
Customer Service:�� Edmen Group
Wholesale Manufacturing & Mining:�� Global Coffee Solutions
Community Sector:�� Shellharbour Private Hospital
Export:�� Stolway Holdings Pty Limited
Workplace Safety & OHS:�� Edmen Group
New Illawarra Business:�� Artinport
Information, Communication & Technology:�� Fibre Optics Design & Construct Pty Ltd
Tourism & Hospitality:�� Tourism Wollongong
Home Based Business:�� Dee Kramer Photography
Young Business Person of the Year:�� Andrew Harrison, The Lagoon Seafood Restaurant
Retail & Personal Services:�� Peoplecare Health Insurance
Small Business:�� Contours Woonona