Waikato Business News | December 1, 2023

22 FEATURE
DECEMBER 2023
A Central City
Extravaganza
With fanfare and festival the CBD Awards once again
delivered a night of recognition and celebration of
Hamilton’s central city business community. The
annual awards sponsored by Spark and delivered by
the Hamilton Central Business Association (HCBA),
saw nearly 100 businesses compete in their respective
sectors across 12 categories for a podium finish.
The CBD Awards is the time for businesses to put their best
foot forward. HCBA General Manager Vanessa Williams
says “It is such a pleasure to see such a fantastic range
of businesses enter the awards. Our local businesses are
achieving a great many things from set-up to expansion
and they should be recognised for this. Shouting about
achievements is not a natural space for many people and
I admire those who take the plunge to put themselves
and their businesses out there to be judged. I think it
actually surprises a lot of entrants to realise as they are
writing their entry how much they have achieved.”
All award entries were judged twice. Entrants submitted
a written entry assessed by a panel of judges and then
depending on the type of business, they were also
judged by a mystery shopper or had a video created
to be assessed by another judging panel. Overall, the
entries were superb and feedback from judges was on
the difficulty of choosing a top three in each category.
“Spark Business, a major sponsor, has been supporting the
CBD Awards for five consecutive years. Fabian Pathirana,
Manager Spark Hub Hamilton, stated that the local business
community is of paramount importance to the city. We
are proud to put our name to support their recognition
and celebration. The CBD Awards evening is a highlight of
the social calendar for many, and, like Spark Business, the
awards epitomize connection, empowerment, and success.”
The CBD Awards was held in the Roose Common Park,
with Stu & Camille from the Breeze MCing the evenings
proceedings. With the Waikato River, Hamilton’s best natural
resource, providing the backdrop for the evening, Royal
Lab event designers created a splash of glamour with a
Hampton pitched roof marquee on the riverbank. Attendees
were welcomed into the event hearing the rich baritone
voice of professional crooner Steve Carlin with decor,
furniture and lighting adding to the elegance of the venue.
Utilising their expertise SBI Productions rose to the
challenge of providing full event production and lighting at a
site with little infrastructure and Moving Media recorded the
beauty of the evening, the attendees and the award winners,
with a range of stunning imagery captured on the night.
HCBA Chairman Dwight Egelhof summed the evening
up best saying “After the numerous challenges that
have faced local businesses over the past three years,
it is an honour and a privilege to provide an evening
that recognises, celebrates and rewards business
achievements. We know the local business community is
what makes our city unique and to have the opportunity
to share their achievements with an audience of their
peers is what makes the CBD Awards truly special.”
Vanessa Williams & Vicky Redwood (HCBA)