Business blooming wonderful

Albany's premier business awards are over for another year, with the top gongs awarded at a ceremony on Saturday night.

The Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry HHG Legal Group Business of the Year Award was won by Florescence, the largest commercial exotic flower farm outside the metropolitan area.

It also took home the award for businesses with five to 10 employees, and the agribusiness and business achiever awards.

Florescence owner Charles Reynolds attributed their success to his wonderful staff and vision and conviction in success.

“I think it is a wonderful recognition of the incredible amount of work that my staff have put in to achieve what we have collectively achieved,” he said.

“I think it is also a wonderful thing for Albany because the farm is the only lilium farm outside the Perth metropolitan area and of course we are bringing in quite a lot of employment because of that.”

The ACCI Telstra Country Wide Business Person of the Year Award was won by Skill Hire chief executive Tony Fitzpatrick, who has been in the business for 16 years.

Mr Fitzpatrick said although he suspected something was going on a day or two before the event, he did not actually know one of his staff had nominated him until his name was being read out.

“I feel like the awards are the result of everyone else’s efforts too,” he said.

“If you had a group of people underneath you that did not believe in the vision or did not believe in where you were going, you would not be seen as a decent leader anyway.”

Skill Hire also took home the award for businesses with more than 20 employees.

ACCI chief executive Graham Harvey labelled the night a success.

“Albany and the Great Southern are lucky to have such professional and quality business operators who set the benchmark,” he said.

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