Business and customer service excellence has been in the spotlight lately, as Cessnock celebrates its industry and community achievers.

A sell-out crowd of 230 attended “Cessnock’s biggest Christmas Party”, the 2021 Cessnock Customer Service Awards at the Cessnock Leagues Club on Friday evening.

After another challenging year for local businesses, it was time to let their hair down and celebrate the success of their business and staff.

Mackenzie Wilson from Simply Bliss Bakehouse was named the overall winner, after taking out the hospitality and tourism category and the restaurants, cafes and takeaway sub-category.

Cessnock City Council’s very own Nancy Murray of the Hunter Valley Visitor Information Centre was a winner in the sub-category for hospitality and tourism, and Donna Howson was the winner of the Community Service category.

The event showcased the outstanding achievements of our local businesses and the high calibre of nominations received throughout the year and couldn’t have happened without the support of our passionate local community.

Advance Greater Cessnock congratulate recent award winners. All successful recipients can be viewed here.

If entering awards brings benefits, so too does winning. Research shows award winners experience a range of positive effects.

For businesses, this includes enhanced brand identity, increased sales and revenue, higher staff morale, and greater productivity. For small and medium enterprises, winning an award has positive trust and reputational outcomes within local customer bases, business networks and supply chains.

For individuals, increased confidence and credibility gained from winning an award boosts career satisfaction and can translate into a promotion, a pay rise or even a new job. It has been found organisations with employee awards or internal recognition programs experience lower levels of absenteeism.

The Board of the Cessnock Business Chamber would like thank all of the sponsors that support the event each year to keep these awards going.

The awards continue to demonstrate the resilience, confidence and professionalism in our local economy.