The Best of the best

The Best of the best
The crème de la crème of businesswomen in the Cairns region were honoured at the recent Cairns Business Women’s Club’s annual awards celebration.

Among this year’s award winners were Businesswomen of the Year winner Michelle Champion, Michelle Commins Volunteer of the Year winner The Female Co and Young Entrepreneur Award winner Staged Property.

After being established in 1985 to recognise the contributions of women in business and leadership, the awards have continued to grow as they celebrate the success of women across all aspects of business.

When the awards started, there was just one category – CBWC Business of the Year Award. In recognition of the hard-working contributions by women in the business community, today those awards have since grown to include eight categories including Businesswomen of the Year, Small Business Owner, Indigenous Businesswoman, Collaboration of the Year, Sole Entrepreneur, Youth Entrepreneur, Manager in Business and Michelle Commins Legacy.

This special CityLife feature celebrates these successful winners, but also the highly talented finalists who made selecting the winners a tough job for 
the judges.

We hope you enjoy reading about these outstanding women and support them and 
their achievements.

Michelle Commins Volunteer 
of the Year
Sponsored by CBWC
Annette Jarrett
Libby Cook-Black

Collaboration of the Year
Sponsored by CBWC
Rachael Pierotti and Grace Johnston
Meaghan Confait, Michele Annison, and Kate Fern

Manager in Business
Sponsored by CBC Staff Selection
Samantha Gaunt
Rachel Roberts
Monica Smith
Ruth Wall

Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Sponsored by James Cook University
Lauren Thompson
Jesse Hewett Fiumara
Stacie Galeano
Jenna Minchin

Sole Entrepreneur of the Year
Sponsored by Harding Property Law
Lesley Buckman
Kate Jordan
Nathalie Raben
Sophie Anderson

Small Business Owner of the Year
Sponsored by Cairns Regional Council
Amanda Hardy
Belinda Bernabei
Katie O’Hare
Louise Jane Cooper
Tamilyn Brennan
Tanya Snelling
Ellyse O’Connor

Indigenous Businesswoman 
of the Year
Sponsored by IFYS
Elverina Johnson
Muriel Wymarra
Caitlyn Tagliaferri
Sandra Venice Kemp
Amanda Nicholson

Cairns Business Woman 
of the Year
Sponsored by Pro Form Tops
Kimberley Campbell
Michelle Champion
Angela Nason