EEAA 2016 Awards made during ICC Sydney test event

The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) has celebrated the industry’s highest achievers at the 2016 Awards for Excellence held at the new International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney).

The awards ceremony, an official pre-opening test event, was attended by over 300 people representing organisers, association organisers, venues and suppliers from across Australia and New Zealand who helped test the new venue under event conditions.

EEAA Chief Executive, Joyce DiMascio, said the diversity in submissions for the Awards reflects the broad range of events, venues and services in our industry, stating “entries were assessed by 32 independent judges from across Australia and covered over 20 industry categories from pop culture, energy and resources, IT and health.

“Thank you to the judges for supporting the EEAA in its mission to recognise excellence, and to our Association Members for submitting their work to be reviewed by industry peers. We hope the winners will display their trophies and the winner seal with pride.”

Chair of Judges, John Trevillian, said it was an honour to oversee the judging for a second year in a row, adding “the increase in awards this year is a testament to the regard with which these awards are held.

“The quality of submissions continues to improve. This year there was an almost 20% increase in award entries and this meant the competition in some categories was very tough.

“For this reason seven categories have a highly commended as well as a winner. It is unusual for the judging to be so close.”

Among those honoured were the two winners of the Richard Geddes Young Achiever Award – Anne-Marie Mina of Exhibitions and Trade Fairs and James Kennedy of Exhibit Systems.

The Best Show for 2016 was awarded to Hair Expo Australia 2016, organised by Reed Exhibitions Australia.

This year’s newest award, Best Association Event, recognises Association events and the role these events play in growing their Association and the industry sector they serve. The award was open to either an Association Member, or a commercial organiser who was engaged to deliver an association client’s event. Reed Exhibitions Australia and their association partner Interactive Games & Entertainment Association took out the award for PAX Australia.

EEAA President Spiro Anemogiannis also presented the Trevor Riddell President’s Award to Domenic Genua for his service to the Association.

Anemogiannis said Domenic Genua is a passionate individual who has given 13 years of service to the EEAA and its board – sharing selflessly for the benefit of the whole industry.

Anemogiannis explained “the President’s award this year is being presented to someone who embodies the essence of the exhibition and events industry, and importantly, the value that associations play in building a community of professionals.”

Federal Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Steve Ciobo, congratulated the award winners and finalists via video message, stating “the business events sector is a major economic driver, not only for the visitor economy but also in the generation of trade, investment and employment.

“If we are going to meet our ambitions of growing our tourism industry – indeed, doubling the size of our tourism industry – business events is a critical component of that success.

“Thank you for being part of Australia’s business events success story, congratulations to the winners and finalists tonight.”

DiMascio said that the Awards for Excellence recognises leadership within the industry and spotlights the achievements of our Members.

She concluded “we thank all those who entered our Awards for Excellence – congratulations to our winners and thank you to our event partners, sponsors and the ICC Sydney for making this our industry’s most celebrated night.

“Our return to Darling Harbour, Sydney and the new ICC Sydney added a special dimension to the event. We thank ICC Sydney for including EEAA’s finale events for 2016 as official pre-opening test events.”

EEAA was assisted in the curation of the awards show by Australia’s leading creative director, Paul Kenny. The room was dressed by Decorative Events & Exhibitions and featured an interactive media wall by Displayground to present additional background information on finalists. The Monkey’s Cobbler created the awards show animation. The night was hosted by Maeve O’Meara and entertainment was by Quality Control Entertainment.

EEAA 2016 Awards for Excellence winners:
* Denotes – two winners or commendation
 
Best Show 
Winner: Hair Expo Australia 2016 - Reed Exhibitions Australia

 
Trevor Riddell President’s Award
Winner: Domenic Genua - Boating Industry Association
 
Richard Geddes Young Achiever 
The judges awarded two winners in this category:
*Anne-Marie Mina - Exhibitions and Trade Fairs
*James Kennedy - Exhibit Systems

 

Category Winners: 
 
Best Consumer Show over 10,000 metre² 
Winner: National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo - Exhibition and Trade Fairs
*Highly commended: PAX Australia - Reed Exhibitions Australia
 
Best Trade Show over 10,000 metre² 
Winner: DesignBUILD - Diversified Communications Australia
*Highly commended: Fine Food Australia - Diversified Communications Australia
 
Best Supplier Team – Event 
Winner: LNG18 - PERTH EXPO
*Highly commended: Makita 2016 Power Tool & Garden Expo - Expo Direct
 
Best Supplier Team – Services or Products 
Winner: Harry the Hirer
 
Best Venue Team 
Winner: AWISA 2016 - Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
 
Best New Product or Service 
Winner: O-Tix 
*Highly commended: Excelling in Exhibitions Program - Sydney TAFE

Best Corporate Citizenship 
Winner: Corporate Citizenship Program - Reed Exhibitions Australia

Best Association Event 
Winner: PAX Australia for Interactive Games & Entertainment Association - Reed Exhibitions Australia
*Highly commended: ADX16 - Australian Dental Industry Association
 
Most Outstanding Marketing Campaign
Winner: Fine Food Australia - Diversified Communications Australia

Best Trade Show under 10,000 metre²
Winner: Hair Expo Australia 2016 - Reed Exhibitions Australia
 
Best Custom Stand 
Winner: Japan National Tourism Organisation at AIME 2016 - Decorative Events & Exhibitions
*Highly commended: Hafele Australia at AWISA 2016 - DisplayWise
 
Best Show Team
Winner: 2016 Irrigation Australia International Conference & Exhibition - Exhibition and Trade Fairs
*Highly commended: National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo - Exhibition and Trade Fairs
 
Images (from top): All EEAA 2016 Awards for Excellence winners; Spiro Anemogiannis; Best Show Winner, Hair Expo Australia 2016 - Reed Exhibitions Australia; Trevor Riddell President’s Award Winner Domenic Genua of the Boating Industry Association and Richard Geddes Young Achievers Anne-Marie Mina and James Kennedy.

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