ECHO News is proud to be the recipient of the 2024 Swan Chamber of Commerce award for ‘Innovation and Creativity’, a finalist in the ‘Excellence in Marketing’ category and sponsor of the “food and Beverage Production’ category.
Echo News general manager and editor Peter W Lewis said the award was acknowledgement of the work undertaken by his team to develop the website, with all work completed in-house without the need for external service providers.
The Echo News team launched its new website less than a year ago on Thursday, July 20, 2023, featuring all the latest news, entertainment and gig guide, sport, real estate, trades and services, special reports and community information in a digital online format accessible from desktops, tablets and mobile devices.
The new web presence offers advertisers a choice of affordable digital advertising spots that can hyperlink directly to their own webpage or business phone number to generate more traffic to their business.
Each week the Echo News, beyond its distribution of printed copies to its readership area, coupled with more than 3,000 Facebook friends that receive daily updates and links to the current edition, with all printed stories now available online, and the ability to share with their friends and family, resulting in an additional 10,000 interactions a week, along with more than 3,000 subscribers to our weekly online pdf electronic edition and more than 35,000 visits to our website each month.
Each week more than a thousand people use Goggle to search for the Echo News to access our online news service, and to our pdf edition, have increased more than 50 per cent in the last month.
“The website is now becoming an historical collection of news and events in our readership area, along with pdfs of our printed edition that will become an important archive as the years progress as we reach our 40th anniversary next year.
This is coupled by increases in subscriptions, and visits to our website where more than a 1000 people a month use google to search for our website, and followers of our social media accounts, namely Facebook, Instagram and X.
The success of our relaunched website in July 2023 is demonstrated by our Google Analytics growth.
In 2022, prior to the launch of our user-friendly site it has grown from 14,000 users in that year to 303,000 users in 2023 with 1.3 million events, and so far this year we have had more than 211,000 users with a total of events almost reaching one million.
SINCE 2016, we at Zero Rentals have been your go-to specialists for refrigerated van and truck rentals across Australia.
We are proud to announce that our Perth branch was recently honoured as the Winner for Transport and Logistics at the Swan Chamber Awards, showcasing our commitment to excellence.
From starting with zero customers, Zero Rentals - Perth now serves over 2,000 satisfied clients. Our success is driven by a dedication to providing affordable and reliable refrigerated transport solutions. Our brand, built on the values of protection, stability, and confidence, ensures our clients have “ZERO concerns.”
Our commitment extends beyond business. During the 2020 bushfires, we mobilised our fleet to deliver donations to affected families, embodying our moTo: “When there’s an opportunity to help, there’s ZERO excuse not to.”
“We’re honoured by this recognition,” says Thed, Fleet Manager at Zero Rentals - Perth. “It reflects our team’s dedication and our clients’ trust.”
At Zero Rentals, we continue to focus on excellence, community engagement, and innovative solutions, keeping Australian businesses cool, one vehicle at a time.
MALAGA Print & Signs are the proud winners of the 2024 Swan Chamber of Commerce Inclusive Employer Award.
One of their employees Laughlan has been with the business for the past seven years and is regarded as a loyal, reliable, funny, respectful part of the team, always ready to lend a helping hand.
Kindly known as Loxster, the team couldn’t imagine their company without him.
Malaga Print & Signs has been located at Enterprise Cresent, Malaga since 1998, and over those years, they have grown from a service provider to the printing industry to also servicing the greater Perth area and as far away as Christmas Island.
The company provides print solutions to individuals through to large multinationals like Rio Tinto, Virgin and BAE, and we also provide our print services to trade suppliers, government departments, all the while still serving other print shops.
They have also introduced two new services garment decorating and promotional products.
Felicity, Mark and Laughlan would like to thank all of their customers for their ongoing support.
AMBERCHES Distillery does it again by winning the Swan Chamber of Commerce Award for Food and Beverage Producer in the Swan Valley for the second year running.
This comes on the back of the recent awards from the prestigious Gin Guide Competition with the Orange Gin awarded best in Australia.
AmberChes continues to beat the best and the rest having won multiple medals in major international competitions since inception in 2021.
AmberChes have recently opened their own cellar door at 1050 Great Northern Highway, Baskerville. The new venue is branded AmberChes Estate which also now includes Swan Valley Distillery. The intention of the team is to continue to produce their current range of spirits but also new bespoke offerings and wine from their own grapes.
The cellar door not only offers the opportunity to try the various spirits and wine but also to take in the ambience and views of the Swan Valley set amongst the vines while enjoying a glass or two along with some delectable food. In addition, why not make your own bespoke gin in one of the Distilling Classes.
For the dog lovers, AmberChes himself, an Irish Setter, is often around so come and say hello.
DISABILITY services provider Crosslinks is the recipient of the 2024 Swan Chamber of Commerce Business Excellence in Training Award.
Crosslinks has recognised the challenge posed by workforce shortages in the disability industry and developed an effective solution that has benefited the sector.
Workforce shortages are impacting businesses across Western Australia and this impact is further exacerbated by the challenges of attracting and retaining employees under the current NDIS landscape, where supports for people with a disability are needing to grow at exponential rates. Close to 12,000 skilled workers are needed in the disability services sector by 2026
According to the National Disability Service annual State of the Sector report, released in late 2023, a staggering 86 percent of providers in Western Australia said they were not able to service all of the requests for services they were getting from people.
Crosslinks knew key to addressing this challenge was to provide an opportunity for support workers to feel valued as professionals and see the disability industry as a career option.
Crosslinks believed the solution was in education, but not just another course and it was important that support workers were able to achieve a formal qualification that took into account what they already knew, their prior training and their experience as professionals in the sector.
To do this, Crosslinks leveraged from their existing in-house training, online training and on-the-job experience within a Recognised Prior Learning framework, an approach that could be supplemented with a tailored learning program to ensure enough credits were earned for the qualification.
To bring this concept to fruition, Crosslinks formed a partnership with two eastern states providers iinduct (online training provider) and the Bradford Institute of Advanced Education (RTO) where they mapped out the course. Funding provided by National Disability Services to cover the cost of training fees, through an initiative of the WA Government, enabled the initiative to be extended to another five disability service providers from across WA.
The Crosslinks initiative has enabled 203 support workers to obtain 213 formal qualifications across the partnership. 113 of these support workers are from Crosslinks who recently held their second graduation to celebrate this major achievement.
FOUNDED in 2003, Copper & Oak Liquor Merchants is an independent, family-owned business with over 50 years combined liquor retailing experience.
Our Tuart Hill and Guildford stores showcase an everchanging range of over 1000 unique beers, one of Australia’s largest whisky offerings, plus hundreds of gins, rums and an extensive yet well curated wine range. South African wine and spirits complement this diverse offering.
Since 2022 Copper & Oak Guildford has operated from the historic Barker’s Store & Warehouse, originally an 1850s bond store. Located at the start of the Swan Valley, Australia’s second oldest wine region, these wines feature prominently in one of Western Australia’s largest region-specific offerings.
Sympathetic and respectful renovations have also expanded the overall liquor offering into one of the most diverse in the area, if not the state.
Our passion for community and liquor culture – the people and stories behind every drop – saw Copper & Oak Guildford receive not one but two awards at the 2024 Swan Chamber of Commerce awards for Best Retail Experience and Marketing Excellence, this was on top of the New Business award at the 2023 awards.
Whether tried and true, or new and emerging, Copper & Oak Liquor Merchants have something for everyone, and our experienced team is proud to share them with you.
LOCATED in the picturesque Swan Valley, The House of Honey is a sanctuary for local bees and hives.
As a family-owned and operated business, they have been looking after and protecting bees for over 30 years — the delicious raw honey crafted and passed on to customers is a nice bonus! The House of Honey also has a buzzing onsite cafe, runs bee safaris, workshops, and tours.
Founded by husband and wife team, Rupert and Kim, it opened its doors in 2010 as a revolutionary honey showroom. With bees under threat globally, the objective was to not only create amazing food experiences, but to create a bee sanctuary where bees are safe and hives are sustainably farmed. They also opened with a goal to educate and raise awareness on why bees are so integral to ecosystems around the world.
Rupert’s interest in bees started at the age of eight when he had been keeping an eye on a colony of bees in a tree at his family’s farm in Winterskloof, South Africa.
With a dream of developing a dedicated honey shop and café for people to taste and learn about bees, Rupert bought a well-established apiary and began his career as a commercial beekeeper in 2005.
Today, The House of Honey has expanded to 36 staff, 500 hives, and 30 million bees. Proudly showcasing all things honey and bee-related.
TENJUNE Hair Studio has been honoured with two awards at the Swan Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, celebrating excellence in customer service and trade services.
Established nearly 14 years ago, Tenjune Hair Studio has become a well known salon in the Midland area, praised for its welcoming atmosphere and exceptional service.
For the first nine years, Tenjune was tucked away at the back of the Midland Village complex.
Despite the challenging location, Fallon’s hard work and reliance on word of mouth has built a strong clientele.
Eventually, they outgrew the original shop and moved to their current location.
Located in the beautiful 1920s building at 15A Old Great Northern Highway Midland, which Fallon and her husband, Clinton, renovated five years ago.
Today, Fallon proudly shares this special place with her amazing team of nine, ranging from first year apprentices to long term staff members.
Winning this award has been extremely rewarding to the whole team who all genuinely love hairdressing and their valued clients.
THE Commercial Bar + Kitchen has achieved enormous success since opening just two years ago, winning over the hearts of the locals, as well as a few gongs along the way.
When the Commercial Bar + Kitchen was announced as winner of the 2024 New Business Award at the Swan Chamber of Commerce Business Awards, it came as a wonderful surprise to owners Rini and Kevin Bartholomew.
“We thank the sponsor, Carco, for this Award and dedicate it to our loyal customers and hardworking staff who have made this venue such an inviting place for patrons to come, eat and enjoy,” Rini and Kevin Bartholomew said.
At the end of 2019, the Bartholomew’s took over the 123-year-old Federation pub and spent the better part of the COVID-19 pandemic investing considerable time and resources into upgrades and refurbishments, while striving to retain its unique heritage.
Having previously won the 2022 WA Redeveloped Venue Award from the AHA Hospitality Awards for Excellence, these accolades are a testament to their vision to transform Midland’s own local icon into something extraordinary.
Featuring gorgeous timber interiors, timeless fixtures, local produce and seasonal dishes on the menu – in addition to a great selection of 16 ‘crowd favourite’ beers and local wines – this Midland treasure is a must visit.
HAULMORE celebrates more than 50 years of outstanding service in the state of Western Australia – a business that has stood the test of time – and has again been recognised at the 2024 Swan Chamber of Commerce Business Awards winning the award for manufacturing.
Owner Alan Moody still lives by his business motto ‘Challenges Accepted’ and this year’s award comes on the back last year’s Swan Chamber Lifetime Achievement Award that he received personally.
Servicing the mining, agricultural, road transport, civil contracting and earthmoving industries, Haulmore has been a strong, resilient and significant leader.
Heavy vehicle manufacturers in Western Australia deal with some of the harshest conditions in the world.
To consistently guide Haulmore Trailers in producing high quality equipment in the boom and bust economy, through recessions and global financial crises and pandemics for more than five decades speaks highly of Alan’s business acumen, passion and his ability to lead.
The transport equipment produced by Alan and his team at Haulmore Trailers continues to be ranked among the best in Western Australia.
BENDIGO Community Bank Mundaring took out the Community Spirit award and Business of the Year award, along with their Executive Officer, Andrea Southam taking out Business Person of the Year!
They were also a finalist in the Customer Service award category at the 2024 Swan Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.
The awards not only recognise that over the past two years, they have been able to return nearly $1.4 million to the local community, but also acknowledge the personal efforts of the Community Bank’s Executive Officer, Andrea Southam.
Andrea said she was honoured to receive the Business Person of the Year Award, which she said wouldn’t have been possible without the support of her fellow staff members, the local community, customers and 650 local shareholders.
The Community Bank opened on February 15, 2002 after years of concerted efforts by a committed group of local residents who advocated for a local banking option after the departure of major banks from the hills community, which left businesses without banking services.
Operating as a franchise of the Bendigo and Adelaide bank, Community Bank Mundaring offer all the same products and services that the major banks provide. However, their point of difference is that they return up to 80% of their profits to the community that supports them. The profits are returned via grants and sponsorships to the not-for-profit organisations in their community, therefore impacting most members of the area that they operate in.
“Today we are privileged to provide banking services to nearly 9,000 customers and manage bank accounts for a large portion of individuals and businesses, from children to retirees and everyone in between,” Bank Manager, Mervy Badawy said.
“After over 22 years and almost $4 million given back, we are fairly well known in our community, however our appeal has increased exponentially in the last couple of years as interest rates have impacted our bottom line.”
Andrea manages the community investment for the company and said “The community bank returned just short of $900,000 to the local community last financial year, with almost $500,000 in a six week period.
“These funds were gifted to a range of community groups, offering services including an animal sanctuary, kindergartens, playgroups, primary schools, youth mental health programs, environmental groups, and Volunteer Bush Fire Brigades, along with sporting clubs, horse clubs, a community pantry and progress associations for events and equipment,” she said.
ZAC is a commercial property agent, currently working within the family’s commercial property firm, Johnson Property Corporation. Zac is a passionate fifth generation Swan Valley resident with strong family ties to the Swan area dating back to the early 1900s.
This has resulted in Zac having a strong passion for the Swan region, its community and the local residents. Zac works tirelessly to give back to the region that has given him and his family so many opportunities, whether it be assisting local church groups or facilitating local not for profits, his dedication and commitment to the area is evident when you meet him.
Zac offers holistic commercial property solutions to a variety of clients throughout Western Australia; however, his primary focus remains on his assisting the property needs of his local community. These local services include both commercial and residential transactions and adding value throughout the process. Zac’s local knowledge and strong property background allows him to ensure he keeps his local communities best interests at heart and his clients happy.
When Zac is not in the office you can usually find him either in a paddock or close to the water.
He shares a strong passion for the equine world, having ridden since before he could walk, and a passion for racing power dinghies; having competed in the Avon Descent since 2016.
He loves his local community, with his significant contribution to the region making him a valuable member.
Zac has a rich passion for the Swan Valley, Midland and surrounding suburbs, he has witnessed the area shift into the powerhouse it is today. He is passionate about giving back to the community in any way possible and is involved heavily with local not for profit organisations.
Zac’s dedication to the Swan region is evident in the work he does, and he is a great role model for other young professionals.
