The public is showing support for favourite businesses, with nominations flooding in for a different awards event hosted by Dubbo Chamber of Commerce.
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More than 200 nominations had already been received overall within two weeks of opening, chamber president Matt Wright said.
The COVID-19 pandemic led the chamber to cancel its annual Rhino awards, but earlier this month it announced a different type of awards, the Salute to Dubbo Business.
The organisation, partnering with Regional Australia Bank, has set November 13 as the date.
Mr Wright said the reaction had been really positive.
"Telling by the number of nominations we've had already, which I think overall we've had more than 200 nominations, in just over a week and a half since those nominations were opened," he said.
"So certainly the public have really got behind it. I think they're looking for a bit of a distraction from everything else that's been going on."
The five categories are Dubbo's Favourite Tradie, Most Popular Business, Favourite Hospitality Business, Service with a Smile, and Business Who Met the Challenges of 2020 with Diversification and Innovation.
"We were quite selective as to how we put this together this year," Mr Wright said.
"Certainly 2020 hasn't really been a year of celebration for business at all.
"We thought to have the public involved in some sort of public voting and give them a role in this as well so they can celebrate their favourite businesses, or at least recognise their favourite businesses was probably the main thing, we thought that was really important.
"But on the flip side, we wanted to acknowledge businesses who have done things differently, differentiated themselves because they became creative or diversified or they just became innovative and that's what that fifth category is all about, recognising the businesses that have done that quite well.
"There's a lot of businesses out there that may be struggling and may not survive through the current situation we're in, and certainly some that haven't survived, that have closed their doors and we want to acknowledge that as well.
"But we really wanted to make a bit of a positive of those businesses that have chosen to do things differently."
Nominations close on Friday September 18 and can be done here.
Voting will open on September 21.
Faye Wheeler
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
I have been a journalist for more than a decade and in that time I have been keeping Daily Liberal readers up to date about issues affecting them and what's happening in their community. Throughout my career I have covered a range of rounds and most recently I have been focusing on the business round.
