“To be recognised as Business of the Year is an amazing achievement we didn’t even know we were trying to achieve”.
That is how Deniliquin Children’s Centre general manager Felicity Michael described winning the most coveted of the Deniliquin Business Chamber’s Business Excellence Awards on Friday night.
The Deniliquin Children’s Centre team was nominated for and won the Employer of Choice category.
As a nominee in one of the set categories, it was automatically nominated for Business of the Year - a step Mrs Michael and her team were unaware of.
“We were very excited and honoured - it was a true surprise,” Mrs Michael said on behalf of the team.
“To look around the room, there were so many vibrant businesses after two years of difficult conditions.
“It is a tribute to their commitment to the local community, and to the community’s support for local business.
“The business community is very positive, and Friday was a great opportunity to celebrate that.
“In every award category, and I don’t know how the judges did it, there were so many incredible nominees.”
The Deniliquin Children’s Centre incorporates Deniliquin Preschool, Deniliquin Child Care, Deniliquin Mobile Child Care and the Deniliquin Toy Library.
Mrs Michael said during the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of early childhood education was further highlighted.
She said this has also been recognised with the centre’s two award wins.
“The Employer of Choice award is one we have worked hard for,” she said.
“We have a strategic goal to support our team, and the educators are the basis of that team. They are incredibly valued workers.
“Increasingly there is recognition of the value of early education service, not only the value it has in lifelong outcomes for children but also the importance of the service in allowing people to participate in the workforce.
“Without our services you would lose about half of the available workforce, and as such our educators stayed working throughout the pandemic.
“We are all just ordinary people doing an extraordinary job at an extraordinary time.”
Providing preschool and child care services in Deniliquin, Barham, Blighty, Wanganella, Bunnaloo and Pretty Pine, Deniliquin Children’s Centre has 92 staff members across its footprint. Of those, 65 are based in Deniliquin.
Between them they educate 270 children from 250 families.
“We are community-based and not-for-profit,” Mrs Michael said.
“The Deniliquin Children’s Centre was established in 2000, but it was built around the preschool which has been operating since the 1950s.
“The community commitment to us echoes through generations of the same families in some cases.
“We know that handing over your child to us is the biggest act of trust.”
The judges were attracted to the ethos of the Deniliquin Children’s Centre, which has expanded and impoved over many years to benefit the community.
“The philosophy of Deniliquin Children’s Centre is to ensure that all children in rural communities have access to happy and stimulating early learning environments, while recognising the role this plays in contributing to a strong and vibrant community,” the Business of the Year citation read.
“With nominations in five categories, the Deniliquin Children’s Centre were recognised by the public as a centre of excellence and a skilled workforce.
“Not only were they finalists in these five categories, but scored highly and were worthy contenders for all awards they were nominated in.”