The Business Resilience Award is for businesses or social enterprises that have been in Selwyn for some time and recognises the outstanding contribution made to continuing economic wellbeing in Selwyn, the wider Canterbury region, within New Zealand and/or internationally. This award is open to all businesses or social enterprises that have been operating for more than two years.
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THE ELLESMERE ECHO
Ellesmere’s local newspaper has faced many challenges in the past few years, from COVID-19 (where there were no events and activities to report on), to its publisher/printer coming to a halt and restricting its exposure to online historical articles. On top of this, the rise in online publications has meant the newspaper has needed to become more relevant to its readers, more eye-catching and more sustainable. As a local newspaper, it believes strongly in the power of networking and relaying information from those organising or holding events, to those that want to attend.
PLAY! DRAMA WORKSHOPS LIMITED
PLAY! Drama Workshops runs after-school clubs and holiday workshops for children. It has a purpose-built studio in Rolleston, and runs classes in Darfield and Lincoln. This year PLAY! has 185 students enrolled weekly with just under 30 drama and musical theatre classes as well as individual lessons. This includes Saturday morning pre-school sessions all the way through to teenage classes. The company’s values are ‘inspiring confidence and inspiring creativity’ through playing, performance and fun. It focuses on creating performances, scripted work and techniques that boost self-esteem, grow character and improve public speaking.
WALSH PAINTERS 2.0
Walsh Painters 2.0 has full time employees based in Christchurch and Rolleston, which cuts back the extra cost of travel so it can provide quality work with lower overheads. The company wants to make a positive impact in the Selwyn and wider Christchurch area in these tough economic times by providing affordable and quality services to all. This was recently demonstrated by the work it completed at the Broadfield School.
LEMONWOOD GROVE SCHOOL
Te Uru Tarata | Lemonwood Grove School has grown rapidly from 59 students just six years ago to 750 students. It is on track to reach 1,000 students by the end of 2025. The school’s students or families come from 28 different countries, and 35 languages are spoken. The school’s growth is incredibly unique as it has students arriving at every year level throughout the year and is on track to have 250 new learners this year alone. This level of growth requires excellent governance, leadership and teaching.
LINCOLN FAMILY BARBER LIMITED
Lincoln Family Barber has stood by all its wonderful clients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic like they have for the business. It always goes above and beyond, but without the support from the community and clients that support it each year, Lincoln Family Barber wouldn’t be where it is today. The business always supports other community charities with donations of free services, and also looks after senior citizens by offering discounted rates.
BUSY BUMBLES
Operating for almost 15 years, Busy Bumbles supports the needs of working parents and primary caregivers through the delivery of affordable, convenient and flexible before and after school care and holiday programmes. It works in partnership with local education providers, setting up Busy Bumbles venues on-site. Its business model focuses on reducing barriers that prevent Selwyn parents from working or re-entering the workforce. As of May 2023, it has 11 venues in Selwyn, which employ more than 80 staff. All team members are given flexible working hours, competitive pay and professional development.
GNOMES
Gnomes has been operating in Selwyn for 40 years, bringing tourists and Kiwis from all parts of New Zealand to the Selwyn district to either shop or enjoy the amazing landscapes. From one day to a whole season, Gnomes showcases the district and local businesses to newcomers who often return for multiple trips, and some even become residents, contributing to the local economy.
LARCOMB VINEYARD
Larcomb Vineyard and Events Centre has been around for over 28 years, with G&T Catering being involved in the events centre for more than six years. Larcomb Vineyard has stood the test of time providing the community with a wonderful, rustic venue to celebrate life’s momentous occasions. With a new record high number of bookings over summer 22/23 contributing to the economic wellbeing of the Selwyn district, Larcomb also regularly collaborates with the community through hosting seasonal events and providing a space for local business networking events.
CONNECTED
Connected helped deliver the highly successful Selwyn Job Fair, as part of the Selwyn Learn Earn Grow Series in March 2023. There was a great mix of industries and agencies represented with practical roles through to professional careers. During the introductory speeches, organisations outlined their training and development options and showed pathways and qualifications were easily attainable. Some engaging two minute speeches showed what inspiring opportunities were available for job seekers, and there were long lines of potential employees for a few lucky organisations. It goes to show what an engaging elevator pitch can do to attract new employees.
WORLD TRAVELLERS ROLLESTON
Following COVID-19, the unfortunate reality for the travel industry was that policies did not cover any loss of funds or additional expenses if a disease was classified as a pandemic. This caused major issues to hundreds of thousands of dollars of local money which is retained by offshore companies with no real ability to get this back. World Travellers Rolleston worked for clients to get their funds returned, or at least held in credit, to minimise the financial impact. These funds have likely been spent locally, which is positive for Selwyn’s economy.
RHODODIRECT
As the leading online retailer specialising in high-quality rhododendron plants, RhodoDirect has become a go-to destination for customers in Selwyn and across New Zealand. One of the company’s achievements is its consistent year-on-year revenue growth, even in the face of challenges. This growth is a testament to being adaptable in responding to market changes. By staying ahead of the curve, RhodoDirect been able to drive economic growth, create employment opportunities, and contribute to the overall prosperity of the district and wider Canterbury region.
ROLLESTON COSTUME & EVENT HIRE LIMITED
Rolleston Costume & Event Hire Ltd started in a single garage in 2012. The company had just started building a new shop in IPORT when COVID-19 hit but has now been in their lovely new building for almost three years. Several of the team members have been with Rolleston Costume & Event Hire Ltd for many years. Costumes, props, materials and accessories are sourced from New Zealand, Australia and America, and the company has always supported local school productions and many other fundraising events. Camp Quality is another charitable trust they have supported for many years.
GLOBAL BUS VENTURES
Global Bus Ventures is proud to represent Selwyn, and Aotearoa as a whole, on the international stage of low and zero emission vehicles. Their hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are designed and built in Selwyn with world class parts and the hands of local talents, who are pioneers in New Zealand’s development of low and zero emission vehicles. As the last remaining complete vehicle/bus manufacturer in New Zealand, the business has faced many struggles and has persevered against challenges including direct competition against global conglomerates, disadvantaged policies in international and national markets, global supply chain issues.
TUFFNELL DRAINAGE LIMITED
Starting out in Leeston in 2002, Warwick Tuffnell was a one-man band with just a ute and hired equipment. Wife Carmen helped with the admin and they initially focused on residential sewer and stormwater drainage. Now, over 20 years later, having moved to iZone Industrial Park, Tuffnell Drainage Ltd has a comprehensive fleet of vehicles and equipment and employs around 25 staff. Tuffnell Drainage Ltd now has an additional division servicing the Selwyn District, a drain clearing operation, called TuffBlast and Warwick and Carmen have also recently formed Tunnel Vision NZ Ltd, a CCTV pipeline inspection company.