Red boots lead to top business award for "quintessential Territorian"
14 Sep 2010
14 September 2010:The owner of the Northern Territory's only costume hiring business was named today as the 2010 Telstra Northern Territory Business Woman of the Year.
Heather Malone bought Penny's Fancy Dress in 1999 after phoning the business when looking to hire red boots for a school dress-up day and finding that the business was for sale.
Ms Malone, who also won the Commonwealth Bank Business Owner Award, has expanded her Winnellie business four times, forging strong relationships with corporate, school and theatrical clients and offering a range of 10,000 costumes as well as outfits made on request.
Other winners of the 16th Telstra Northern Territory Business Women's Awards, announced today at the Darwin Convention Centre, were Janet Buhagiar, CEO of St Vincent de Paul Society in the NT, and Louise McCormick, an engineer and project manager with the NT Department of Construction and Infrastructure.
Telstra Chief Marketing Officer and Telstra Business Women's Awards Ambassador Kate McKenzie said the winners of the NT Awards were successful business women whose leadership qualities and achievements would provide inspiration for women across the Territory.
"The judges described Heather Malone as the quintessential Territorian, fiercely independent, proud, determined and generous, characteristics that underpin her self-made status," Ms McKenzie said.
"An active and supportive member of the community with a positive attitude, Heather was regarded as a consummate home-grown success story who made an outstanding transition from a home-based business to a thriving retail business.
"Heather is a great role model for women in business who also was recognised for offering work experience to students through a vocational education training program," she said.
Ms Malone, who describes herself as "a Northern Territory kid who wants to inspire others to succeed," provided costumes to her alma mater, Darwin High School, for its recent production of "Grease."
Karen James, General Manager of Affiliate Business Banking, Commonwealth Bank, congratulated Heather Malone for winning the Commonwealth Bank Business Owners Award.
"Through our Women in Focus program we have met many women who will be inspired by the vision, creativity and tenacity that each of the finalists has shown in building the successful businesses they have today," Ms James said.
"I am impressed and inspired by the calibre of this year's finalists. Each of them has demonstrated how a strong vision and smart management can turn an idea into a viable and competitive business. These are the skills we hope to foster as we continue to support and nurture women in business."
The three NT winners now proceed to the 2010 Telstra Business Women's Awards which will be presented at a dinner in Melbourne on 11 November.
The winning NT business women join an alumni of more than 430 winners of the Telstra Business Women's Awards since the program was launched in 1995.
The winners of the 2010 Telstra Northern Territory Business Women's Awards are:
Commonwealth Bank Business Owner Award
Heather Malone, Penny's Fancy Dress, Winnellie.
White Pages Community and Government Award
Janet Buhagiar, St Vincent de Paul Society, Coconut Grove.
In three years as CEO of the St Vincent de Paul Society (NT) Inc, Janet Buhagiar has nearly doubled revenues. She is responsible for the operations of 35 employees and 200 volunteers across five retail outlets, accommodation services offering 65 emergency hostel beds and five outreach programs that serve more than 300 people in need each night. Janet is accountable to the St Vincent de Paul Society (NT) Board for establishing sound and long-term fundraising partnerships with government and corporate networks and ensuring that a diverse income source is in place so the Society can respond to community needs as they arise. One of Janet's major business achievements was winning private developer support and government funding for a $5.8 million project to build 20 two-bedroom units on Society land.
Nokia Business Innovation Award
Louise McCormick, Department of Construction and Infrastructure, Palmerston.
One of only two bridge engineers in the Northern Territory, Louise McCormick is an engineer and project manager with the Major Projects group in the NT Government's Department of Construction and Infrastructure. The daughter of an engineer, she began her career on a scholarship with Queensland Main Roads before moving to the NT in 2005. She is a project manager for two of the largest road and bridge projects ever constructed in the NT - the Victoria Highway Upgrade and the 7.5km Tiger Brennan Drive Extension - costing $160 million and employing 270 contract workers. Four new bridge crossings on the Victoria Highway project will provide much improved wet season accessibility for local communities and the defence, tourism, mining and transport sectors. In 2007 Louise won the Northern Division Young Engineer of the Year Award.
marie claire Young Business Women's Award
Janet Buhagiar, St Vincent de Paul Society, Coconut Grove.
Telstra Northern Territory Business Woman of the Year
Heather Malone, Penny's Fancy Dress, Winnellie.
Further information on the Telstra Business Women's Awards can be found at www.telstrabusinesswomensawards.com
Media contact:
Craig Regan
Lighthouse Communications
Ph: 02 9262 3868; M: 0408 448 527
Telstra:
Brad Hatton
0428 818 694
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Telstra Business Women's Awards Network