A record number of Sunshine Coast businesses have been recognised as finalists in the region's most prestigious business awards.
More than 200 businesses stepped forward to apply for the awards this year, with some great local stars shining as finalists, across a range of categories, for their excellence and innovation in their industries.
Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Mark Jamieson said it was wonderful to see so many of the region's #healthysmartcreative businesses taking part and being recognised for their achievements and contribution to our region.
"Each year, 500 to 600 new businesses are opening in our region in diverse fields such as financial and insurance services, food and agribusiness and health care," Mayor Jamieson said.
"We have businesses here on the Sunshine Coast that are innovation leaders in their industries, which is helping us to be a strong and more resilient economy into the future.
"Our Regional Economic Development Strategy contains a clear commitment to strong leadership and collaboration between government at all levels, industry and the community and has set a goal to continue to support business excellence through this highly competitive awards and recognition program and create pathways into national and international award categories for the region and industry.
"This combination of our region's competitive business environment, award-winning reputation for innovation, accessibility to new and existing markets, highly skilled workforce and enviable lifestyle makes it obvious why our Sunshine Coast is a location of choice for business and investment and I look forward to seeing this continue to grow."
Chair of the Sunshine Coast Business Awards, Jennifer Swaine, is thrilled that interest in the Awards continues to be strong across all industries and that a record percentage of nominations went ahead with the entry process.
"More businesses than ever have seized the opportunity to review their own performance and to be recognised for their achievements, it is a great sign of how robust and focused on real outcomes our business community is," she said.
See the list of local stars and make sure you get along to see what they have on offer and support local connections.
