{"id":208098,"date":"2018-05-08T22:27:07","date_gmt":"2018-05-08T12:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=208098"},"modified":"2020-08-04T11:59:52","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T01:59:52","slug":"local-businesses-make-it-to-the-top","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2018\/05\/08\/local-businesses-make-it-to-the-top\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Businesses Make It To The Top"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nick and Anita Blanch receive the Top 4 Finalists Award at this year’s Small Business Achiever Awards in Brisbane on Friday night (Photo: Contributed)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

May 8, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

Proston business couple Nick and Anita Blanch didn’t take home a major prize from the 2018 WFI Insurance Small Business Achiever Awards on Friday night, but they’re not unhappy.<\/p>\n

They were one of the top four finalists, and say they will hang their award on the walls of their businesses with pride.<\/p>\n

This year’s awards dinner was held at the Royal on the Park Hotel in Brisbane and was attended by about 350 people.<\/p>\n

Nick and Anita were nominated for the awards by Cr Ros Heit for creating Proston’s NB Inspirations department store and the Jacaranda Tearooms.<\/p>\n

“When we were made it to the semi-finals we were really surprised,” Anita said.<\/p>\n

“But when we found out in March we’d made it as one of Queensland’s top 10 finalists, we were amazed.”<\/p>\n

The young couple said they started the two businesses to revive Proston’s town centre and bring new social amenities to the area, as well as create jobs for young people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What makes their accomplishment even more remarkable is that until recently, Nick and Anita did this while they were both holding down full-time jobs themselves.<\/p>\n

Anita has since resigned from her former position to devote all her attention to the businesses’ day-to-day operations, but Nick still works elsewhere during the week.<\/p>\n

The two stores offer part-time employment for several young Prostonites, and both the store and cafe have won many fans for their attention to the traditional retail values of quality, range and service.<\/p>\n

The businesses also play an active role in the town\u2019s community life.<\/p>\n

Jacaranda Tearooms are the major sponsors of the monthly Proston Post community newsletter, and both businesses also helped sponsor this year\u2019s Miss Proston Showgirl competition.<\/p>\n

“We are very grateful to have had the support of Cr Ros Heit, whose belief in us made this entire journey possible,” Nick said.<\/p>\n

“It’s been our pleasure to take Proston to a forum attended by State Members of Parliament, and representatives from many national institutions.”<\/p>\n

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