The popular bushfire building expo and conference held in the Blue Mountains won two major awards this month.
Blue Mountains Economic Enterprise, which organises the event, was named the winner of the NSW Resilient Australia Award (Business) in NSW Parliament last week.
Run by the Attorney General’s office, the awards are a national program to recognise and promote initiatives which strengthen community disaster resilience.
Just a week earlier, at a national ceremony in Perth, BMEE was named the winner of the Economic Development Australia (EDA) Award in the event/single activity category for the bushfire conference and expo.
BMEE was also a finalist in the economic development marketing category for the highly successful MTNS MADE campaign.
Economic Development Australia (EDA) is the national professional body for economic development practitioners
“These awards recognise that BMEE’s innovative approach to economic development is best practice. In the case of the Bushfire Building Conference and Expo, both awards acknowledged the significant role that event has played in the strengthening and recovery of the community and the local economy after the October 2013 bushfires,” said BMEE chairman Donald Luscombe.
“In addition, MTNS MADE, the cultural identity for the creative industries in the Blue Mountains, was recognised by the national Economic Development Association as an outstanding economic development initiative.
“It is always good to receive awards but importantly, this is great recognition for the hard working BMEE team, led by CEO Jacqueline Brinkman and my fellow volunteer directors,” Mr Luscombe said.
“In a relatively short time, BMEE has developed a number of innovative industry development initiatives which are strengthening the local economy and building competitiveness in key sectors.”
The Bushfire Building Conference and Expo, which was held for the second time last month at the Blue Mountains Theatre and Community Hub in Springwood, was recognised as a catalyst for economic and community recovery and industry development. It is Australia's only national industry and community forum exploring issues regarding planning, designing and building for bushfire.
Mr Luscombe also commended Blue Mountains City Council for its funding support of BMEE which has been renewed until 2020 and the NSW Rural Fire Service who is the major partner of the award-winning bushfire conference and expo.