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Champion Canterbury Awards finalists praised for being 'highly adaptive' in face of Covid-19

Thursday, 14 October 2021

An Akaroa cruise company uses specially-trained dogs to help find one of the world's rarest dolphins.

Handling the Covid crisis while looking after staff has helped Canterbury organisations make the finals of the region’s annual business awards.

Finalists in this year’s Champion Canterbury Awards include a martial arts studio, a sheep milk skincare brand, a space transportation company, and social enterprises.

Winners of the awards will be announced in Christchurch in November.

Leeann Watson, chief executive of the Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce which runs the awards, said the finalists had shown themselves to be “highly adaptive, responsive and innovative” in the face of the pandemic.

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Whānau wellness organisation He Waka Tapu service is a finalist in the community impact category. Pictured is chief executive Jackie Burrows.
Whānau wellness organisation He Waka Tapu service is a finalist in the community impact category. Pictured is chief executive Jackie Burrows.

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Oliver Hunt, chief executive of medical technology company MedSalv which is a finalist in two categories in the Canterbury Champion Awards. The company reprocesses single-use medical devices.
Oliver Hunt, chief executive of medical technology company MedSalv which is a finalist in two categories in the Canterbury Champion Awards. The company reprocesses single-use medical devices.

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They were also displaying an “increasingly agile focus” on their business operations, she said.

Businesses and other organisations had needed to respond to market trends, support clients, and be able to rapidly change tack, she said.

“We have also continued to see businesses clearly seeking to focus on staff and societal wellbeing as a measurement of what success is.

“Over the last few years, this has become more and more a key defining characteristic of Canterbury business.”

2021 finalists