“I was just so surprised and overwhelmed, and certainly didn’t have anything prepared to say in my acceptance speech,” she said.
In business for 20 years, it was the first time after being nominated that Marcelle agreed to enter her construction and labour hire firm into the awards.
Ahead of the presentation evening, she had put her workers’ names into a hat and the winners accompanied her on the night.
“They were so excited to see us win, it was just such an extra special night and I can’t thank enough all of our supporters and everyone who voted for us,” she said.
They have been a finalist many times but this year, Merrylands’ Hilltop Childcare have been announced as winners of the Early Childhood Centre category.
Manager Laila Trad said the whole team was truly shocked and surprised when the name of their service was announced as ‘most outstanding’ in 2023.
“We are exceeding in all of our quality areas, including quality area six which focuses on building supportive, respectful relationships with families as well as community partnerships,” she said.
“We would like thank all of our wonderful families who voted for us; it was so nice to get the win.”
An old hand at winning and proving again he is a cut above the rest, International Barber Salon’s Gokmen Tanak has taken out the Barber Shop category.
“It was a lovely surprise and we thank our loyal customers for voting for us,” he said.
“Thanks also to the council, the award sponsors and to my father-in-law Tony (Tahsin) who established the business over 55 years ago and set the standards high from day one.
“We are dedicated to empowering men to look and feel fantastic, to give them the confidence and self-esteem to take on any situation in their stride so it’s wonderful to receive this recognition again.”
